Parkinson Gold Mine (Star Pit), Boogardie Goldfield, Mount Magnet, Mount Magnet Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Parkinson Gold Mine (Star Pit)	Mine
Boogardie Goldfield	Ore Field
Mount Magnet	Mountain
Mount Magnet Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The deposit was discovered in 1986 by Metana Minerals NL, inamongst the historic workings of other gold mines from the 1890's.

Most gold production (80%) on the Boogardie field has been from banded iron formations, however 20% like the Parkinson Pit has been from quartz-carbonate-tourmaline assemblages.

Mining commenced in 1987 with a resource of 3.1 mt at 3.2 g/t Au. Mining ended in 2002. The pit was amalgamated with the adjacent Hill 50 pit. Parkinsons is 3 kilometres east south-east of Hill 50, and 3 kilometres north of Water Tank Hill.

There was no outcropping of this deposit, and was missed by the old timers. It is covered by soil and tailings from other nearby mining activity. There are discrete zones starting from the top of calcrete, Na and Ca mica rich and Fe assemblages, chlorite-dolomite assemblages, then unweathered pyrite-dolomite-siderite bearing rocks.

It is situated on the eastern limb of the Boogardie Synform. This has a series of north north-east trending faults called the Boogardie Breaks. A major one called the Golden Stream Fault traverses the deposit.

The deposit is hosted by foliated mafic and felsic rocks with minor chert. The mafic volcanic rocks are altered to carbonate-chlorite-sericite- quartz assemblages, with some disseminated sulphides and veined by quartz, carbonate and quartz-carbonate-tourmaline. Felsic rocks occur in the south-west part of the pit of quartz-sericite-chlorite-carbonate, with some albite phenocrysts.

The gold is fine grained and associated with pyrite, molybdenite, stibnite, and pyrrhotite. Gold is found in pyrite, and rare Ag rich grains. The veins are less than 20 mm wide, but surrounded by 0.2 metres of wall rocks also containing pyrite and gold. Where the veins form concentrated zones is the points of economic mineralisation. The Parkinson Pit has six zones named Parkinson, Grose, Broken Bond, Eastcomer, Thurkle and Latecomer. They dip steeply, are up to 50 metres long, 2.20 metres wide, and are down to at least 200 metres, north trending.

The Mindat co-ordinates are approximate.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References