The Frances Creek tenement group provides a cross section of the Early Proterozoic sedimentary stratigraphy of the Pine Creek Geosyncline. The eastern most tenements cover sedimentary rocks of the Namoona and Mt Partridge Groups; the central tenements cover sedimentary rocks of the South Alligator and Mt Partridge Groups, including the ironprospective Lower Wildman Siltstone, whilst the western tenements cover sediments of the Finnis River and South Alligator Groups. The sediments are complexly folded in a NNW trend. Conformable sills of Early Proterozoic Zamu dolerite are folded with the sediments. Cretaceous quartz-pebble conglomeritic sandstone forms remnant plateaus over the central tenement area.

The South Alligator Group covers the western tenements, hosting the iron-rich Koolpin Formation. The Koolpin Formation is represented by a series of narrow mineralized brecciated siltstone units located in a north-south trending valley located about 2km due west of the present mine workings at Frances Creek. The mineralisation is primarily iron with secondary manganese. The mineralisation can be recognized in the majority of outcrops by a conspicuous dark knobbly siltstone breccia. Occasionally, the iron is a replacement mineral in non-brecciated siltstone. Outcrops containing the manganese mineralisation are less continuous and are more likely to be displaced by faulting.

The Koolpin Formation unconformably overlies the Wildman Siltstone and is conformably ........

Reopen the Frances Creek Iron Ore Mine to extract remnant ore from existing open pits. Conventional open pit mining with onsite crushing and screening of DSO and DSM material.

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