COBALT AND OTHER CRITICAL METALS IN TAILINGS OF MAJOR MINERAL DEPOSITS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND - BAAL GAMMON

URL: https://geoscience.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/cr127008

The mine waste features at 9 sites in Queensland - Lady Annie, Capricorn Copper, Century, Osborne, Selwyn, Baal Gammon, Wolfram Camp, Mt Oxide and Pindora - have been sampled for new economy mineral exploration by researchers at the Sustainable Minerals Initiative funded by the Geological Survey of Queensland. At Baal Gammon, a former Cu-Ag operation, geochemical assay data, LA-ICP-MS and mineralogical investigations have been undertaken on waste rock grab samples collected at the site. The target new economy metal was Indium at this site, which is commonly used to dope germanium in the manufacturing of transistors. Indium is also used to make other electrical components such as rectifiers, thermistors and photoconductors as well as being used in other industrial applications. In recent years, it has been used in light electronics to enable touch-screen functionality.