Durkin shaft, Kambalda Nickel mines, Kambalda, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Durkin shaft	Group of Shafts
Kambalda Nickel mines	Group of Mines
Kambalda	Town
Coolgardie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The early 1970's saw a nickel boom in Western Australia, with several nickel mines opened. It led to a number of new secondary nickel species being discovered. The Durkin Shaft as part of the Durkin mine is one of a number of nickel mines on the Kambalda Dome just north of Kambalda. It is the type locality for Nickelblödite.

The species is the analogue of blödite. One specimen was collected by M.R. Thornber (CSIRO) in 1971. It was not immediately identified, and in the meantime the area was worked out, and any remaining material destroyed. At the time of the reference, this was the only specimen for the species from the location, held in the CSIRO collection, number 4397. A very small amount for the species was also collected from the Carr Boyd Rocks mine as its joint type locality. As of 2013,the species has been found in only one other location beyond these two. This is why the species is generally not seen in private collections.

At Kambalda it was found at the opening to an underground working. It forms an efflorescence on nickel rich sulphide ore. The easiest way to explain efflorescence is with an example. Sometimes in houses, water in the wall cement is forced out leaving salts which bubble the plaster. This is efflorescence. Nickelblödite occurs with cryptocrystalline halite in violarite, pyrite, siderite ore, representing an intermediate stage of oxidation of the original pentlandite-pyrrhotite assemblage. It is yellowish-green to pale green, translucent, as tabular crystallites.

The relatively rare violarite is common in many Western Australian nickel deposits. At Durkin 50% of the ore is violarite, estimated at 1 million tonnes, with abundant massive disseminations in the adjacent country rocks. Gel pyrite and violarite is also noted in the supergene zone.

The same reference notes linnaeite, siegenite, carrollite, violarite, and polydymite in the Kambalda area, indicating they are found at several of the mines without naming them. It is suggested the combination of all the species together in one area is unique. Except for violarite, they are found as trace amounts as disseminated grains and veinlets in the neighbouring country rock to the ore bodies. Only at Otter Shoot was polydymite found in the ore body.

Linnaeite is creamy white. Grey with a faint pink tint, siegenite as composite disseminated grains with millerite and carrollite. White carrollite occurs with siegenite and millerite as composite disseminated grains. Carrollite is not normally found in nickel deposits. Normal violarite and the cupriferous variety in close association with gel pyrite. Polydymite is found as disseminations in the ultra basic rocks, as minute particles between antigorite blades, as single particles or associated with millerite or pyrrhotite and pentlandite.

See also Durkin Mine Mindat locality.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References