OREbit

High-resolution SEM-EDS mapping of fluid inclusions from Bingham Canyon identified a wide variety of phases. The example below shows an assemblage comprising halite, sylvite and anhydrite. Others contained chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrite, hematite, langbeinite-group and clay.

Spinel recording compositional zoning from Cr-rich cores to magnetite rims in interspinifex ore from, Kambalda. The spinel crystallized on top of spinifex-textured olivine plates. Interstitial sulfides in this image mainly comprise pyrrhotite, pentlandite and minor chalcopyrite.

#MinSouth Virtual #Sundowner: 28 Jan @ 6pm at the 'Cornish Miners Arms' meet.jit.si/MinSouth_Sundo…

It may not glitter but it’s still gold! Calaverite (AuTe2) in plane polarized light (left) and with slightly uncrossed polars (right). Weak pleochroism is visible along grain boundary. Purple color of the matrix is caused by abundant fluorite. Cresson Pit, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Debate: Whether #mining should take place on the #moon and the #Antarctica, 14 Jan, 6pm, PhD researchers, former mines inspectors, environmentalists, Geologists will be presenting us with the facts for us to discuss, decide and vote. All welcome.

"Gold is where you find it" This gold is from an undisclosed locality in Russia intergrown with cobaltite and minor copper sulfides.

A landmark! Not just a mine! This image of Bingham Canyon mine was taken in 2013 shortly after the massive 165 Mt landslide. Low-grade porphyry mineralisation has been mined here continuously since 1906, making it the mother of all open pit porphyry mines. #MiningAdventCalendar

Glück auf! Located high up in the Austrian Alps is the entrance to the remarkable Mittersill tungsten deposit. Stockwork and stratabound disseminated scheelite mineralization is mined underground, producing 500 kt of ore annually grading 0.3 wt.% WO3. #MiningAdventCalendar

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and this is where some of them were dug out of the ground. In 2008 the Voorspoed mine, South Africa, was the first major diamond mine to be opened in decades. Operated by De Beers until 2018 it produced more than 4M carats. #MiningAdventCalendar

Please mind the gap! This train takes you underground at the Wilhelm-Erbstollen Mine, Schwaz, AUT. In medieval times an innovative mining hub and main producer of silver and copper in Europe, mining in the area finally ceased in 1999 after 3500 years. #MiningAdventCalendar

From 1954-1974 the Lavender pit just outside Bisbee, AZ, produced low-grade copper ore from a 180 Ma porphyry deposit. Associated limestone replacement mineralisation was mined by a series of underground operations, most notably the Copper Queen mine. #MiningAdventCalendar

Journey to the Center of the Earth? Not Quite! Descending a manway at Cons Murch mine, RSA. The 3 Ga Murchison Greenstone Belt is host to the Antimony Line, a 35 km long section of the belt comprising a series of structurally controlled Sb (±Au) deposits. #MiningAdventCalendar

A true legend: The Kimberley mine, also known as The Big Hole. Diamonds were first discovered here in 1871, resulting in a 240m deep hole excavated by hand and the recovery of more than 13,000,000 ct. Several other diamondiferous pipes are located nearby. #MiningAdventCalendar

#Young Persons #Lecture #Competition open to all young IOM3 members. MinSouth's heat 11 March 2021

A treasure trove for structural geologists and gold miners alike: the Björkdal mine in northern Sweden. The underground mine exploits lode-style mineralization with free gold hosted in sheeted quartz veins. In 2020 the mine produced around 45,000 oz of gold. #MiningAdventCalendar

After a visit underground at the Driefontein gold mine we reach the surface just in time to see the sun set behind No 8-shaft headframe. Gold at the mine is produced from the Carbon Leader, Ventersdorp Contact and Middlevlei Reefs of the Witwatersrand Basin. #MiningAdventCalendar

Under the radiating sun in a radiating mine. The Rössing Uranium mine in Namibia is the world's longest-running open pit uranium mine. Mineralization comprises primary uraninite and betafite associated with sheeted leucogranites and secondary U-minerals. #MiningAdventCalendar

A red rig under a blue sky. Close to Franke Mine in northern Chile this drill rig is exploring for stockwork and fault-related manto-style Cu-Ag mineralization, hosted primarily by andesite. High-grade mineralization is dominated by primary chalcocite. #MiningAdventCalendar

In the bleak mid-winter frosty wind may moan – production at the Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, continues regardless. Since 1996 the intrusion-related gold deposit produced over 7.5M ounces, with a further 2.8M ounces still in the ground. #MiningAdventCalendar

Mining history: Before the use of powder, two major techniques were used to advance drifts. Fire setting typically results in rounded cross sections, Schwarzwald, GER (left); Working face of a coffin level dug with hammer and chisel, Schwaz, AUT (right). #MiningAdventCalendar