Maitland Mines, Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Maitland Mines | Group of Mines |
| Gqeberha | City |
| Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality | Municipality |
| Eastern Cape | Province |
| South Africa | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
33° 57' 43'' South , 25° 17' 6'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Area:
1.0 km2
Type:
Group of Mines
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Thornhill | 5,000 (2019) | 15.4km |
| Uitenhage | 228,912 (2012) | 25.0km |
| Port Elizabeth | 967,677 (2018) | 30.4km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| SA Gem and Mineral Club | Gqeberha, Eastern Cape | 28km |
Probably the first occurrence to be prospected is that known as the Maitland Mines in the Division of Uitenhage. According to F.L. Amm there are records of analyses of the ore of these deposits dating as far back as 1792. Henry Lichtenstein visited the deposits in 1805 and they were also examined at the time when General Jansens was Governor of the Cape. In 1856 they were reported on by A. Wyley, who found that there had been a considerable amount of underground exploration without any apparent measure of success. The deposits were again actively prospected in 1924 and 1925 and intermittently in a smaller way up to 1931. Most of the workings encountered small veins and narrow beds of rock impregnated with ore, but never revealed a lode or large body of the ore sufficiently remunerative to warrant working it. The structure of the bluish dolomitic limestone, which is the main ore-bearing formation, is that of a simple syncline, both limbs of which dip towards the river. The trough of the syncline was considered to be a likely spot for developement of a large ore-body and many deep borings were made, but to no avail. The ore consists of argentiferous galena, chalcopyrite and chalcocite with malachite and azurite, in irregular stringers and elongate nodules. The association of ore with irregular veins of calcite in the dolomitic limestone indicates developement of minerals along zones of crush.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Aragonite Formula: CaCO3 Habit: botryoidal, acicular Colour: whitish. Description: aragonite is rarely found in the mines, hidden in mine 2 there is an area where minor aragonite stalactites can be found, there is also an area in mine two where one can see unreachable broccoflower formation, a digging close to that area revealed some pieces that had acicular crystals and bortyoidal masses. References: |
| ⓘ Azurite Formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 Habit: poorly formed crystal shapes in cavities. Colour: blue to black Fluorescence: no Description: microscopic crystal surfaces associated with Malachite, general quality is poor with only few micro sized samples showing dark to medium blue crystals growing parallel to the matrix. |
| ⓘ Brookite Formula: TiO2 Habit: Bladed crystals with single directional striations. Colour: Transparent pale rust orange. Description: Crystals could only be viewed under microscope. Occurred on minor quartz crystals with a schist matrix. The specimen was unfortunately destroyed during the trimming process so I need to return the the area in hopes of finding more. The specimen was found half way between the mines and the area where the hematite and chlorite was found along the river on a schist outcrop. References: |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 Habit: Dogtooth Colour: white Fluorescence: no Description: Specimens are small with the biggest crystals maxing out at about 2mm. Most crystals are "dirty" some wash white. In October 2014 a friend of mine showed me a part of mine 2 which I had thought to be inaccessible, here we managed to salvage two beautiful samples of calcite crystals that far out shine any previous finds (at this mine) however these two +-3cm samples were the only samples to be found here and that source is now depleted. |
| ⓘ Cerussite Formula: PbCO3 Habit: bladed crystals Colour: transparent Description: found as a secondary mineral associated with galena and pyrite in a dolomite matrix. References: |
| ⓘ Chalcocite Formula: Cu2S Habit: massive Colour: grey, silver, iridescent Description: chalcocite is the matrix in which the best malachite can be found in this locality, there is only one seam close to the entrance of mine 2 on your immediate left. the seam consists of massive material and no crystals of chalcocite have yet been found. |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 Colour: iridescent Description: So far I have only found one area where chalcopyrite can be found, this is at the base of mine 2 at the point where it splits left, on the corner there is a vein of quartz where minor samples with iridescent surfaces, it is associated with possible aurichalcite. |
| ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' Habit: Worm like inclusions in Quartz and green sheets Colour: green Fluorescence: no Description: chloride is found as massive material on the river banks, when associated with quartz it usually inter grows into the crystals causing black looking crystals full of chloride "worms" |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS Colour: grey, silver Description: I have been to the mines 4 or 5 times before finding any galena at the site, this was however finally found outside the mine in the pathway where heavy rains have washed away the top soil that was covering some rock that must have been dropped by the miners at that time. There is no trace of galena in the actual mine itself. The galena is found in lumps of dolomite, after some acid soaking I found that there is some quartz in the mix too. To date only one tiny vug with microscopic crystals has been found, all the rest has been massive material. |
