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The role of pre-existing sulphides in copper-ore formation at Mount Isa, Queensland

Created 16/10/2025

Updated 16/10/2025

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The sulphide deposit at Mount Isa, northwest Queensland, is a siltstone-shale sequence that has been metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies and variously altered by hydrothermal events. Galena and sphalerite, forming the lead- zinc-silver orebodies, and fine-grained pyrite are interbedded with the sediments, but chalcopyrite mineralisation appears to have overprinted these. In the largest copper orebody, the 1100 Ore body, a massive high-grade core of chalcopyrite is developed at the same stratigraphic level as rich pyrite mineralisation; with a reduction in the concentration of pyrite in this core. Cobalt is strongly associated with the copper ores and shows this same relationship. Sulphur isotope values for the chalcopyrite and pyrite are in the same range, indicating a common sulphur source. Sulphur abundances in the pyritic horizons do not increase with increasing copper grade. These factors support the view that sulphur needed for the formation of chalcopyrite and cobalt-rich sulphides was derived from the pre-existing sequence. Those sulphur sources controlled the copper, silica, and cobalt deposition from the mineralising solutions, and provide the link in explaining the spatial relationship of the copper to the lead-zinc-silver ores.

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Field Value
Title The role of pre-existing sulphides in copper-ore formation at Mount Isa, Queensland
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/51bef60f-16a2-4e39-8fd3-18de46634339
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        138.0,
        -21.0
      ],
      [
        139.5,
        -21.0
      ],
      [
        139.5,
        -20.0
      ],
      [
        138.0,
        -20.0
      ],
      [
        138.0,
        -21.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "The role of pre-existing sulphides in copper-ore formation at Mount Isa, Queensland". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/the-role-of-pre-existing-sulphides-in-copper-ore-formation-at-mount-isa-queensland