Provenite

Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag deposit

AreaUnknownDraft data

31.9500° S, 141.4667° E · ± 10 km

Galena, Microcline and Rhodochrosite from New South Wales, Australia, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

GalenaMicroclineRhodochrosite

Galena at Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag deposit

Coarse metamorphic-recrystallized galena that hosts well-formed crystals of rhodonite, spessartine and fluorapatite

Small old Broken Hill specimen of translucent red rhodonite with galena.
Small old Broken Hill specimen of translucent red rhodonite with galena.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Gemmy rhodonite crystal set in a galena matrix from Broken Hill.
Gemmy rhodonite crystal set in a galena matrix from Broken Hill.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
PbS
Morphology
Coarse-grained, recrystallized galena in massive sulfide lenses
Associated minerals
Sphaleritemanganese silicates (rhodonite-ferrorhodonite)spessartinefluorapatite
Availability
Unknown
History
Charles Rasp pegged the gossan outcrop in 1883; renewed open-cut mining in the 1980s and 1990s revealed more than 100 previously unrecognized mineral species (district-level statement).

Sources: SRC-063

About Galena →

Microcline at Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag deposit

Lead-bearing microcline specimen from Broken Hill, formerly in the Fred Pough collection.
Lead-bearing microcline specimen from Broken Hill, formerly in the Fred Pough collection.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
KAlSi₃O₈
Morphology
Partial crystal
Color / luster
Grass green, transparent to translucent
Trace elements
Lead (plumbian microcline, per specimen description)
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-560 SRC-585

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Rhodochrosite at Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag deposit

A cabinet specimen covered with sugary pastel-pink rhodochrosite microcrystals from the Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill.
A cabinet specimen covered with sugary pastel-pink rhodochrosite microcrystals from the Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
MnCO₃
Morphology
Sugary crusts of microcrystals; rhombs
Typical size
Microcrystals; specimens to 13 cm
Color / luster
Pastel pink, sparkly
Availability
Scarce

Sources: SRC-941

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Geology of the locality

Setting
Giant Paleoproterozoic stratabound Pb-Zn-Ag deposit of nine massive sulfide lenses, interpreted as sea-floor exhalative in origin and later metamorphosed to granulite facies (about 750-800 C), which recrystallized and partly remobilized the sulfides.
Type
Massive sulfide
Host rock
Deformed pelitic schists and gneisses (Willyama Supergroup)
Region
New South Wales
Country
Australia

Coordinates from the IUGS Geoheritage page (31 57 S, 141 28 E; SRC-063), given only to the arc-minute. Current mining status not confirmed by a dated source, so left Unknown.

Sources: SRC-063

Sources

  1. SRC-063 · Website
    The Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag depositIUGS Geoheritage Sites
  2. SRC-560 · Book
    Handbook of Mineralogy - MicroclineAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · 2001 · Mineral Data Publishing / Mineralogical Society of America
  3. SRC-585 · Website
    File:Microcline-23744.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons
  4. SRC-941 · Website
    File:Rhodochrosite-179443.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons (dealer label)

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.