Geoscience
Australian mineral localities
Introduction
Because Australia is such a large country with a long and complex geological history, it has a large number of mineral localities of many different types. Many of these (such as the Broken Hill silver-lead-zinc deposit in far western New South Wales, the silver-lead mines of Dundas in western Tasmania, and the uranium mines of the Top End in the Northern Territory) have produced truly world-class mineral specimens. These localities occur in rock sequences of all ages (from the Archaean to the Cenozoic) and vary widely in size (from small prospect pits to very large modern mining operations). The following notes apply mainly to mineral deposits which have supplied good quality well-crystallised specimens.
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Australian Capital Territory
The only well-known mineral locality in the Australian Capital Territory is the Cotter (or Paddy's River) copper-lead-zinc mine, near the Cotter Dam. This is a small skarn-type deposit with an oxidised zone that has produced microcrystals of azurite, linarite, aurichalcite, cerussite and malachite.
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New South Wales
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is in far western New South Wales. It is actually closer to Adelaide than Sydney. It is perhaps the most well-known, mineralogically diverse and spectacular mineral locality in Australia, and one of the most significant of its type in the world. Because of its relatively long mining history (since discovery in 1883), large size (the Broken Hill lode has a strike length of over 3 km, width of several hundred metres, and depth to at least 2.5 km), and well-developed deep oxidised zone, it has produced many spectacular specimens of cerussite, smithsonite, pyromorphite, mimetite, azurite, anglesite, native copper, stolzite and silver halide minerals (bromian chlorargyrite, iodargyrite, bromargyrite, marshite) over many years.
It has also produced a number of spectacular primary silicate minerals such as rhodonite, spessartine garnet, manganoan pyrosmalite and bannisterite, along with fine specimens of calcite (including the manganoan variety), rhodochrosite, gypsum, dyscrasite, native silver, alabandite, cuprite, inesite, gahnite, apophyllite, bustamite and pyrite. It is the type locality for 11 mineral species: Bernalite, Brokenhillite, Costibite, Kintoreite, Marshite, Mawbyite, Miersite, Paradocrasite, Raspite, Segnitite, and Willyamite. The number of well-crystallised rare minerals, mainly occurring in microcrystalline form, is far too long to list.
The Australian Broken Hill Consols Mine near Broken Hill was famous for its well-crystallised dyscrasite, together with native silver, chlorargyrite, tetrahedrite, acanthite, stromeyerite, stephanite, phosgenite, willyamite, antimony, pyrargyrite, argentopyrite, and siderite.
Prospect Quarry, Sydney
Prehnite, Prospect Quarry.
A number of quarries near Prospect Reservoir in western Sydney have been operating for over 100 years, exploiting a Jurassic-age dolerite sill for use as roadbase and aggregate. The dolerite is hydrothermally altered in places and contains cavities up to 0.5 m across. The quarries have intermittently produced a number of very fine specimens (fine specimens were abundant in the mid 1970s when the quarrying exposed a large hydrothermally-altered section of coarse-grained dolerite). These specimens included world-class prehnite in a range of colours (including white, apple-green, blue-green, yellow and orange), up to large cabinet size. Other fine specimens from Prospect include analcime, calcite, pectolite, baryte, aragonite, siderite and chabazite.
New England Region
The New England region of north-eastern New South Wales contains a large number of diverse mineral localities, most being small mines or prospects. They occur in a wide variety of different rock types but the most spectacular minerals from this region are associated with the intrusive granite rocks, and include the molybdenum-bismuth-tungsten, tin and antimony-gold deposits.
Some of the world's best specimens of molybdenite have come from the Deepwater mining centre and other fine molybdenite specimens come from the Kingsgate mines. Both of these mining areas have also produced fine specimens of native bismuth, bismuthinite and quartz.
Many fine cassiterite specimens come from the New England region, including the Elsmore, Emmaville, Torrington and Tingha mining centres. Fine crystals of wolframite, beryl, monazite and fluorite come from the Torrington area; fine stibnite and calcite crystals come from Hillgrove; fine large orange scheelite crystals come from Nundle; gem-quality topaz comes from the Oban area, chalcopyrite and quartz crystals come from Howell, tetrahedrite and pyrargyrite come from Rockvale, and fine quartz crystals (including rock crystals, smoky and citrine varieties) come from many areas in the region, including the Nundle district.
