Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/109702
Type: | Thesis |
Title: | Mineralogy and petrography of primary copper mineralisation from Moonta Mines |
Author: | Cameron, D. |
Issue Date: | 2014 |
School/Discipline: | School of Physical Sciences |
Abstract: | Samples of massive bornite- and chalcopyrite ore from the Moonta and Wallaroo Mines, originally collected by Erica Maud McBriar for her M.Sc. thesis in 1962, have been investigated to determine mineralogical and petrographic relationships between co-existing minerals. Much is known about the mining history of Moonta-Wallaroo but few previous studies have attempted to characterise the mineralization itself and compare it with that present elsewhere. Results show that massive copper ores from the Moonta and Wallaroo Mines share a number of mineralogical and textural similarities with other IOCG systems in the Olympic Cu-Au Province. Other mineralogical features, such as the abundant pyrrhotite, appear to be a reflection of unusually reduced conditions, although late, superposed hematite infers a shift towards oxidized conditions in the final stages of mineralization. The replacement of bornite by chalcopyrite and of chalcopyrite by bornite, even in the same sample is suggestive of multiple episodes of ore crystallization, possibly during a single protracted event. The observations do not contradict established models of ore genesis in which the Moonta orebodies are the products of structurally-controlled IOCG-style mineralization. Ore-forming fluids were likely derived from ~1.6 Ga Hiltaba Suite intrusives and driven along shear zones. The study, based around polished sections prepared from precious sample material collected more than 50 years ago contribute to a genetic model that takes account of the diversity of mineralization styles, which can assist with ongoing exploration in the Moonta-Wallaroo area. |
Dissertation Note: | Thesis (B.Sc.(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 2014 |
Where: | Gawler Craton, northern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
Keywords: | Honours; Geology; IOCG; Moonta-Wallaroo; petrology; sulphide mineralization; alteration |
Description: | This item is only available electronically. |
Provenance: | This electronic version is made publicly available by the University of Adelaide in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. This thesis may incorporate third party material which has been used by the author pursuant to Fair Dealing exceptions. If you are the author of this thesis and do not wish it to be made publicly available, or you are the owner of any included third party copyright material you wish to be removed from this electronic version, please complete the take down form located at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/legals |
Appears in Collections: | School of Physical Sciences |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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01frontGeoHon.pdf | 480.83 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open | |
02wholeGeoHon.pdf | 4 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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