Cookes Creek-Big Hill, Ripon Hills District, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Cookes Creek-Big Hill	Hill
Ripon Hills District	Mining District
East Pilbara Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Located 50 km north east of Nullagine.
Latitude: -21.65583
Longitude: 120.4627
Coordinates: 237410mE, 7603120mN.

A tungsten deposit.

References: Minedex Database 2006.

Cookes Creek refers to the general area of several tungsten prospects, and also the historic mine, while Big Hill is the most notable prospect for tungsten in the area.

The historic mine is a few kilometres north-west of Big Hill. The present mining company operating at the prospect states it is 30 kms north-west of Nullagine, but this is incorrect, and the Minedex Database reference above is correct.

Tungsten was mined here in the 1950's and 1960's targeting narrow veins. Western Wolfram NL erected a processing plant at the site in 1953 containing bell and gyratory crushers, three wilfley tables and a power plant. It was expected the plant would produce 30 tonnes a day and employed eight men. These appear to be local indigenous men described as working as a co-operative led by D. McLeod.

The area was explored for tungsten in the 1980's by Kalgoorlie Southern Gold Mines NL, and Mitsui Mining and Smelting Company, who found narrow dipping zones of sheeted vein scheelite-fluorite mineralisation, hosted by the Cookes Creek Granite. Big Hill prospect is 70 metres wide, containing pure scheelite. Hazelwood Resources in 2010 set up a trial processing plant, and is trying to raise funds to open a mine. Tungsten (scheelite) is also found at Mosquito Creek and Blue Spec Mines to the south-west closer to Nullagine. Iron mineralisation occurs in the south-east corner of the Cookes Creek lease, and several nickel anomalous zones, most notably Anomaly Hill to the west of Big Hill.

Fluorite veins are found in mafic and granitic rocks. In particular, it is noted east of Cookes Creek, about 3.5 kilometres south south-east of its confluence with the Nullagine River. It is associated with tungsten minerals such as scheelite and wolframite.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References