Kosminsky Mine, Dundas mineral field, Zeehan mining district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Kosminsky Mine	Mine
Dundas mineral field	Group of Workingses
Zeehan mining district	Mining District
West Coast municipality	Municipality
Tasmania	State
Australia	Country

The Kosminsky mine (sometimes incorrectly spelt Kozminsky or Kosminski) is situated between the Comet-Maestri and the South Comet mines, on the south side of Kosminsky Hill, about 3.5 km from Dundas. First pegged in 1890 by James Davis, it was taken over by Abraham Kosminsky later that same year. Despite having no less than eleven lessees, operating over a fifty year period, being opened by adits on three levels and followed by a shaft, the total output is estimated at only 20 t of ore, containing 480 ounces (13.6 kg) of silver and 10 t of lead (Blissett, 1962). The main adit is near the South Comet Creek, and the main shaft is about a kilometre to the north, near the top of Kosminsky Hill.

Two parallel ore bodies, composed of galena, sphalerite, quartz, siderite, pyrite and minor chalcopyrite, occur as veins in black Cambrian slates. These outcrop in South Comet Creek, which marks the northern end of the Great South Comet lode, and are a probable faulted continuation of that lode. The lodes, up to 400 m long, strike NW and dip 65^o SW.

Attractive crocoite and pyromorphite associations, and some mimetite, were collected from the nearby Platt prospect in the 1960’s and mistakenly described as being from this mine (P. Andersen, unpublished; https://www.mindat.org/article.php/4265/Dundas+mineralogy%3A+N-Z). These are still commonly mislabeled in many collections. There is, however, no definitive evidence for any significant secondary mineralisation in the Kosminsky lodes, and it is most likely that most of the pyromorphite-bearing specimens collected from Dundas actually came from Platt’s Prospect. Liggins (1982) recorded the predominant crocoite crystal forms as being identical in specimens with either label.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

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