Zinc-Lead-Silver

The Northern Territory contains a variety of small to very large zinc-lead-silver mineral deposits that have produced over 2.0 Mt of zinc, 0.6 Mt of lead and 25 Moz of silver in the last 20 years. Current resources for the NT are estimated at 16.4 Mt of zinc, 9.5 Mt of lead and 267 Moz of silver. There is currently one mine in operation: McArthur River.

Zinc-lead-silver mineralisation is present in a number of deposit styles including: sedimentary exhalative, volcanic-hosted massive sulfide, intrusion-related massive sulfide, carbonate-hosted (Mississippi Valley-type), polymetallic quartz veins and skarn.

These deposits are found across the NT in a number of geological basins and orogenic regions. The Zn-Pb-Ag-rich provinces include; McArthur Basin, Pine Creek Orogen and Arunta Region. Deposits in the first two provinces account for 97% of past Zn-Pb-Ag production and 98% of identified Zn-Pb-Ag resources.

Other geological provinces with Zn-Pb-Ag potential include the following: