Caruso Mine, Mount Palmer, Mount Riddock Station, Harts Range, Central Desert Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Caruso Mine	Mine
Mount Palmer	Mountain
Mount Riddock Station	Mountain
Harts Range	Mountain Range
Central Desert Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

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An abandoned mica mine. Specimens possible to obtain from the dump are muscovite, biotite, clear, smoky and rose quartz, amethyst, beryl, schorl, garnet, graphic pegmatite, pink feldspar, blue quartz, and yellow-green mica. Also found is limonite pseudomorphed from cubic pyrite known as 'devil's dice'. The mine requires a long steep walk over Mount Palmer to its western side. Ruby and white mica with some showing inclusions of quartz , beryl, and some quartz with schorl inclusions up to 12 cms long and 3 cms thick is found. The pegmatite is said to be large.

The mine was owned and worked by a syndicate of three Italian miners, including Eugenio (Gigetto) Vendramini in the late 1930's and early 1940's. It was noted for 5 months until mid June 1942, they had extracted 1100 lbs of mica, of which 812 lbs was of good quality. By this stage most of the mica bearing pegmatite had been stoped out above the lowest adit. Two shafts, at 15 and 20 feet had been sunk below the lowest adit, but little mica was found. By the second half of 1942 the mine had been abandoned, the workings described as dangerous.

This did not seem to put off a new Italian syndicate, who applied for the lease in 1947, consisting of Oreste Zanol, L'ietro Pizzinato, and Natale Pizzinato. The mine is noted as active in 1951. It is likely it was active at other times earlier, but no more information was found.

Mineral List

4 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded