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Kamaishi mine, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, Tohoku Region, Honshu Island, Japan

StandardDetailedBy ChemistrySearch GoogleMineral Report for Region

An abandoned iron-copper mine at least 500 meters deep. Contact metasomatic (skarn) ores around a Cretaceous dioritic granite intrusion. Worked for iron (magnetite orebodies) and copper-gold-silver (chalcopyrite-cubanite orebodies). At least 15 orebodies, including Shinyama, Nippo, Sahinai and Rasa-Omine orebodies. Shinyama is the largest Fe skarn orebody in Japan, 400m long, 80m wide, 550m high. Magnetite-garnet skarns were worked for iron already during the Tokugawa shogunate era, with Japan's first modern blast furnace built here in 1857 (late Edo era). Peak production was in the 1970s. 1958 production: 1.04 million tons ore averaging 28.6% Fe (the highest Fe ore production in Japan). Mine now closed, but there is commercial production of bottled mineral water.

Since the 1990s, the underground mine workings in the northern portion of this mine have been used for estimating long-term stability of geological, hydrogeological, and physicochemical conditions in the rock massif and for studying the migration of natural radionuclides in fractured rocks.



References:
- Rocks & Minerals: 22: 320.
- Geological Survey of Japan (1960).
- Shiga, Y. (1987): Behavior of iron, nickel, cobalt and sulfur during serpentinization, with reference to Hayachine ultramafic rocks of the Kamaishi mining district, northeastern Japan. Canadian Mineralogist: 25: 611-624.
- Anthony, Bideaux, Bladh, Nichols (1990): "Handbook of Mineralogy", Vol. 1.
- Laverov, N.P., Petrov, V.A., Poluektov, V.V., Nasimov, R.M., Hammer, J., Burmistrov, A.A., and Shchukin, S.I. (2008): The Antei Uranium Deposit: A Natural Analogue of an SNF Repository and an Underground Geodynamic Laboratory in Granite. Geology of Ore Deposits 50(5), 339-361.




Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

Group 1 - Elements
  		• Copper1.AA.05
    Cu
  		• Gold1.AA.05
    Au
      var: Electrum1.AA.05
    (Au, Ag)
  		• Silver1.AA.05
    Ag
      var: Küstelite1.AA.05
    Ag
    Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
  		• Argentopentlandite2.BB.15
    Ag(Fe,Ni)
     
    8
    		S
     
    8
  		• Arsenopyrite2.EB.20
    FeAsS - (Fe
     
    0.90
    		Co
     
    0.10
    		)AsS
  		• Bornite2.BA.15
    Cu
     
    5
    		FeS
     
    4
  		• Chalcopyrite2.CB.10a
    CuFeS
     
    2
  		• Cobaltite2.EB.25
    CoAsS
  		• Costibite ?2.EB.10d
    CoSbS
  		• Cubanite2.CB.55a
    CuFe
     
    2
    		S
     
    3
  		• Gersdorffite2.EB.25
    NiAsS
  		• Löllingite2.EB.15a
    FeAs
     
    2
  		• Paracostibite ?2.EB.10e
    CoSbS
  		• Pentlandite2.BB.15
    (Fe,Ni)
     
    9
    		S
     
    8
      var: Argentian Pentlandite2.BB.15
    (Fe,Ni)
     
    9
    		S
     
    8
  		• Pyrite2.EB.05a
    FeS
     
    2
  		• Pyrrhotite2.CC.10
    Fe
     
    7
    		S
     
    8
    		, (-4M), also given as Fe
     
    1-x
    		S (x = 0 - 0.2)
  		• Safflorite2.EB.15a
    (Co,Fe,Ni)As
     
    2
  		• Smythite2.CC.10
    (Fe,Ni)
     
    9
    		S
     
    11
  		• Sphalerite2.CB.05a
    (Zn,Fe
    2+
     
    		)S
  		• Tochilinite2.FD.35
    Fe
    2+
    5-6
    		(Mg,Fe
    2+
     
    		)
     
    5
    		[(OH)
     
    10
    		|S
     
    6
    		]
    Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
  		• Goethite4.FD.10
    α-Fe
    3+
     
    		O(OH)
  		• Lepidocrocite4.FE.15
    γ-Fe
    3+
     
    		O(OH)
  		• Magnetite4.BB.05
    Fe
    2+
     
    		Fe
    3+
    2
    		O
     
    4
  		• Perovskite4.CC.30
    CaTiO
     
    3
  		• Quartz4.DA.05
    SiO
     
    2
  		• Uraninite4.DL.05
    UO
     
    2
    Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
  		• Calcite5.AB.05
    CaCO
     
    3
    Group 6 - Borates
  		• Vonsenite6.AB.30
    Fe
    2+
    2
    		Fe
    3+
     
    		[O
     
    2
    		|BO
     
    3
    		]
    Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
  		• Copiapite7.DB.35
    Fe
    2+
     
    		Fe
    3+
    4
    		[OH|(SO
     
    4
    		)
     
    3
    		]
     
