Comet Gold Mine, Marble Bar, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Comet Gold Mine | Mine |
| Marble Bar | - not defined - |
| East Pilbara Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
21° 14' 4'' South , 119° 43' 36'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marble Bar | 612 (2012) | 7.3km |
Located 7 kilometres south of Marble Bar. Gold was discovered here in 1936 by Tommy Starr, and was mined till 1955. The old processing plant makes an impressive sight, its 75 metres smokestack the highest in the southern hemisphere. The old mine managers house has been converted into a small mineral museum, generously financed by a local mining company. The plant can only be seen from the road, and the many tunnels through the mountain are out of bounds as its now the home of the rare Pilbara Ghost Bat.
The shearing of the beds at Comet has allowed fluid access, and the rock chemistry reacted with the fluids leading to gold deposition. Ore is found in a north-west striking talc-chlorite-carbonate schist on an anticlinal fold nose. The surrounding rocks is un-sheared basalt and pillow basalt.
Mineralisation is found specifically in a south-west striking 2 metre wide shear alteration zone of chlorite-fuchsite-carbonate rock, impregnated by fine pyrite, and traversed by small quartz-carbonate veins. These mineralised zones in the talc-chlorite schist also contain hematite and quartz.
Gold is found where the plunging ore body intersects with a series of fractures, which strike west south-west and dip south south-east 70 degrees.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
7 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ Kaolinite Formula: Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite Formula: K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Talc Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Talc | 9.EC.05 | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Muscovite var. Fuchsite | 9.EC.15 | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 | |
| ⓘ | Kaolinite | 9.ED.05 | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Cr | Chromium | |
| Cr | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Western Australia
- Fortescue BasinBasin
- Pilbara CratonCraton
- Warakurna Large Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- West Australian ElementCraton
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- West Australian Craton
- Pilbara CratonCraton
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Comet Gold Mine, Marble Bar, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia, Australia