Giles Columbite-Beryl Pegmatite (Giles Prospect), Spargoville, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Giles Columbite-Beryl Pegmatite (Giles Prospect)	Pegmatite
Spargoville	- not defined -
Coolgardie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

2.5 km south of town. Columbite pit. Former MC 9 (and current P 15/4298) licence.

This small columbite-beryl pegmatite has produced arguably the world's best ferrocolumbite crystals. The limited mining and small numbers of specimens produced has meant they are some of the more expensive specimens from Western Australia, when available at all.

Although it is located only about 1 kilometre west of the main Kalgoorlie-Norseman Highway, the maze of unmarked tracks and thick scrub, means it is difficult to find. The track to the mine is 47 kilometres south of Coolgardie, then head along tracks in a north west direction.

The deposit was discovered by prospector A. S. Giles in 1931, and he conducted limited columbite and beryl mining at the site. A number of lease holders mined 3 300 kilograms of columbite from here between 1952 to 1955. Later lease holders from 1966 to 1978 were more interested in exploring the surrounding area for nickel, and took little interest in the pegmatite. In 1984, Kargara Zinc Ltd began mining columbite at the site. The first specimen mining was undetaken by Frank Doedins in 1993, and older specimens may come with the name Two Dons Mine, which is the name they were marketed under at the time. After this brief period, the mine fell silent again, until 2003 when Benjamin Nicolson and Darren Allingham of Kalgoorlie again began mining for columbite specimens, which they sold at the 2004 Tuscon Show. They then filled the pit with rubble, and no mining has taken place since.

The Giles pegmatite 330 metres long and up to 45 metres in width, dipping 30-50 degrees to the east. The zones are albite-quartz-muscovite, microcline-quartz, and quartz-spodumene-microcline. Outstanding rectangular shaped crystals have been found in the albite zone. White to light green beryl crystals have also come from the mine.

Following some further mining for beryl for a short time in 2012, the pit has been largely covered over, and nearby shaft filled in.

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