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Digger Rocks Ni Mine (Diggers Rock; South Endeavour), Kondinin Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
Regional Level Types
Digger Rocks Ni Mine (Diggers Rock; South Endeavour)Mine
Kondinin ShireShire
Western AustraliaState
AustraliaCountry

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PhotosMapsSearch
06679010017272250163950.jpg
Digger Rocks Mine

Digger Rocks Ni Mine, Kondinin Shire, Western Australia, Australia
06679010017272250163950.jpg
Digger Rocks Mine

Digger Rocks Ni Mine, Kondinin Shire, Western Australia, Australia
04829600017272041819973.jpg
Digger Rocks Mine

Digger Rocks Ni Mine, Kondinin Shire, Western Australia, Australia
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
32° 42' 57'' South , 119° 48' 22'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
-32.71592,119.80625
GRN:
S22E73
Type:
Mine
Köppen climate type:
BSk : Cold semi-arid (steppe) climate
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Lake King222 (2013)42.9km
Mindat Locality ID:
122818
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:122818:5
GUID (UUID V4):
0


Located 82 km east south east of Hyden, 98 km away from the village of Ravensthorpe and 5 km south east of South Ironcap Hill.
Note: "Diggers Rock" seems to be a misnomer.

The Forrestania Region is found just beyond the eastern limits of the Wheatbelt. The area is heathland, with salmon gum woodland in low lying areas. The region contains no towns.

Several nickel deposits occur here, controlled by a company called Western Areas NL. They obtained leases for the area in 1993. The Flying Fox Mine opened in 2008, followed by the Spotted Quoll Mine, and construction of a nickel concentration plant in 2010. Three more mines are planned, including Digger Rocks South, although no activity could be seen when visited in 2011. Major mineralisation also occurs at Cosmic Boy and New Morning, with several other prospects including Liquid Acrobat, Mt Hope, Beautiful Sunday, Carr Boyd, Seagull and Ratbat.

Digger Rocks is an abandoned open pit, with waste rock piles at the entrance. Little could be seen in this, as far as secondary nickel species.

The mine is hosted by the Forrestania Greenstone Belt, which is a south south-east trending continuation of the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt to the north.

Digger Rocks and Digger Rocks South are on the same lode. Both are located on a base, complex zoned ultramafic rock, 5 kilometres long and 425 m thick.

For Digger Rocks the zones are from top down:
1. 100-150 m thick preserved accumulate (meaning igneous crystalline rock from past volcanic activity) grading to bladed-granular fosterite-talc-anthophyllite-enstatite rock.
2. Forsterite-talc to fosterite-talc-anthophyllite to fosterite-talc-enstatite
3. Structually controlled main zone of nickel sulphide mineralisation, 240 m long by 125 m thick, of massive and disseminated sulphides, ranging to 7% Ni grades. It dips 50-65° west, and pitches at 50° north.
4. 10-75 m thick ultrabasic footwall of alternating fosterite-tremolite-anthophyllite-enstatite. The footwall in the northern portion of the mine is banded iron formations, while the rest of the mine is a footwall ultrabasic unit. There is also a sliver 8-10 m of quartz-biotite-garnet schist at the southern end.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


14 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded


Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Anthophyllite
Formula: ◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘ 'Biotite'
Formula: K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
ⓘ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
ⓘ Enstatite
Formula: Mg2Si2O6
ⓘ 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series'
ⓘ Forsterite
Formula: Mg2(SiO4)
ⓘ 'Garnet Group'
Formula: X3Z2(SiO4)3
ⓘ Grunerite
Formula: ◻{Fe2+2}{Fe2+5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘ 'Hornblende Root Name Group'
Formula: ◻Ca2(Z2+4Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
ⓘ Magnetite
Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘ Millerite
Formula: NiS
ⓘ Pentlandite
Formula: (NixFey)Σ9S8
ⓘ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
ⓘ Pyrrhotite
Formula: Fe1-xS
ⓘ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
ⓘ Talc
Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
ⓘ Tremolite
Formula: ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘ Violarite
Formula: Fe2+Ni3+2S4

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘPentlandite2.BB.15(NixFey)Σ9S8
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘPyrrhotite2.CC.10Fe1-xS
ⓘMillerite2.CC.20NiS
ⓘViolarite2.DA.05Fe2+Ni3+2S4
ⓘPyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘMagnetite4.BB.05Fe2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘForsterite9.AC.05Mg2(SiO4)
ⓘEnstatite9.DA.05Mg2Si2O6
ⓘAnthophyllite9.DD.05◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘGrunerite9.DE.05◻{Fe2+2}{Fe2+5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘTremolite9.DE.10◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
ⓘTalc9.EC.05Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Unclassified
ⓘ'Biotite'-K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
ⓘ'Fayalite-Forsterite Series'-
ⓘ'Hornblende Root Name Group'-◻Ca2(Z2+4Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
ⓘ'Garnet Group'-X3Z2(SiO4)3

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ Anthophyllite◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Hⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Hⓘ Grunerite◻{Fe22+}{Fe52+}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Hⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Hⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Hⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ Anthophyllite◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Oⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Oⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Oⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Oⓘ Grunerite◻{Fe22+}{Fe52+}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Oⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Oⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Oⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series
Oⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
Oⓘ Garnet GroupX3Z2(SiO4)3
FFluorine
Fⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Fⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
MgMagnesium
Mgⓘ Anthophyllite◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Mgⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Mgⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Mgⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Mgⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Mgⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Mgⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series
AlAluminium
Alⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Alⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
SiSilicon
Siⓘ Anthophyllite◻{Mg2}{Mg5}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Siⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Siⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Siⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Siⓘ Grunerite◻{Fe22+}{Fe52+}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
Siⓘ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Siⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Siⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series
Siⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
Siⓘ Garnet GroupX3Z2(SiO4)3
SSulfur
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ MilleriteNiS
Sⓘ Pentlandite(NixFey)Σ9S8
Sⓘ PyriteFeS2
Sⓘ PyrrhotiteFe1-xS
Sⓘ ViolariteFe2+Ni23+S4
ClChlorine
Clⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
KPotassium
Kⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
CaCalcium
Caⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Caⓘ Hornblende Root Name Group◻Ca2(Z42+Z3+)(AlSi7O22)(OH,F,Cl)2
TiTitanium
Tiⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
FeIron
Feⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Feⓘ Grunerite◻{Fe22+}{Fe52+}(Si8O22)(OH)2
Feⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Feⓘ Pentlandite(NixFey)Σ9S8
Feⓘ PyriteFeS2
Feⓘ PyrrhotiteFe1-xS
Feⓘ ViolariteFe2+Ni23+S4
Feⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series
NiNickel
Niⓘ MilleriteNiS
Niⓘ Pentlandite(NixFey)Σ9S8
Niⓘ ViolariteFe2+Ni23+S4
CuCopper
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australia
Australian PlateTectonic Plate

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Marston, R. J. (1984) Nickel mineralization in Western Australia. Mineral Resources Bulletin 14. Geological Survey of Western Australia
www.westernareas.com.au (n.d.) http://www.westernareas.com.au
www.portergeo.com.au (n.d.) http://www.portergeo.com.au
www.theresourcechannel.com.au (n.d.) http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au
www.bonzle.com (n.d.) http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=258653
Keith Lindbeck and Associates (2012) Forrestania Nickel Project-Spotted Quoll-Cosmic Boy haul road (Apr 2012).
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