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Deposit Synonyms
Pm 11; Pm 12
Mineral District
Deposit Summary
deposit of greyish, banded marble of the Normanville Group to 200-300m thick in NE-trending overturned syncline. Production from 1942-2013 ~17Mt, dominantly for industrial use, but inclusive of 740,000t for the construction industry.
Deposit Description
RAPID BAY, limestone was quarried from 1942-81 to supply metallurgical flux to the Whyalla, Newcastle and Port Kembla steelworks. The deposit consisted of grey, white and brown medium to coarse-grained banded marble of the Normanville Group, which occurred as a 200-300 m thick lens within a NE-trending overturned syncline.
The operations, including crushing plant, jetty and loading wharf, were purchased by Adelaide Brighton Cement Ltd in 1981. Limestone typically containing ~90.5% CaCO3 was shipped to the Birkenhead cement plant until 1988, peaking in 1966 at 600,000 tonne, when operations began to be scaled down in favour of increased production from Klein Point. Production since 1991 was in the range 5-90,000 tonne and seasonal. Substantial resources remained. Subsequently the ship-loading facilities were dismantled. Total production from 1942-2013 was estimated at 17 million tonne, with the bulk destined for an industrial end use. Incomplete figures indicate production for construction material from 1977-2013 was in the order of 550,000 tonne. It currently produces a small volume of roadbase materials. No resource estimate has been identified, with resource size considered in a 1951 report to be large in the order of many 10s of million tonne. The stone quality is suitable for concrete aggregates but is considered to be only marginally appropriate for road sealing aggregates because of a potential for the stone to polish. The major tenement at the site is PM 11.
Discovery Year
? 1942
Commodities
Limestone
Ore Minerals
Carbonate
Gangue Minerals
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