| ⓘ Goethite Formula: Fe3+O(OH) Habit: botryoidal masses Colour: black Description: Mine 3 is a long tunnel with cavities of goethite lining the walls and ceiling throughout. References: |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 Habit: Thin interlocking seams or loose iron rose blades Colour: black Description: Hematite from this locality is found >1km up stream from the mines on the river bank. The first small seam we found was on the left just after a swimming whole, the seam was thin and produced only low quality shards, To the immediate right from this location there is a small quartz outcrop where some minor "iron rose" blades can be found in quartz. References: |
| ⓘ 'Limonite' Habit: cubic Colour: black Fluorescence: no Description: Psudomorphs after Pyrite. |
| ⓘ Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 Habit: Acicular and tabular Colour: green Fluorescence: no Description: all Malachite from this site is Micro, quality of the malachite is rather attractive under magnification, there is currently only one vein at this site that I am aware of that has Malachite and azurite in a grey metallic matrix of chalcocite. |
| ⓘ Native Copper Formula: Cu Habit: fine layers on Matrix Colour: bright yellow Fluorescence: no Description: found in seam with Malachite and Azurite |
| ⓘ Native Sulphur Formula: S8 Colour: yellow Description: found in rocks in the pathway in front of the mines where pyrite has decomposed leaching out the sulphur, usually the sulphur is seen as only yellow stains in the matrix but on one or two samples minor crystallization is visible. References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Colour: golden Fluorescence: no Description: All pyrite from this site that I have found so far has been in the process of psudomorphing to limonite and thus have a red/orange/black coating but this process is not yet complete as the crystals still display a golden pyrite hue when broken. |
| ⓘ Pyrolusite Formula: Mn4+O2 Colour: silver Description: 3 specimens know, this particular mineral was found outside the mine in the path way running past the mine, the matrix was goethite which would have come from mine 3 as it is the only mine where goethite is found in the area. |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 Habit: Trigonal Colour: clear to white Fluorescence: no Description: lots of tiny quartz crystals can be found in the area. Some rater interesting quartz has been found at the locality, there was one area on the river bank that produced a few crystals measuring about 10cm in length some had dark black/green chloride inclusions in, there are also a few pieces that had chloride schist scattered throughout the specimen. In mine 2 there is an area where quartz crystals can be found, they are mostly clear to milky, some have dendrites in them possibly from manganese oxides. There are also places where the crystals form in thin seams that appear to limit the growth of the crystals. Often these crystals will grow parallel but there are cases where the crystal grew up right and in this case the crystal just stops half way though as it intersects opposite side of the cavity. |
| ⓘ Rutile Formula: TiO2 Habit: needles in quartz Colour: golden yellow Description: The first sample of rutile was found by a friend of mine Johan, it was only a single needle in quartz found outside mine 2. For a long time no new crystals turned up, then we found two more pieces with needles in, after looking at these we thought that they could be crystallized goethite but we had no means of testing since there was no excess material and all existing material was in quartz, in 2015 a small pocket filled with these needles were found and an acid test showed no bubbling so the goethite theory was dropped and rutile accepted. References: |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Copper | 1.AA.05 | Cu |
| ⓘ | Native Sulphur | 1.CC.05 | S8 |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Chalcocite | 2.BA.05 | Cu2S |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.00. | Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrolusite | 4.DB.05 | Mn4+O2 |
| ⓘ | Rutile | 4.DB.05 | TiO2 |
| ⓘ | Brookite | 4.DD.10 | TiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Aragonite | 5.AB.15 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Cerussite | 5.AB.15 | PbCO3 |
| ⓘ | Azurite | 5.BA.05 | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| H | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Cerussite | PbCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Brookite | TiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Cerussite | PbCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcocite | Cu2S |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Native Sulphur | S8 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | ⓘ Brookite | TiO2 |
| Ti | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| Mn | Manganese | |
| Mn | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcocite | Cu2S |
| Cu | ⓘ Native Copper | Cu |
| Cu | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Cerussite | PbCO3 |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
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Maitland Mines, Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa