Prairie Downs deposit 1, Prairie Downs station, Meekatharra Shire, Western Australia, Australia
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 24° 24' 25'' South , 119° 18' 41'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -24.40714,119.31152 |
| GeoHash: | G#: qesv5hb40 |
| Locality type: | Deposit |
| Kim 2016- more information is needed on this site. At the time of investigation three sites had been listed on Mindat as a Prairie Downs deposit on the station. The locations given were (-) 24.4071379177-119.311523438; (-) 24.0865892582-119.091796875; and (-) 23.71666667-119.28333333. The original listing from Marston, R.J. (1979) lists baryte, calcite, chalcopyrite, galena, gypsum, pyrite and sphalerite. Investigations found a possible answer. Site 1 is in the southern part of the station as a base metal deposit (Zn, Pb and some baryte). It is assumed Marston was referring to this, and is listed as Prairie Downs deposit 1. Site 2 is at the northern end of the station, 40 kilometres south-west of Newman, listed as Prairie Downs deposit 2. It may just be within the East Pilbara Shire. The map for this was taken off an exploration company, but is close to the -23, 19 co- ordinates originally listed. Site 3 is in the middle latitude, just west of the Great Northern Highway as again an iron ore deposit, listed as Prairie Downs deposit 3. The following was gleaned from the exploration company website about Prairie Downs 1 , and several prospects added. All appear to be anomalies and at the time of writing had been poorly explored. For the Prairie prospect it was only stated that there was a 2004 JORC resource estimate of 3 Mt @ 5.0 Zn, 1.6 Pb, 15 g/t Ag, with 75% of the resource in the Indicated category. Ferguson states its is a partly filled quartz fault zone, up to 250 metres wide, dipping steeply north-east, in metamorphosed mafic and komatiitic volcanic rocks of the Fortescue Group, the east side faulted against the Prairie Downs Formation, and west side against arenite and conglomerate, intruded by dolerite. | |
| Köppen climate type: | BWh : Hot deserts climate |
A large, possibly Sedex Zn deposit on Prairie Downs station, presently poorly explored (2016). The main Zn mineral is baileychlore.
The following was gleaned from the exploration company website about Prairie Downs 1 , and several prospects added. All appear to be anomalies and at the time of writing had been poorly explored.
For the Prairie prospect it was only stated that there was a 2004 JORC resource estimate of 3 Mt @ 5.0 Zn, 1.6 Pb, 15 g/t Ag, with 75% of the resource in the Indicated category.
Ferguson states its is a partly filled quartz fault zone, up to 250 metres wide, dipping steeply north-east, in metamorphosed mafic and komatiitic volcanic rocks of the Fortescue Group, the east side faulted against the Prairie Downs Formation, and west side against arenite and conglomerate, intruded by dolerite.
The zone strikes 2.4 kilometres of galena, sphalerite, and minor chalcopyrite and pyrite in veins, in a shear zone up to 3.6 metres wide and 60 metres long. Irregular veins and stringers in quartz-barite, disseminated sphalerite in volcanic breccia, conglomerate, and massive pods of solid galena-sphalerite.
Explored by Australian Ore and Minerals 1967-1971, India Ocean Resources 1984-1985, and Sovereign Resources 1991.
Marston (1979) states mineralization is irregular in grade and extent, then dismisses it as weak and sporadic.
Mineral List
9 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramRegional Geology
This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.
Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org
| Mesoproterozoic 1000 - 1600 Ma ID: 3193042 | Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks Age: Mesoproterozoic (1000 - 1600 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Bangemall Group Comments: Bangemall Basin Lithology: Carbonate,shale,sandstone Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154] |
| Stenian - Ectasian 1000 - 1400 Ma ID: 811928 | Calyie Formation Age: Mesoproterozoic (1000 - 1400 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Calyie Formation Description: Recrystallised fine to coarse sandstone, in places glauconitic, with lesser interbedded siltstone, granule to pebble conglomerate, shale, mudstone, dolostone, pebbly sandstone, minor chert and dolostone Comments: sedimentary siliciclastic; argillaceous detrital sediment; synthesis of multiple published descriptions Lithology: Sedimentary siliciclastic; argillaceous detrital sediment Reference: Raymond, O.L., Liu, S., Gallagher, R., Zhang, W., Highet, L.M. Surface Geology of Australia 1:1 million scale dataset 2012 edition. Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia). [5] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
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