The Burra Burra (sic) copper mine is located in complexly folded Torrensian dolomites and limestones forming the faulted axial region of a major anticline. The orebody formerly mined was largely of secondary origin and confined between two faults,...
The Burra Burra (sic) copper mine is located in complexly folded Torrensian dolomites and limestones forming the faulted axial region of a major anticline. The orebody formerly mined was largely of secondary origin and confined between two faults, Kingston's on the west and Tinline's on the east. It occurred at the junction between cherty dolomites and a clastic limestone having a large mass of marble breccia along its western margin. Secondary ore consisted of carbonates and oxides occurring in the breccia and in the highly weathered clastic limestone "ore bed", plus detrital copper minerals forming part of a clastic breccia deposited within sinkholes and solution cavities in the dolomites and ore bed. Primary sulphides occur disseminated within the marble breccia and in stratiform habit within the ore bed. Kingston's so-called 'lode' may be mineralised marble breccia. The marble breccia appears to be of diapiric or sedimentary origin, and there is evidence to support a sedimentary origin for some of the copper sulphides. No igneous rocks have been discovered within 20 miles of the mine, and any hydrothermal activities probably occurred at comparatively low temperature. The possible existence of extensive stratiform and disseminated copper sulphide mineralisation in the marble breccia and ore bed requires testing by further drilling and geophysical surveys.
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