In recent years, new deposits in the West Kimberley region and new mines at Yalgoo in the Murchison and Nifty in the east Pilbara region have brought fresh life to the industry. Base metals are formed near the earth's surface as sulphide minerals. They are usually found within vein deposits of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Base metals can also lie within sedimentary and volcanic rock associations.
In the Kimberley region of Western Australia, recent discoveries of base metals were made in ancient limestone reef beds. Copper deposits found in Western Australia were formed in Precambrian ages between 800 million and 2.5 billion years ago. Zinc and lead deposits are about 380 million years old. Lead-zinc deposits are being mined in the Canning basin in the Kimberley region. The opening of the Cadjebut mine 80km south of Fitzroy Crossing in 1988 saw lead production resume as a co-product of zinc in Western Australia for the first time since 1970.