Rosie prospect, Mulga Queen Community Area (Nurra Kurramunoo), Duketon Goldfield, Laverton Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Rosie prospect	Prospect
Mulga Queen Community Area (Nurra Kurramunoo)	Area
Duketon Goldfield	Ore Field
Laverton Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Discovered circa 2011 by Independence Group NL. It is a high grade Ni-PGE deposit with a similar prospect called C2 1 kilometre north-west.

The prospects are 130 kilometres north-north-west of Laverton within the Duketon Greenstone Belt. They are about 30 kilometres north-west of the Erilstoun and Urarey Warren Bore Road intersection. It is a disturbed area of intensive exploration in the middle of miles of mulga scrub, about 5 kilometres south of the Erilstoun (Bandya) Road. (Please note the map in this instance is an approximate location).

The Rosie prospect contains disseminated and brecciated semi-massive to massive base metal sulphides with 0.5-5cm thick sulfarsenide bearing lenses. The reference states PGE concentrations within Ni sulphide mineralization hosted in komatiite is relatively rare. Further it states As rich phases played a critical role in collecting and concentrating PGE from the komatiite magma, and to date (2013) only one other occurence had been described.

Rosie contains 9.1%Ni, 1.1%Cu, 0,2%Co and 7.1ppm PGE being 2.2ppm Pt, 1.7ppm Pd, 0.8 grams p/t Rh, 1.8ppm Ru/ The prospect strikes for 750 metres.

The deposit is hosted by the Bulge Ultramafic Complex, and mineralization is located between the komatiite and tholeiitic basalt contact, locally intercalated with metasedimentary rocks of black shale, shale, sandstone, and siltstone.

The sulphides may form stringers or are brecciated in foliated serpentinized ultramafic rocks. Pyrrhotite forms mm to cm scale aggregates of several crystals. Sometimes the pyrrhotite grains have been replaced by mackinawite. Pentlandite is found as isolated grains less than 2mm, or as rounded elongated aggregates of several crystals. At shallow depth the pentlandite has been replaced by violarite in a supergene zone. Chalcopyrite represents all the copper at the prospect and occurs in lesser amounts. Trace pyrite, sulfarsenides, Ni tellurides, and Pb tellurides are found.

The sulfarsenide rich lenses are found in the upper part of the ore-body. PGE shows palladium, Pt and Ru with lesser iridium, Os and gold. Sperrylite is the dominant PGE species, as anhedral and euhedral grains associated with pyrrhotite. Two un-identifed minerals were found as complex grains associated with pyrrhotite and/or gersdorffite (Pd, Ni, Ag) and (Pd, Ni, Mo)Bi. PGES were also found as minor elements in melonite, gersdorffite and Ni-Sb-Te phases. Native gold, electrum and hessite is found associated with the base metal sulphides in association with pentlandite, or located at the contact between chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, and/or pentlandite. Altaite is common as irregular grains filling fractures or open spaces in gersdorffite, or at the contact between this species and the base metal sulphides.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References