Well-crystallised zeolite group minerals are found within Cenozoic basalts throughout the region and good crystals of vesuvianite come from the Woodsreef asbestos mine near Barraba. The New England region has also produced a number of mineralogical oddities such as fossil crinoid stems replaced by cassiterite, twisted crystals of stibnite, triangular crystals of calcite, and crystals of pyromorphite on quartz crystals.
Garrawilla-Gunnedah District
Heulandite, Garrawilla, New South Wales.
Stellerite and quartz, Garrawilla, New South Wales. Photo: John Fields © Australian Museum.
The Jurassic-age amygdaloidal basalts of the Garrawilla-Gunnedah district in northern New South Wales contain a number of mineral localities. These have produced some of the most spectacular zeolite group minerals ever found in Australia including heulandite (in a range of colours including orange, deep red and chocolate brown), stellerite/stilbite (both occur together as orange sheaf-like aggregates and are almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye) and analcime. The nearby locality of Mullaley produces very fine stalactitic aggregates of prehnite (including yellow and apple-green colours). It is still possible to collect fine specimens in this region but permission has to be obtained from the property owners to do so.
The Central Copper Belt
As its name implies, the central copper belt occurs in central New South Wales and is a large, elongated, north-south trending region. It contains a large number of mines (both small and large, long abandoned and currently operating), mineral commodities (copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold) and deposit types (sediment-hosted copper deposits, volcanic-hosted copper deposits, alluvial platinum, supergene deposits).
Azurite (7.5 cm x 4.5 cm), Cobar. Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Mimetite (11.5 cm x 9 cm), Elura mine, Cobar, New South Wales. (J. Chapman collection) Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
The Cobar-Mt. Hope field is the largest and longest-lived (from its discovery in the 1890's to the present). It has produced world-class azurite specimens, mainly during the early years of mining. In recent years, the Elura lead-zinc-silver mine has produced specimens of mimetite which are amongst the world's best, fine well-crystallised specimens of native silver (as elongated prismatic wire-like crystals), and cerussite. The CSA copper-lead-zinc mine has produced well-crystallised specimens of pyrite and quartz from fault zones, while in the early days of mining the oxidised zone produced fine specimens of cerussite. The Peak gold mine in the southern part of the field began operating over 10 years ago and occasionally produces well-crystallised native gold specimens. Dumps of the nearby Blue Lode at The Peak produce small but aesthetic specimens of azurite and occasional specimens of native gold enclosed within cerussite. Plates of native copper can still be found in small dumps near the entrance to
the large abandoned Occidental Mine workings. The Mt. Hope mine produced very fine azurite crystal groups some partially replaced by malachite.
Azurite (10 cm x 8 cm), Iodide mine, Mineral Hill, New South Wales. Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Azurite on Pseudomalachite (12 x 10.5 cm), Girilambone Copper mine, Girilambone, New South Wales (J. Chapman collection). Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Azurite (9.5 x 5.5 cm), Girilambone Copper mine, Girilambone, New South Wales (J. Chapman collection). Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Further south, near the town of Condobolin, lies the Mineral Hill mining centre. Unlike the copper deposits of the Cobar mining field, the copper deposits here are hosted within a sequence of altered andesitic volcanic rocks. Mining first began here in the late 1890s but largely ceased by the 1920s until recent modern operations began in the late 1980s. This field has produced some well-crystallised specimens of azurite and cerussite, along with fine microcrystals of malachite, cuprite, chlorargyrite and mimetite.
Some 50 km north of the town of Nyngan lies the Girilambone copper mining centre. Small-scale mining began here in the late 1890s but had stopped by the 1920s. Then about 10 years ago, a large modern mining operation began, exploiting a small but very rich sheet-like deposit of supergene chalcocite. Within the oxidised zone of this deposit, exceptional azurite specimens were found within quartzite lenses, including one small vughy zone that produced superb azurite crystals up to 8 cm in length. At the base of this oxidised zone, large quantities of well-crystallised native copper were found, along with rare but fine specimens of cuprite. However, the deposit was mined-out a few years ago and the open-cut filled-in.
