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Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt
The Dun Mountain-Maitai Terrane comprises the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt (also called the Mineral Belt), Maitai Group and Patuki Mélange. The Dun Mountain Ophiolite is an ophiolite of Permian age located in New Zealand's South Island. Prehistorically this ophiolite was quarried by Māori for both metasomatized argillite and pounamu (jade) which was used in the production of tools and jewellery. In the late 1800s, the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt was surveyed for its economic potential. During this time the rock types dunite and rodingite (after Dun Mountain and the Roding River) were first named. Discovery of economic deposits of chromite near Nelson lead to the building of New Zealand’s first railway, however, extraction only occurred between 1862 and 1866. In the 20th century, serpentinite was mined for fertiliser and the ophiolite remains one of New Zealand's main sources of pounamu (jade), but all other mineral exploration has failed to find economic deposits. Descriptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dun Mountain
Dun Mountain is a mountain in the Richmond Range near the city of Nelson in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It is located between the catchments of the Pelorus, Maitai and Roding Rivers. The mountain is named for its brown (Dun) colour. The colour is caused by the ultramafic rock which forms the mountain. Ultramafic Rock weathers to this colour and plant growth is also stunted due to the soils high heavy metal content. The ultramafic rock formed in the earth's mantle in the Permian and is now part of the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt. In 1859 the rock type dunite was first identified on the mountain and named after it. Between 1850 and 1865 small deposits of chromite and copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ... were mined on the mountain leadi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
