Mount Clifford Ni deposit, Ten Mile Outcamp, Leonora Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Clifford Ni deposit	Deposit
Ten Mile Outcamp	- not defined -
Leonora Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Located 54 km NNW of Leonora.

In the same region as the Perseverence, Mt Keith and other nickel mines between Leonora and Wiluna. The prospect has only been drilled so far (2013), but should mining take place is likely to throw up some interesting nickel related species.

The deposit contains several stratabound lenses of disseminated sulphides, grading at 1.5 to 2.0% Ni, in serpentinised peridotite. Nickel is represented by godlevskite, millerite, heazlewoodite, and pentlandite. There are irregular veins of oxide sulphide and in this is found grains and aggregates of native nickel, all in a serpentinised skeletal textured peridotite. The veins have a core of nickeloan magnetite grading to a rim of ferroan trevorite, a rare spinel species. The spinel is found intergrown with native nickel and heazlewoodite. There is also minor chalcopyrite, bornite, maucherite, and an un-named species close to Ni4S (Sn, Te, Sb) in composition.

The secondary sulphides have developed from weathering and/or low temperature hydrothermal alteration processes. Through this process pentlandite has been replaced by violarite-polydymite and millerite. Godlevskite has been replaced by millerite, heazlewoodite replaced by goldslevskite, in turn replaced by millerite.

Carbonate bearing solutions caused the alteration of the exiting native nickel and heazlewoodite, to an assemblage of native copper, nickel-iron carbonates, nickel and nickel iron hydroxycarbonates and nickel rich silicates. Native nickel-heazelwoodite-ferroan trevorite assemblage has crystallised in hydrothermal solutions containing high Ni and low sulfur, with oxygen, made the nickel iron sulfates and nickel iron alloys unstable, relative to the nickel iron oxides, nickel sulfates, and native nickel.

In 2009 platinum and palladium minerals were found at the base of the 1000 metre thick Komatiite dunite host. The host body is strongly serpentinised olivine adcumulate with accessory chromite. The platinum and palladium is closely associated with the base metal sulfides, but are found in a layer showing little disseminated sulphides.

Exploration markings, and maps indicate the co-ordinates are in the vicinity of the prospect. The line of old shafts 2 kilometres to the south-west is an old gold location called Victory.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References