Azurite (6 x 3 cm), Girilambone Copper mine, Girilambone, New South Wales. (J. Chapman collection). Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Native Copper (12 x 10 cm), Girilambone Copper mine, Girilambone, New South Wales. Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
North Parkes Mine
The North Parkes mine, some 28 km north-west of Parkes in central New South Wales has been exploiting a large porphyry copper-gold deposit since the early 1990s. The oxidised zone of the Endeavour 26 open-cut and its dumps have produced specimens of the rare copper phosphate mineral sampleite which must be among the world's best. It has also produced well-crystallised specimens of atacamite and fine micromounts of libethenite, azurite, malachite and baryte.
Entrance to North Parkes Cu-Au mine north-west of Parkes, New South Wales 11/02. Photo: I Graham © Australian Museum.
Doug at low-grade oxide dump North Parkes Cu-Au mine, north-west of Parkes, New South Wales 11/02. Photo: I Graham © Australian Museum.
High grade oxide dump North Parkes Cu-Au mine, north-west of Parkes, New South Wales 11/02. Photo: I Graham © Australian Museum.
Sampleite (view is 8 cm across) Endeavour 26 Open-cut, North Parkes mine, New South Wales. Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Some other mineral localities in New South Wales:
- The basalt quarry at Ardglen, which has produced fine specimens of natrolite for many years, along with fine specimens of calcite, analcime and apophyllite.
- The now covered-over small lead prospects at Kangiara near Yass in southern New South Wales which produced fine olive-green pyromorphite.
- West Bogan mine, Tottenham: pseudomalachite
- The basalt quarries at Peats Ridge and Kulnura have produced fine specimens of natrolite and aragonite, along with fine microcrystals of phillipsite and chabazite.
- Fine smoky quartz crystals have come from the Bathurst-Oberon district.
- The Leadville mines are some 100 km north of Mudgee. They were first worked for lead in the late 1890s, then for pyrite for sulphuric acid production in later years. In the past they produced fine cabinet-size specimens of yellow pyromorphite and pyrite with sphalerite, and good microcrystals of pyromorphite can still be found within the outcropping gossan at the Mount Stewart mine.
- Cadia: native copper, malachite, cuprite and pyrite in magnetite were collected prior to the current gold mining operations.
- Cordillera Mine, Crookwell district: cerussite, azurite, raspite, stolzite, cuprotungstite
- Basalt quarries in the Kyogle district in north-eastern New South Wales have produced fine specimens of calcite and chabazite.
- The Tolwong mines in the steep Shoalhaven Gorge area produced fine specimens of crystallised bournonite with stannite.
- The now-abandoned copper-lead-zinc Woodlawn mine, near Goulburn in southern New South Wales has produced fine specimens of cerussite, malachite, baryte and fine microcrystals of cerussite, malachite, azurite, chlorargyrite, linarite and native silver.
- The Belubulah Caves near Cleifden produced some of the finest calcite crystals ever found in New South Wales, many years ago when collecting within caves was allowed.
- The Yerranderie silver-lead mining field produced galena, pyrargyrite, tetrahedrite, native silver, all associated with ankerite, and unusual Japanese twins of quartz.
- Oberon district: Yetholme and Mt Tennyson: molybdenite, ferrimolybdite; Duckmaloi, Rainville Creek: grossular and andradite garnet, wollastonite, vesuvianite
- The Garibaldi Gold Mine near Lionsville in northern New South Wales produced some fine calcite crystals of exceptionally large size, which were used in optical instruments.
- Gold, as crystallised specimens and nuggets, was found in a variety of locations, including the Mudgee-Bathurst-Orange area, Hill End-Sofala, Braidwood-Majors Creek-Araluen, Gundagai, and Adelong.
Natrolite (10 cm x 6 cm), SRA Quarry, Ardglen, New South Wales. Photo: S Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Pyromorphite, Kangiara, Yass. Photo: G Millen © Australian Museum.
