Copper Show Mine, Hatches Creek Wolfram Field, Hatches Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Copper Show Mine	Mine
Hatches Creek Wolfram Field	- not defined -
Hatches Creek	Creek
Barkly Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The Copper Show wolfram and copper mine is a far south-west outlier location on the Hatches Creek wolfram field. To reach follow the same direction as the Hit or Miss Mindat locality. However where the track turns north up the gully 500 metres before the Hit or Miss mine, turn west onto a faint track. This continues directly west, crossing a small dry creek several times. The creek dies out, but the track continues west crossing a further gully twice, and at this point turns south-west a short distance to a compact group of workings. The track is likely diabolical.

Copper Show mine contains a small number of quartz reefs in a strong shear zone with a south-east trend (the workings indicate east south-east). Ryan criticised mining at the location as dis-organised, haphazard, creating a warren of shallow shafts, with short drives and stopes, many collapsed even when inspected in the mid 1950's, due to heavy ground, and termites munching through the timbering. Green's Shaft and Shirley's Shaft are named, out of twelve that were at the location, ranging in depth from 20 to 80 feet.

It was taken out in 1916, labelled at the time as 'Warnes Wolfram Show'. By 1938, little development had taken place at the location, but some ore was taken out with Chinese labour during World War 2 (see main Hatches Creek sub-heading article). To the mid 1950's, there was little further development.

The site contains two main quartz reefs, and a few minor ones, in a wide shear zone, containing a few open cuts, in volcanic rock, and mica schist, containing small sedimentary lenses within. The main reefs have an average width of 24 inches. These are north of a line of quartzite lenses, and west of the intersection of two large faults, striking north-east and north-west.

The lodes contain the highest proportion of secondary copper minerals on the Hatches Creek field. Species found are malachite, azurite, chrysocolla, chalcocite, and in addition wolframite, scheelite, tungstite, bornite, limonite, muscovite, possibly fuchsite, bismite, and cupro-tungstite.
While there is abundant secondary mineralisation, the workings never reached a depth to intersect primary mineralisation which remains unknown.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References