CRC LEME
Open File Report 90
ABSTRACT
Progress statement for the Kalgoorlie study area - Enigma Prospect
(Wollubar ), Western Australia
Lintern, M.J. and Gray, D.J.
Investigations from previous AMIRA Projects have indicated that
Au deposits may have geochemical expression throughout the regolith.
In Project 409, knowledge gained from these earlier projects, dominantly
in areas of erosional and relict landforms, is being extended to
determine whether previously developed methods can be applied or
adapted to depositional regimes. In the Kalgoorlie area, the work
program has been to investigate potential sample media in the transported
regolith above mineralization at a number of dominantly palaeochannel
environments. Specifically, the study has investigated the presence
of:
- Gold in surficial horizons;
- Sub-surface gold in transported overburden;
- Pathfinder elements in transported and relict regolith and bedrock.
This progress statement summarizes the recent investigations undertaken
at the Enigma Au deposit located 30 km southeast of Kalgoorlie.
The Enigma site was chosen for further study for several reasons
including the moderate Au grades in mineralization and the remoteness
of the deposit from potential contributing upstream sources.
The results indicate:
- That total, water-soluble and iodide-soluble gold have no anomalies
over mineralization;
- That gold is associated with calcium in the top metre of the
soil profile;
- That gold in vegetation does not define the location of the
mineralization;
- Drilling to the south of the Enigma deposit possibly has not
gone deep enough;
- Cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, antimony and tungsten may
be useful pathfinders for gold mineralization.
More information needs to be gathered from the Enigma area. Specifically,
there is a need:
- To construct regolith sections and plans for the area;
- To detail important type sections for drilling programs which
should be also verified by others; this could be easily achieved
by archiving chip trays;
- To collect further samples of ferruginous material from transported
overburden, and material from saprolite and bedrock and analyse
for tungsten and possibly cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead and
antimony.
Last updated: Friday, July 21, 2000 04:24 PM
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