Kulnura Quarry north-west of Gosford, New South Wales, 11/02. Photo: I Graham © Australian Museum.
Pyrite, Mt Stewart. Photo: J Fields © Australian Museum.
Chabazite (var. phacolite) in basalt, Kyogle. Photo: C Bento © Australian Museum.
Calcite from Belubulah Caves.
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Victoria
- Various goldfields active from the mid nineteenth century, especially Ballarat-Bendigo, Clunes, Wedderburn, Rheola, Harrietville, Maryborough, Omeo, Dunolly and Moliagul: occasionally well-crystallised specimens of native gold and abundant gold nuggets.
- Skipton Caves, west of Ballarat: newberyite (in various habits), hannayite, struvite
- Licola, eastern Victoria: quartz (variety: rock crystal)
- Wannon Falls: vivianite
- Costerfield: stibnite
- Various basalt quarries and outcrops in the greater Melbourne region: chabazite, gmelinite, analcime, phillipsite, gonnardite, levyne, offretite, ferrierite, natrolite, aragonite, calcite
- Lake Boga Quarry, northern Victoria: smoky quartz, albite, apatite, ulrichite, saleeite
- Various salt lakes in northern Victoria: gypsum, glauberite
- Moralla, western Victoria: smoky quartz
- Dookie: microcrystals of clinozoisite, ferroaxinite, prehnite, andradite, actinolite, epidote
- Mt. Lady Franklin, Barnawartha: almandine garnet crystals in granite
- Strathbogie Ranges and Tallangallook: quartz (variety: rock crystal)
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Queensland
- Red Dome mine, Chillagoe District: very fine large crystals of cuprite, along with well-crystallised specimens of native copper, azurite and calcite.
- Charters Towers and Gympie gold mining centres: fine well-crystallised specimens of native gold, especially in leaf form.
- Mount Biggenden, near Rockhampton: well-crystallised specimens of calcite, magnetite, bismuthinite and epidote.
- Mount Cobalt, Cloncurry district: very fine felty, pink to deep crimson-red erythrite crystals up to several centimetres long.
- Great Australia mine, Cloncurry: fine, well-crystallised specimens of cuprite and native copper, and excellent micromounts of hentschelite, malachite, connellite etc.
- Mount Glorious mine, Cloncurry district: pseudomalachite, chrysocolla
- Kuridala, Cloncurry district: amethyst
- Mount Elliott mine, near Selwyn: in recent years, this locality has produced some superb specimens of diopside (some completely coated in amethyst crystals), along with amethyst and apatite. In past years it produced fine native copper enclosed in clear gypsum crystals, some of which were of very large size.
- Mungana: the region produced some large, very fine azurite crystals (Girofla and Muldiva mines), and the Dorothy mine produced unusual chrysocolla pseudomorphs after azurite.
- Peak Downs, Clermont: malachite
- Mount Isa mines: pyromorphite, cerussite, azurite, native copper, baryte
- Mount Isa district: dravite tourmaline, ferrocolumbite, staurolite
- Mary Kathleen mining centre: allanite-Ce, andradite garnet, diopside, actinolite, rutile
- Wolfram Camp-Bamford mining centre: molybdenite, native bismuth, bismuthinite, scheelite, wolfram
- Herberton: cassiterite
- Stanthorpe: cassiterite
- Mount Surprise district: topaz, aquamarine
- Mount Garnet: andradite garnet
- Mount Morgan: chalcopyrite, malachite, gold, gypsum
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Tasmania
- Dundas mining district: crocoite, stichtite, cerussite, anglesite, pyromorphite, phosgenite, dundasite
- North-western Cenozoic basalts (Mersey-Forth, south of Sheffield and Doughboys in the far north-west): natrolite, phillipsite, analcime, apophyllite, gmelinite
- Central plateau Cenozoic basalts: chabazite
- Colebrook Hill, north Dundas field: ferroaxinite, datolite
- Renison Bell mine: calcite, dolomite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, siderite, quartz
- Rosebery: baryte, rhodochrosite, boulangerite/jamesonite
- Rossarden-Storeys creek tin fields: cassiterite, apatite
- Mount Bischoff: fluorite, tourmaline, siderite
- Mount Lyell: native copper, chalcopyrite, hematite in quartz
- Mount Cleveland mine: fluorite
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South Australia
- Adelaide district: very fine crystals of quartz (variety: rock crystal) from the Ashton and White Rock quarries in the Adelaide Hills.
