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Cat's Whiskers project (Cat's Whiskers Mine; Eldorado An.4), Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai
Regional Level Types
Cat's Whiskers project (Cat's Whiskers Mine; Eldorado An.4)Project
Tennant CreekCreek
Barkly RegionRegion
Northern TerritoryTerritory
AustraliaCountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
19° 41' 59'' South , 134° 12' 8'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
-19.69988,134.20246
GeoHash:
G#: qurrvverb
GRN:
S14E89
Type:
Project
Köppen climate type:
BWh : Hot deserts climate
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Tennant Creek3,889 (2012)5.7km
Mindat Locality ID:
106805
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:106805:7
GUID (UUID V4):
0


Map sheets: Tennant Creek 250K Map; Tennant Creek 100K Map.
Coordinates: 416300mE, 7821300mN.
Longitude = 134.201364
Latitude = -19.701915

Cat's Whiskers is an historic gold mine, 4 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, and 2 kilometres east of the Stuart Highway. The Eldorado gold mine (mineral leases C15-C16) is 500 metres to the west.

Mining was conducted from 1938 to 1941 producing 398 tonnes of ore at 9 g/t Au. Rudolph Schmidt and John (Jack) Noble were confirmed as taking out the lease in 1934, however lost it through forfeiture two years later. Schmidt and Carl Heinrich Johann re-applied for the lease in 1941. Schmidt was heavily involved investing in the Tennant Creek Goldfield as part of the Tennant Creek Development Company Limited.

Merloo Gold Mines NL took an option over the lease in 1949. The lease was granted to Eldorado Tennant Creek Pty Ltd in 1956 for 21 years. This company was liquidated in 1972, the lease acquired by Geopeko, then 1992 Normandy Tennant Creek Pty Ltd. In 2001 Giants Reef Mining Limited acquired this company and the lease, renaming Normandy Santexco as a wholly owned subsidiary of Giants Reef Mining.

Giants Reef Mining Limited contracted Craig's Mining Services in 2004 to conduct a small underground gold mining operation, of high grade gold found on the Footwall. The source states much ancient 'rubbish' was removed from the site at this time.

The deposit contains a narrow sinuous east-west trending ironstone body of hematite, much magnetite and minor quartz, dipping 75 degrees north, plunging gently east, within a north north-west trending shear zone. The ironstone is fractured, rubbly and vuggy, with an alteration halo of chlorite-hematite and sporadic silica.

Copper and bismuth values are found, but only gold has proven economic. Gold can be high grade, but is patchy. Most recent gold was found in a small high grade area along the Footwall. The deposit is hosted by sedimentary rocks of the Warramunga Formation, including phyllite, greywacke, siltstone, sandstone and mudstone.

No infrastructure remains, but there is an adit, small pit, shaft, trench, and mullock heaps from historic workings. Nearby ironstone outcrops are culturally significant.


Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

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 Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Bismuthinite
Formula: Bi2S3
ⓘ Bismutite
Formula: (BiO)2CO3
ⓘ Bornite
Formula: Cu5FeS4
ⓘ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
ⓘ 'Chlorite Group'
ⓘ Chrysocolla
Formula: Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
ⓘ Cuprite
Formula: Cu2O
ⓘ Hematite
Formula: Fe2O3
ⓘ 'Limonite'
ⓘ Magnetite
Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘ Malachite
Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
ⓘ 'Manganese Oxides'
ⓘ Native Gold
Formula: Au
ⓘ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
ⓘ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
ⓘ Talc
Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘNative Gold1.AA.05Au
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘBornite2.BA.15Cu5FeS4
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘBismuthinite2.DB.05Bi2S3
ⓘPyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘCuprite4.AA.10Cu2O
ⓘMagnetite4.BB.05Fe2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘHematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘMalachite5.BA.10Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
ⓘBismutite5.BE.25(BiO)2CO3
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘTalc9.EC.05Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
ⓘChrysocolla9.ED.20Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
Unclassified
ⓘ'Chlorite Group'-
ⓘ'Limonite'-
ⓘ'Manganese Oxides'-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ ChrysocollaCu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
Hⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Hⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
CCarbon
Cⓘ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3
Cⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3
Oⓘ ChrysocollaCu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
Oⓘ CupriteCu2O
Oⓘ HematiteFe2O3
Oⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Oⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
MgMagnesium
Mgⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
AlAluminium
Alⓘ ChrysocollaCu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
SiSilicon
Siⓘ ChrysocollaCu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
Siⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
SSulfur
Sⓘ BismuthiniteBi2S3
Sⓘ BorniteCu5FeS4
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ PyriteFeS2
FeIron
Feⓘ BorniteCu5FeS4
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Feⓘ HematiteFe2O3
Feⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Feⓘ PyriteFeS2
CuCopper
Cuⓘ BorniteCu5FeS4
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Cuⓘ ChrysocollaCu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1
Cuⓘ CupriteCu2O
Cuⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
AuGold
Auⓘ Native GoldAu
BiBismuth
Biⓘ BismuthiniteBi2S3
Biⓘ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australia
Australian PlateTectonic Plate

This page 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. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Haddock 1975.
Norris 1980.
Northern Standard newspaper (Darwin) (1934) Officer of the Administrator. Darwin. 26/05/1934, 01/06/1934.
Western Argus newspaper (Kalgoorlie) (1936) A Mining Sensation on the Tennant Creek Goldfield. Forfeiture of Rich Leases Sought, 23/06/1936.
Northern Standard newspaper (Darwin) (1941) Notice of Application for a Gold Mining Lease GML 83E, 05/08/1941.
Dunn, P.G., Yeaman, W.S. (1964) Minor Metalliferous Investigations Tennant Creek Goldfield Northern Territory, Department of National Development/Bureau of Mineral Resources Geology and Geophysics, Commonwealth of Australia, Record 1964/186.
Dunn, P.G. (1964) Diamond Drilling Results Cat’s Whiskers Prospect, Tennant Creek. Bureau of Mineral Resources Australia. Record 1964/22.
Giants Reef Mining Limited (2004) Development of High Grade Edna Beryl and Cat's Whiskers Deposits Commences Immediately, 21/01/2004.
Cahill, J.L., Russell, S.C. (2004) Mineral Leases C15-C16 & C528-C529, Cat's Whiskers. Annual Report 31 December 2001 - 31 December 2003, Giants Reef Exploration, March 2004.
(2023) Mineral Occurrence Database (MODAT), Northern Territory Geological Survey.
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