Presenter: Mark Jacobson, President of Friends of Mineralogy National
Pegmatites are widespread in the Archaean and Proterozoic terranes of Western Australia, a state that covers 1/3 of the Australian continent. Attractive as well as rare mineral specimens have been recovered from several areas. In 2003, pegmatite mining in West Australia was minor - Only Mt. Cassiterite, Greenbushes, Bald Hill, and Dalgaranga were active for tantalum ore. The jump in prices for lithium circa 2013, due to the need for more powerful and numerous lithium batteries worldwide set off a pegmatite mining boom across West Australia. Mines at Mt. Cassiterite, Tabba Tabba, and Bald Hill reopened with new mines at Cattlin Creek, Mt. Marion, Pilgangoora, and Sinclair Caesium mine. This mining boom led to the August 2016 discovery and mining of pollucite just northwest of Norseman at the Sinclair Caesium mine. Western Australia's size and diversity of pegmatites and continued mining assure that new discoveries will be made as collectors fossick the outcrops and dumps. Most of the new finds will remain in Australian collections as self-collected specimens. Only a few Australian pegmatites produce a handful of world-class material. Visitors may still collect from these sites, but you will need to do your literature homework and know how to safely access what is essentially a desert environment with no infrastructure or cell phone coverage.