McMahon mine, Kambalda Nickel mines, Kambalda, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| McMahon mine | Mine |
| Kambalda Nickel mines | Group of Mines |
| Kambalda | Town |
| Coolgardie Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
31° 10' 43'' South , 121° 39' 0'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stoneville | 2,841 (2016) | 36.4km |
| Boulder | 5,178 (2017) | 46.6km |
| Williamstown | 161 (2018) | 50.2km |
| Kalgoorlie | 31,107 (2014) | 50.9km |
| Coolgardie | 802 (2016) | 52.7km |
Mindat Locality ID:
146967
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:146967:0
GUID (UUID V4):
7997a0b0-3897-4330-9aa7-49d0b93b56d4
A nickel mine located a few km N of Kambalda. Part of the McMahon Complex, containing the Ken, Gellaty, Gordon, Wroth and Loreto shoots, all accessed via the McMahon decline. The McMahon deposit itself is central to these. No outcrop. Discovered 1968. Ore production began late 1972.
The komatiite flow in the area is 50 metres thick, increasing to 150 metres deep in an area called McMahon Deeps to the north-west.
The Footwall is metabasalt, ultramafics, and metasediments. The ultramafic host is foliated talc, dolomite, chlorite for the Hanging Wall ore, and talc-magnesite, chlorite rock for the contact ore.
The deposit contains two shoots called the upper McMahon Hanging Wall 350 metres by 170 metres, and lower McMahon Deeps as a narrow trough like structure, with several smaller deposits across 600 metres by 100 metres. Both trend north north-west. As the name suggests, McMahon Hanging Wall is entirely hanging wall ore, with McMahon Deeps contact ore and under 10% hanging wall ore.
McMahon Hanging Wall is Ni ore interleaved and in contact with sulphidic metasediments, which forms the Footwall. McMahon Deeps contains patchy mineralisation, best at its southern end.
McMahon Hanging Wall contains supergene pyrite, violarite, with minor chalcopyrite, marcasite, magnetite, chromite, and gersdorffite, grading 7-12% Ni.
McMahon Deeps contains primary ore of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and spinel grading at 10% Ni.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
13 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| β Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| β 'Chlorite Group' |
| β Chromite Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| β Gersdorffite Formula: NiAsS |
| β Magnesite Formula: MgCO3 |
| β Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| β Marcasite Formula: FeS2 |
| β Pentlandite Formula: (NixFey)Ξ£9S8 |
| β Phlogopite Formula: KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| β Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| β Pyrrhotite Formula: Fe1-xS |
| β Spinel Formula: MgAl2O4 |
| β Talc Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| β Violarite Formula: Fe2+Ni3+2S4 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Pentlandite | 2.BB.15 | (NixFey)Ξ£9S8 |
| β | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| β | Pyrrhotite | 2.CC.10 | Fe1-xS |
| β | Violarite | 2.DA.05 | Fe2+Ni3+2S4 |
| β | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| β | Marcasite | 2.EB.10a | FeS2 |
| β | Gersdorffite | 2.EB.25 | NiAsS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| β | Chromite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| β | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| β | Spinel | 4.BB.05 | MgAl2O4 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| β | Magnesite | 5.AB.05 | MgCO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| β | Talc | 9.EC.05 | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| β | Phlogopite | 9.EC.20 | KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Unclassified | |||
| β | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Western Australia
- Kambalda Nickel Metallogenic ProvinceGeologic Province
- West Australian ElementCraton
- Yilgarn CratonCraton
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
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References
