Murninnie Mine, Whyalla, Eyre peninsula, South Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Murninnie Mine	Mine
Whyalla	- not defined -
Eyre peninsula	Peninsula
South Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Murninnie mine, is a copper and bismuth mine; noted to contain nickel, cobalt and silver within the lode. Recent observations have noted, the only mineral of noticeable quantity found on the dumps being malachite.

Originally opened in 1863 by the Bismuth and Copper Mining and& Patent Smelting Company, early analysis gave results of 30% bismuth and 40% copper. However, operations were suspended in 1867 after early operations gave results of 5% bismuth and 10% copper from 60 tons of ore.

In mid 1900, an English company purchased the mine, and worked it for three months and before abandoning it.

A third and subsequent unsuccessful attempt at mining here took place between 1967 and 1969, with the mine laying abandoned since.


Developed on secondary Cu-Bi mineralisation formed in shear zones related to the intersection of two major faults. Host rocks were schist, quartzite and phyllite of Palaeoproterozoic age. The mine consisted of an exploratory adit driven west for ~27 m. The first 2.5 m was in weathered clayey rock, thence into fresh phyllite. ~8 m from the portal was a 2.5 m wide NS fracture zone, and a similar zone at the end of the adit. There was no obvious mineralisation. A second adit, described as the "South Mine," had pockets of secondary, malachite ore stoped out at 15 and 30 m from the entrance. On the opposite side of the creek was an adit known as the "North Mine," with 4 winzes sunk in the floor of the adit. There were several, small surface workings above the North Mine. The only ore mineral seen was malachite forming in two minor NS faults. Bismuth was reported in the early mining. Ni mineralisation was reported from a vertical shaft. The host sequence was intruded by basic dykes of unknown age. Incomplete production records, estimated >1020 tonnes @ 10-20%Cu, 18-75%Bi.

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