Prominent Hill Copper, Gold, Silver, Uranium mine Compliance Report 2017 - Mining Lease 6228 & Assoc. Tenements.
Created: 07 Nov 2024 Revised: 07 Nov 2024

PROMINENT HILL, Cu-Au-Ag-(Co-U-La-Ce) deposit discovered under ~100m of cover sediment. Initial target was a near coincident magnetic and gravity feature. The gravity anomaly had an overall east pointing "V" form, with a 1km long N arm trending...

PROMINENT HILL, Cu-Au-Ag-(Co-U-La-Ce) deposit discovered under ~100m of cover sediment. Initial target was a near coincident magnetic and gravity feature. The gravity anomaly had an overall east pointing "V" form, with a 1km long N arm trending WNW-ESE, with associated magnetic anomaly, and 2km long main mineralised S arm trending WSW-ENE, and with no magnetic expression. N arm is ~500m N of the orebody, and across a Hangingwall Fault. It represents a package of magnetite-chlorite-tremolite-phlogopite altered metasomatic 'skarn-like' altered calc-silicate/carbonate-rich metamorphics intercalated with highly altered, intermediate, porphyritic intrusives and chlorite matrix tectonic breccias. The ore deposit comprises several phases of hematite alteration with associated sericite, clay minerals and chlorite, hosted by a N-dipping series of interbedded lithic sandstone and greywacke, siltstone, coarse grained sedimentary and volcanic breccias, and dolostone. Mineralisation is relatively late stage and overprints at least one phase of massive hematite replacement of the breccias. In the open pit, individual bodies of breccia occur as a series of strata-bound, steeply dipping, tabular EW-trending sheets and W-plunging shoots, collectively bound to the N by dolostone/Hangingwall Fault Zone and to the S by volcanics. Host rocks are intensely altered by hematite-sericite-chlorite-carbonate (±quartz ±barite ±fluorite ± REE phosphate). Cu mineralisation occurs as fine grained disseminations of chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite in breccia matrices, and to a lesser extent within clasts of hematite-rich breccia. Cu sulphides display a variety of intergowth, replacement and infill textures including chalcocite-bornite and replacement of early formed pyrite. Current weight of evidence indicates mineralisation originated through relatively passive infiltration of hydrothermal fluids and metasomatism localised by porosity within a sequence of coarse grained sedimentary breccia. Cu and Au mineralisation was paragenetically very late in the sequence. Geochemical trends suggest a strong relationship between gold mineralisation (in the copper-rich zones of the deposit) and REE phosphate. Mineralisation age 1585 +/- 8Ma (zircon, U-Pb). Mineralisation appears to be zoned from an upper Au-rich zone, down to a Cu-Au +/- U with chalcopyrite and bornite. Uraninite is with late stage fluorite, La and Ce are enriched throughout, reaching grades of 0.2-0.6%. Production from late February 2009 to June 2017 is estimated from company reports at 110 Mtonne ore mined for 87 Mtonne ore treated for production of 1.75 Mtonne copper concentrate, for recovery of 939,611 tonne copper metal, 1,138,557 oz gold, and 6.87 Moz silver. Remaining resource as of July 2016 as reported by OZ Minerals was, for copper resource estimate, 148 Mtonne at 1.2%Cu, 0.6g/tAu, 2.9g/tAg, and for gold resource estimate, 25 Mtonne at 0.1%Cu, 1.3g/tAu, and 1.6g/tAg. The figures are inclusive of 20Mt combined copper + gold ore surface stockpiles. Cut off copper grade for open pit is 0.25% Cu.

More +

About this record

Record No mesac27532
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type Earth Sciences
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mining Operation Compliance
Contributor
Sponsor
Tenement
Tenement Holder
Operator Oz Minerals
Geological Province
    Mine Name Prominent Hill
    Stratigraphy
    Commodity
      Notes
      Doc No: MCR 3677403

      Doc No: MCR 3677403

      Language English
      Metadata Standard ISO 19115-3

      Citations

      Use constraints License
      License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
      Persistent identifier https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac27532
      Citation Prominent Hill Copper, Gold, Silver, Uranium mine Compliance Report 2017 - Mining Lease 6228 & Assoc. Tenements. Mineral Company Report - Mining Operation Compliance
      https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac27532

      Technical information

      Status
      Maintenance and Update Frequency
      Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
      Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[135.5,-30],[136,-30],[136,-29.5],[135.5,-29.5],[135.5,-30]]]}
      Purpose
      
                          
                          
      
                          
                        
      Lineage