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D'Urville Island Mine, Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough Region, New Zealandi
Regional Level Types
D'Urville Island MineMine
Marlborough Sounds- not defined -
Marlborough RegionRegion
New ZealandCountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
40° 54' 52'' South , 173° 48' 23'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
-40.91450,173.80651
GeoHash:
G#: rbex5pdpc
GRN:
S28E94
Type:
Mine
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Havelock504 (2011)41.1km
Picton3,000 (2017)45.1km
Mindat Locality ID:
15239
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:15239:7
GUID (UUID V4):
0


A small 150 sq. kilometre island.

Copper associated with serpentine on a north-east trending ridge on the southern side of the island. Shows as several discontinuous zones over a 820 metre length, of cuprite, native copper, malachite, and azurite. Primary mineralisation is pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite. The ore outcropped as cuprite,
with small native copper patches, covered with malachite and azurite, trending north-east to south-west on a bare ridge of serpentine. Chalcocite is also noted as being common.

Several shallow shafts and a tunnel were dug during a short period of mining in 1878. Redwood, Owen and Manton shafts were mentioned as named.

A dispute soon arose between shareholders and the developing company. Some local geologists through the Philosophical Society panned the deposit, while shareholders wrote to the newspapers to express their dis-satisfaction. Director W. Finnicane was indignant that there was criticism the shares were a bubble, and the price was not worthy based on the amount of ore available. 'A Correspondent' (we are thinking was probably linked to the mine) wrote for a local paper: 'There is every possibility that their first shipment of ore will very nearly cover the whole outlay on the mine up to the present time. This would be a success almost unparalleled in the mining industry in the colony'.

Assistant Government Geologist, S. Herbert Cox, was sent to investigate and report back to Parliament. Having perused the surface outcrop, and limited shallow diggings, his report was enthusiastic about the future prospects of the mine.

So early 1879, 47 tonnes of ore was shipped to Australia for smelting. It was found over half the amount sent was rock with no or little copper value. Mid 1879 another lot of ore was sent, this time handpicked, with better results. By 1880, mining had ceased and the company wound up.

D'Urville Island is at the western boundary of the Marlborough Sounds area.
Access to the island is by pre booked water taxis from Okiwi Bay.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List


9 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Azurite
Formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
ⓘ Chalcocite
Formula: Cu2S
ⓘ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
ⓘ Covellite
Formula: CuS
ⓘ Cuprite
Formula: Cu2O
ⓘ Magnetite
Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘ Malachite
Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
ⓘ Native Copper
Formula: Cu
ⓘ Pyrrhotite
Formula: Fe1-xS
ⓘ 'Serpentine Subgroup'
Formula: D3[Si2O5](OH)4

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘNative Copper1.AA.05Cu
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘChalcocite2.BA.05Cu2S
ⓘCovellite2.CA.05aCuS
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘPyrrhotite2.CC.10Fe1-xS
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘCuprite4.AA.10Cu2O
ⓘMagnetite4.BB.05Fe2+Fe3+2O4
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘAzurite5.BA.05Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
ⓘMalachite5.BA.10Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Unclassified
ⓘ'Serpentine Subgroup'-D3[Si2O5](OH)4

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Hⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Hⓘ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
CCarbon
Cⓘ AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Cⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Oⓘ CupriteCu2O
Oⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Oⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Oⓘ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
SiSilicon
Siⓘ Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
SSulfur
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ ChalcociteCu2S
Sⓘ CovelliteCuS
Sⓘ PyrrhotiteFe1-xS
FeIron
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Feⓘ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Feⓘ PyrrhotiteFe1-xS
CuCopper
Cuⓘ AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Cuⓘ ChalcociteCu2S
Cuⓘ CovelliteCuS
Cuⓘ CupriteCu2O
Cuⓘ Native CopperCu
Cuⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australian PlateTectonic Plate
New Zealand

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

Evening Post newspaper (1878) D'Urville Island Copper Mine Company ( to the Ed.), Vol. XV1, issue 225, 21 September 1878.
Evening Post newspaper (1878) The D'Urville Island Copper Mine Company (to the Ed.) Vol. XV1, issue 219, 14 September 1878.
Herbert Cox, S. (1878) D'Urville Island Copper Ore Deposits (Report on the). Presented to both houses of the General Assembly by command of his excellency, New Zealand, Wellington, 29 August 1878.
The Colonist newspaper (1878) Mineral Wealth of Nelson, Vol. XX, issue 2420, 18 July 1878.
Lyttelton Times newspaper (1879) The D'Urville Copper Mine, Vol. L1, issue 5649, 03 April 1879.
Evening Post newspaper (1879) The D'Urville Island-Copper Mine, Vol. XV11, 25 January 1878.
Railton, G. T., Watters, W. A. (1990) Minerals of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin 104. New Zealand Geological Survey
Christie, Tony, Brathwaite, Bob (1994) Copper. Mineral Commodity Report 4. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd
www.backpackerguide.nz (n.d.) https://www.backpackerguide.nz/french-pass-and-durville-island-guide-for-backpackers/
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