komatite for dummies..., page-13

Hi Shadders, Mincor Resources have kindly published relevant summarised info on their website in relation to the Kambalda nickel deposits:

http://www.mincor.com.au/kambalda_nickel_operations/genesis_of_kambalda_nickel_deposits.phtml

This info is very useful as it applies the definitions and processes you mentioned to an actual discovery.


Here's a copy/paste:

"Due to the circumstances of their formation, all of Kambalda's ore deposits share certain characteristics, which aids in their exploration. Most importantly, they all occur on the so-called 'basal contact'. This is the contact between the underlying basalt rock (the surface upon which the lava originally flowed, and into which channels were cut by the flowing lava) and the overlying ultramafic rock (known as Komatiite, which was the actual lava that flowed upon the basalt). It is in incised channels in the basalt, on the contact between the basalt and the overlying Komatiite rock, that all Kambalda's significant ore bodies are found. Thus modern exploration for Kambalda-style nickel deposits focuses on exploring this basal contact."