- Burra mining centre: malachite, azurite, libethenite
- Moonta mining centre: chalcopyrite on quartz, atacamite, azurite, malachite
- Wallaroo-Kadina mining centre: cuprite, chalcopyrite, atacamite
- North Flinders Ranges: torbernite, autunite (Mount Painter), ilmenite, titanite, and stilbite (Arkaroola Bore), baryte (Oraparinna), malachite/azurite pseudomorphs (Sir Dominic and Daly mines), magnesite (Balcanoona Homestead).
- Reaphook Hill: scholzite, collinsite, parahopeite
- Olary province: chiastolite (Mount Howden, Bimbowrie), conichalcite, clinoclase (Dome Rock), davidite, allanite and ilmenite (Radium Hill, Crockers Well), beryl, apatite, andalusite, staurolite
- Mount Gunson: atacamite, chalcocite, post-mine green gypsum
- Olympic Dam: baryte, chalcopyrite
- Puttapa, southern Flinders Ranges: microcrystals of adamite, willemite, hedyphane
- Avondale near Leigh Creek: wulfenite
- Billy Springs: aurichalcite
- Birdwood: Rutile
- Iron Monarch quarry, Iron Knob: ferroan variscite, hematite on quartz, manganite and a wide range of superb micromounts.
- Kangaroo Island: tourmaline
- Various salt lakes throughout South Australia: gypsum, glauberite
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Northern Territory
- Darwin district (West Arm, Bynoe Harbour, Finniss River): cassiterite, columbite, wolframite
- Areyonga, Gardiner Range: azurite: flattened azurite discs
- Mud Tank, Strangway Range: zircon, apatite
- Harts Range: epidote, diopside, titanite, schorl tourmaline, quartz (various varieties), kyanite, albite, ruby, kornerupine, cordierite, prehnite, grossular and almandine garnet, beryl, muscovite mica
- Browns Prospect, Rum Jungle: malachite, cerussite, pyromorphite
- Evelyn mine, Pine Creek: aurichalcite, hemimorphite, hydrozincite
- Woodcutters mine, Batchelor: cerussite, valentinite
- Tennant Creek: bismuthinite, native bismuth, native copper
- Mount Bonnie: mimetite, duftite
- Sandy Flat pipe, Redbank: cuprite (variety chalcotrichite), malachite
- Uranium mines in the Rum Jungle and Kakadu areas: saleeite, torbernite, autunite, curite, phosphuranylite, threadgoldite
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Western Australia
- Wiluna-Norseman and Kalgoorlie-Boulder goldfields: native gold, calaverite, coloradoite, petzite, hessite, calcite, dolomite, quartz, pyrite, epidote
- Kambalda region: gaspeite, ferrocolumbite, tourmaline, lepidolite mica
- Perseverance mine, Agnew: millerite
- Coolgardie district: Londonderry-Spargoville pegmatites: petalite, amblygonite, spodumene, lepidolite mica, beryl, tourmaline, columbite, cassiterite
- Telfer gold mine: chalcocite, cuprite, native copper
- Cadjebut and Goongewa mines, Fitzroy Crossing: galena, sphalerite, marcasite, calcite
- Argyle diamond mine, the Kimberley Range: diamond crystals
- Pilbara district: tantalite, cassiterite, silicified crocidolite ('tiger eye')
- Mitchell Plateau, the Kimberley Range: epidote
- Whim Creek: wulfenite, malachite/chrysocolla pseudomorphs after azurite
- Northhampton: galena
- Gascoyne district (Yinnietharra): magnetite, dravite and povondraite tourmaline
- Ashburton River: fine amethyst crystals occur at Wyloo
- Boddington gold mine: native copper, cuprite
- Poona: crystals of emerald in biotite mica schist
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