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Tulu Kapi gold mine, West Welega Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Tulu Kapi gold mine | Mine |
| West Welega Zone | Zone |
| Oromia Region | Region |
| Ethiopia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude:
9° North , 35° East (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~121km
Type:
Deposit first discovered:
1930 (approx.)
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
ኦሮምያ?; Tulu Kapi gold deposit; Tulu Kapi
The Tulu Kapi gold deposit is an open pit mine and is located in the West Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, about 9 km south of the village of Kelley, which is on the main Gimbi to Dembi Dollo road. The small town of Ayra is about 20 km to the west.
At the end of the 1930s, during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, the Italian mining company SAPIE carried out small-scale surface hydro-mining on easily accessible gold‐bearing saprolite on the flanks of the Tulu Kapi deposit.
The earliest modern exploration of the Tulu Kapi area took place in the 1970s under the guidance of the United Nations Development Project. The Tulu Kapi exploration licence was granted to Minerva Resources in May 2005, prior to the acquisition of the project by Dwyka Resources Limited (subsequently renamed to Nyota Minerals Ethiopia Ltd.) in August 2009. The Tulu Kapi mining license is now owned by KEFI Minerals, who bought 100% of the license by 2014.
The Tulu Kapi region, which lies in the northern sector of Arabian-Nubian Shield, is characterized by prominent hills of intrusive rocks and deeply incised valleys containing metasediments and metavolcanic rocks.
Primary gold at the Tulu Kapi deposit is hosted in quartz-albite alteration zones as stacked sub-horizontal lenses in a syenite pluton into which a swarm of dolerite dykes and sills have been intruded. Gold mineralisation extends over a 1,500 m x 400 m zone. The mineralisation is characterised by a simple mineralogy comprising gold, silver, pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena.
At the end of the 1930s, during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, the Italian mining company SAPIE carried out small-scale surface hydro-mining on easily accessible gold‐bearing saprolite on the flanks of the Tulu Kapi deposit.
The earliest modern exploration of the Tulu Kapi area took place in the 1970s under the guidance of the United Nations Development Project. The Tulu Kapi exploration licence was granted to Minerva Resources in May 2005, prior to the acquisition of the project by Dwyka Resources Limited (subsequently renamed to Nyota Minerals Ethiopia Ltd.) in August 2009. The Tulu Kapi mining license is now owned by KEFI Minerals, who bought 100% of the license by 2014.
The Tulu Kapi region, which lies in the northern sector of Arabian-Nubian Shield, is characterized by prominent hills of intrusive rocks and deeply incised valleys containing metasediments and metavolcanic rocks.
Primary gold at the Tulu Kapi deposit is hosted in quartz-albite alteration zones as stacked sub-horizontal lenses in a syenite pluton into which a swarm of dolerite dykes and sills have been intruded. Gold mineralisation extends over a 1,500 m x 400 m zone. The mineralisation is characterised by a simple mineralogy comprising gold, silver, pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) |
| ⓘ Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS |
| ⓘ 'Biotite' Formula: K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| ⓘ Bornite Formula: Cu5FeS4 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ Epidote Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au References: |
| ⓘ Native Silver Formula: Ag |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
| ⓘ 'Tetrahedrite Group' Formula: M2(A6)M1(B4 C2)X3(D4)S1(Y12)S2(Z) |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| ⓘ | Native Silver | 1.AA.05 | Ag |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Bornite | 2.BA.15 | Cu5FeS4 |
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Epidote | 9.BG.05a | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Biotite' | - | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| ⓘ | 'Tetrahedrite Group' | - | M2(A6)M1(B4 C2)X3(D4)S1(Y12)S2(Z) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| H | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| O | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| S | ⓘ Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| S | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Group | M2(A6)M1(B4 C2)X3(D4)S1(Y12)S2(Z) |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Fe | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Ag | Silver | |
| Ag | ⓘ Native Silver | Ag |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
AfricaContinent
- East African Rift System (EARS)Zone (Tectonic)
African PlateTectonic Plate
- Arabian-Nubian Shield
- Nakfa TerraneVolcanic Arc
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Tulu Kapi gold mine, West Welega Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia