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Cockatoo Island Mine, Buccaneer Archipelago, Derby-West Kimberley Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Cockatoo Island Mine | Mine |
| Buccaneer Archipelago | - not defined - |
| Derby-West Kimberley Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
16° 5' 31'' South , 123° 37' 15'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
An iron mine closed before 1985. Owned by Broken Hill Proprietary.
Located 140 kilometres north of Derby in the Buccaneer Archipelago.
Iron ore was discovered here in 1880. It first came to the attention of pearlers, who used iron stone from the beaches as ballast for their boats. Large scale mining of the iron ore was started by BHP in 1951. The mine closed in 1984, after the ore body had been mined to sea level. One side of the island was composed of almost pure hematite. Workers at the mine claimed you could weld the rocks together.
From the 1990s to present (2012),several small companies have been involved in re-opening the mine. A sea wall was built and mining is happening below sea level.
Mining is concentrated in the high iron ore grades found in the Yampi Member. It forms a band within layers of sandstones. The Yampi Member is found in the upper levels of the Pentecost Sandstone, and contains dark grey hematite, magnetite quartz sandstone, and quartz pebble conglomerate. At Cockatoo Island the Yampi Member is virtually pure hematite.
The Yampi Member is 1880-1760 Ma. It shows as matrix hematite, and hematite grains in sandstone, minor feldspar sandstone, numerous thin phyllite and occasional basal conglomerate, all overlying the Elgee Siltstone.
The mine can be seen by air from sea plane from Broome and Derby on the way to nearby scenic attractions. Expensive small scale luxury cruises also take place in the area.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
3 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 DiagramGallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.00. | Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- North Australian ElementCraton
- Northern Territory
- Kalkarindji Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- Western Australia
- Kimberley BasinBasin
- King Leopold OrogenOrogen
- Hooper ProvinceGeologic Province
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- North Australian Craton
- Kimberley CratonShield
Indian OceanOcean
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Cockatoo Island Mine, Buccaneer Archipelago, Derby-West Kimberley Shire, Western Australia, Australia