Tungsten and Molybdenum

The Northern Territory has several small tungsten and molybdenum fields. The largest of these are the Wauchope and Hatches Creek tungsten fields, located in the Davenport Province of the Tennant Region. The Wauchope field produced 1430 t of tungsten concentrate. Wolframite and minor molybdenite mineralisation occurs there in quartz veins hosted by mudstone and sandstone. The Hatches Creek field produced 2840 t of wolframite and scheelite concentrate. Ore minerals, including minor molybdenite, occur in quartz veins hosted by a range of igneous and sedimentary rocks.

 

In the Pine Creek Orogen, the Yenberrie tungsten – molybdenum – bismuth field consists of greisenised quartz-aplite dykes hosted by granite. The main ore minerals are wolframite and molybdenite, with past production of 322 t and127 kg, respectively. In the southern part of the Pine Creek Inlier, minor production of 40 t of tungsten concentrate from a greisenised contact between granite and hornfelsed greywacke and siltstone was also recorded from the Yeuralba tungsten – tin field. The main ore mineral was wolframite.