The Wild Cattle Creek Antimony Deposit Dorrigo NSW

Abstract

An economic antimony deposit is associated with a near vertical, easterly striking fault or shear within fine-grained sediments of Palaeozoic age. The sediments appear to strike easterly and dip near vertically to steeply south, and have been subjected to a low grade of metamorphism. The deposit is currently being outlined by further drilling. It is probable that the body is of tabular shape, with steep southerly dip and a westerly pitch. ore core from the first nineteen boreholes indicated that the average width of the ore-body could be between 10 and 15 feet and the grade approximately 5 per cent antimony. Minor amounts of cinnabar were observed in the bore cores and in an old, relatively short adit, but only minor amounts of other sulphides occurred with the stibnite

1,000 17908 Crush breccia containing minor quartz veining. The majority of fragments are metamorphosed argillites and the fine matrix is well cemented by secondary quartz. Crush breccia not unlike 1,009/17917 but of different hand specimen appearance due to bleaching of fragments, possibly by weathering or post formation leaching. The light colour of the hand specimen also reflects a relative deficiency in microcrystalline mineralization of fragments. Black phyllite similar to 1,001/17910 but having a greater degree of shearing, brecciation, and quartz veining. Siderite is present in minute quantities only. Heavily veined and dislocated black phylite. In hand specimen the original phyllitic nature of the rock is obscured by extensive network veining and associated micro-faulting, however, in thin section the rock is seen to have a linear quartz-muscovite composition not unlike 1,001/17910. Contorted black phyllite generally similar to 1,001/17910, but slightly less siliceous. Grey banded silicified mudstone consisting predominantly of recrystallized microcrystalline quartz and dark bands containing quartz with a little illite, chlorite, and smectite. Transecting veinlets of secondary quartz are relatively abundant .