Cookes Creek area, Pilbara region, Western Australia is situated in approximately 1, 200 km north northeast of Perth. Several small showings of tungsten mineralization have been known in the area.
The surveyed area (123.5 km
2) is mainly occupied by the Salgash Subgroup of the Warrawoona Group of the Archaean Pilbara Supergroup and a biotite adamellite stock (2600 m. y.) called Cookes Creek Granite. The Sal-gash Subgroup chiefly consists of basalt lavas with subordinal interbedded greenschist, chert, acidic volcanics, and dolerite sills, gabbro sills, ect. The Cookes Creek Granite, cropping out over an about 10 km×4 km area, intruded into the Salgash Subgroup.
It was hypothesized that tungsten mineralization has been derived from the Cookes Creek Granite and occurs mainly as sheelite in the Salgash Subgroup and further that the mineralization zones have been controlled by fissure patterns and/or lithological factors. On such hypothesis, the selection of exploration targets was carried out effectively by the following exploration programmes.
(1) Regional geological survey: Shape of the Cookes Creek Granite and regional structure of the Salgash Subgroup were investigated. Southern and western outside areas of the granite were pointed out as most prospective ones.
(2) Geochemical survey: Stream sediments under 40 mesh were collected from the surveyed area and W thereof was analyzed as the indicator element. Eight areas showing over 500 ppm W were selected successfully as the first priority targets in southern and western outside areas of the granite.
(3) Detailed geological survey: Survey works, including ultra-violet lamping, were carried out in the eight areas, and three areas were further selected amongst them and trenched on the basis of the survey results.
As the result of the exploration works, it has proved that there can be defined the followings:
(1) As fissure-controlled mineralization: vein-type mineralizations consisting of scheelite dissemination in thin aplite dykes and in altered zones nearby.
(2) As horizon-controlled mineralization:
(a) Lens-shaped mineralizations consisting of scheelite-plagioclase-phlogopite-quartz-fluorite-tourmaline-margarite assemblage along schistosity of greenschist.
(b) Network mineralizations composed of scheelite-bearing thin aplite dykes which have intruded into a gabbro sill horizon selectively.
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