    2
    		 · 20H
     
    2
    		O
  		• Starkeyite7.CB.15
    MgSO
     
    4
    		·4H
     
    2
    		O
    Group 9 - Silicates
  		• Actinolite9.DE.10
    ☐Ca
     
    2
    		(Mg,Fe
    2+
     
    		)
     
    5
    		(Si
     
    8
    		O
     
    22
    		)(OH)
     
    2
  		• Almandine9.AD.25
    Fe
    2+
    3
    		Al
     
    2
    		[SiO
     
    4
    		]
     
    3
  		• Andradite9.AD.25
    Ca
     
    3
    		Fe
    3+
    2
    		[SiO
     
    4
    		]
     
    3
  		• Axinite-(Fe)9.BD.20
    Ca
     
    2
    		Fe
    2+
     
    		Al
     
    2
    		[OH|BSi
     
    4
    		O
     
    15
    		]
  		• Bicchulite9.FB.10
    Ca
     
    2
    		[(OH)
     
    2
    		|Al
     
    2
    		SiO
     
    6
    		]
  		• Biotite9..
  		• Cummingtonite9.DE.05
    [ ][Mg
     
    2
    		][Mg
     
    5
    		][(OH)
     
    2
    		|Si
     
    8
    		O
     
    22
    		]
  		• Danburite9.FA.65
    CaB
     
    2
    		Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    8
  		• Diopside9.DA.15
    CaMg[Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    6
    		]
  		• Epidote9.BG.05
    {Ca
     
    2
    		}{Al
     
    2
    		Fe
    3+
     
    		}[O|OH|SiO
     
    4
    		|Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    7
    		]
  		• Grossular9.AD.25
    Ca
     
    3
    		Al
     
    2
    		[SiO
     
    4
    		]
     
    3
  		• Grunerite9.DE.05
    [ ][Fe
    2+
    2
    		][Fe
    2+
    5
    		][(OH)
     
    2
    		|Si
     
    8
    		O
     
    22
    		]
  		• Hedenbergite9.DA.15
    CaFe
    2+
     
    		[Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    6
    		]
  		• Kamaishilite (TL)9.FB.10
    Ca
     
    2
    		[(OH)
     
    2
    		|Al
     
    2
    		SiO
     
    6
    		]
  		• Laumontite9.GB.10
    CaAl
     
    2
    		Si
     
    4
    		O
     
    12
    		·4H
     
    2
    		O
  		• Meionite9.FB.15
    Ca
     
    4
    		[CO
     
    3
    		|(Al
     
    2
    		Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    8
    		)
     
    3
    		]
  		• Natrolite9.GA.05
    Na
     
    2
    		[Al
     
    2
    		Si
     
    3
    		O
     
    10
    		] · 2H
     
    2
    		O
  		• Palygorskite9.EE.20
    (Mg,Al)
     
    5
    		(Si,Al)
     
    8
    		O
     
    20
    		(OH)
     
    2
    		·8H
     
    2
    		O
  		• Prehnite9.DP.20
    Ca
     
    2
    		Al
     
    2
    		Si
     
    3
    		O
     
    12
    		(OH)
  		• Schorl9.CK.05
    [Na][Fe
    2+
    3
    		][Al
     
    6
    		][(OH)
     
    3
    		|OH|(BO
     
    3
    		)
     
    3
    		|Si
     
    6
    		O
     
    18
    		]
  		• Stilpnomelane9.EG.40
    (K,Ca,Na)(Fe
    2+
     
    		,Mg,Al,Fe
    3+
     
    		)
     
    8
    		(Si,Al)
     
    12
    		(O,OH)
     
    36
    		 · nH
     
    2
    		O
  		• Tilleyite9.BE.82
    Ca
     
    5
    		[(CO
     
    3
    		)
     
    2
    		|Si
     
    2
    		O
     
    7
    		]
  		• Vesuvianite9.BG.35
    Ca
     
    10
    		(Mg,Fe)
     
    2
    		Al
     
    4
    		Si
     
    9
    		O
     
    34
    		(OH)
     
    4
  		• Wollastonite9.DG.05
    Ca[SiO
     
    3
    		]
  		• Zircon9.AD.30
    Zr[SiO
     
    4
    		]
    Unclassified Minerals
  		• 'Albite-Anorthite Series'-
  		• 'Apatite'-
  		• 'Apophyllite'-
  		• 'Chlorite Group'-
  		• 'Clinoptilolite'-
  		• 'Clinopyroxene Subgroup'-
  		• 'Garnet Group'-
    X
     
    3
    		Z
     
    2
    		(TO
     
    4
    		)
     
    3
    		 (X = Ca, Fe, etc·, Z = Al, Cr, etc·, T = Si, As, V)
  		• 'Grandite'-
  		• 'Hornblende'-
  		• 'K Feldspar'-
  		• 'Monazite'-
  		• 'Sericite'-
  		• 'Stilbite'-


    71 entries listed. 57 valid minerals.

    Localities in this Region:
    Japan
     
    • Honshu Island
      • Tohoku Region
        • Iwate Prefecture
          • Kamaishi City
            • Kamaishi mine

    The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database!
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    Copyright © Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau 1993-2009. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them.Further information contact the Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register. Current server date and time: 25th Nov 2009 17:59:40