West Gibbet gold prospect, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
West Gibbet gold prospect	Prospect
Tennant Creek	Creek
Barkly Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The West Gibbet prospect was discovered as a magnetic anomaly under 150 metres of cover in the 1950's. Explored by Peko Wallsend in the 1960's, Metana Minerals/Placer Exploration 1990, Roebuck Resources/North Flinders Mines 1991-1994, and Emmerson Resources 2008-2014.

The deposit is part of the east-west structural corridor, containing several mines and deposits from Wheal Doria in the east to Malbec West in the west.
The succession of rocks at the deposit is an upper greywacke and slate, then chloritic sheared sedimentary rocks interspersed with igneous rock bands, the mineralised quartz-magnetite, then below this greywacke and slate.

The prospect is a quartz-magnetite ironstone body dipping at 20 degrees to the north. The ironstone is very siliceous, very chloritic, and extensively quartz veined. Specularite is common. Chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite is rare as scattered specks in parts of the ironstone. Magnetite is most common at a depth of 600 feet where basic igneous rocks grade into massive dull magnetite and chlorite rock.

1961 drilling uncovered a narrow high grade gold shoot at 23 dwt Au for 10 feet, between the 790-803 feet level, near the top of the ironstone body.
Subsequent drilling produced poor results. Emmerson Resources in 2008 announced from a drilling campaign several high grade gold figures including 13 metres at 66.9 g/t Au. This was claimed to be in a previously untested area, although there is no guarantee they had not simply re-discovered the 1961 ore shoot.

The prospect is 6 kilometres west of Tennant Creek, bordering the north side of the road from Tennant Creek to the Chariot mine, and just west of the Alice Springs-Darwin railway line crossing.

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References