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Prairie Downs deposit 1, Prairie Downs station, Meekatharra Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Prairie Downs deposit 1 | Deposit |
| Prairie Downs station | Station (farming) |
| Meekatharra Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
24° 24' 25'' South , 119° 18' 41'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
The original listing from Marston, R.J. (1979) lists baryte, calcite, chalcopyrite, galena, gypsum, pyrite and sphalerite. Investigations found a possible answer.
Site 1 is in the southern part of the station as a base metal deposit (Zn, Pb and some baryte). It is assumed Marston was referring to this, and is listed as Prairie Downs deposit 1.
Site 2 is at the northern end of the station, 40 kilometres south-west of Newman, listed as Prairie Downs deposit 2. It may just be within the East Pilbara Shire. The map for this was taken off an exploration company, but is close to the -23, 19 co- ordinates originally listed.
Site 3 is in the middle latitude, just west of the Great Northern Highway as again an iron ore deposit, listed as Prairie Downs deposit 3.
The following was gleaned from the exploration company website about Prairie Downs 1 , and several prospects added. All appear to be anomalies and at the time of writing had been poorly explored.
For the Prairie prospect it was only stated that there was a 2004 JORC resource estimate of 3 Mt @ 5.0 Zn, 1.6 Pb, 15 g/t Ag, with 75% of the resource in the Indicated category.
Ferguson states its is a partly filled quartz fault zone, up to 250 metres wide, dipping steeply north-east, in metamorphosed mafic and komatiitic volcanic rocks of the Fortescue Group, the east side faulted against the Prairie Downs Formation, and west side against arenite and conglomerate, intruded by dolerite.
Köppen climate type:
A large, possibly Sedex Zn deposit on Prairie Downs station, presently poorly explored (2016). The main Zn mineral is baileychlore.
The following was gleaned from the exploration company website about Prairie Downs 1 , and several prospects added. All appear to be anomalies and at the time of writing had been poorly explored.
For the Prairie prospect it was only stated that there was a 2004 JORC resource estimate of 3 Mt @ 5.0 Zn, 1.6 Pb, 15 g/t Ag, with 75% of the resource in the Indicated category.
Ferguson states its is a partly filled quartz fault zone, up to 250 metres wide, dipping steeply north-east, in metamorphosed mafic and komatiitic volcanic rocks of the Fortescue Group, the east side faulted against the Prairie Downs Formation, and west side against arenite and conglomerate, intruded by dolerite.
The zone strikes 2.4 kilometres of galena, sphalerite, and minor chalcopyrite and pyrite in veins, in a shear zone up to 3.6 metres wide and 60 metres long. Irregular veins and stringers in quartz-barite, disseminated sphalerite in volcanic breccia, conglomerate, and massive pods of solid galena-sphalerite.
Explored by Australian Ore and Minerals 1967-1971, India Ocean Resources 1984-1985, and Sovereign Resources 1991.
Marston (1979) states mineralization is irregular in grade and extent, then dismisses it as weak and sporadic.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
9 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 DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Baileychlore Formula: (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| ⓘ Baryte Formula: BaSO4 |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Baileychlore | 9.EC.55 | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| O | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Baileychlore | (Zn,Fe2+,Al,Mg)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Western Australia
- Collier BasinBasin
- Warakurna Large Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- West Australian ElementCraton
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- West Australian Craton
- Capricorn OrogenOrogenic Belt
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