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GOLD OCCURRENCES IN CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
For
detailed locations, please refer to the following Geological
Sheets/Maps: Ayr;
Bowen Just 'click' on to any of the following main headings:
ROCKHAMPTON
AREA - Overview
Many
large xenoliths of hornfelsed sediments of the Curtis Island Group,
exposures of pegmatite and granodiorite, and intermediate and acid
dykes occur in the general vicinity of the reefs. The mineralisation
is post quartz diorite, but probably still Triassic in age. The
Pioneer reef was mined in three main sections up to a maximum depth of
55.5m and a maximum thickness of 60cm. Minor pyrite, pyrrhotite, and
chalcopyrite occur in the hanging wall and footwall sections. Gold
values ranged from about 54grams per tonne in the oxidised part of the
reef to a weighted average of 29grams per tonne at the 55.5m level in
the Main shaft and 15grams per tonne of primary ore in the Miller
shaft section in the north-west part of the reef.
Production
from the Some
small mines and prospects occur within the Miriam Vale Granodiorite
and in Palaeozoic sediments and volcanics adjacent to their contact
with the granodiorite. None of these is of economic importance. All
are of restricted lateral and vertical extent and are associated with
small quartz fissure lodes or veins. From south to north they are as
follows: Garson’s
Gold Mine
Garson's
Gold Mine is located 8km northwest of Gin Gin in sheared argillaceous
sediments of the Biggenden Beds. Two leases were held over this area
in the 1930's. The main reef of quartz and calcite strikes 220° and
dips 50° south-east; it is strongly faulted and apparently cuts out
at 15.2 m depth. Trial crushings totalling 44.7 tonnes yielded
674grams of gold; the battery sands assayed at between 9 and 11grams
of gold per tonne. No further production is recorded. The
Mount Bania
gold prospect is located 31km west-north-west of Gin Gin; it is also
known as the “Red Streak”. Gold occurs together with pyrite in
altered (‘gossanous’) and irregularly shaped masses of porphyritic
granophyre in Miriam Vale Granodiorite. Some areas were reported to
contain 23grams of gold per tonne, but assays generally showed less
than 5grams of gold per tonne. Trial crushings in 1935 yielded
200grams of gold from 39.6 tonnes of ore. The irregular and patchy
nature of the mineralisation reduces the economic potential of this
deposit. Traces of molybdenite and a copper silicate were reported to
occur in thin quartz veins in the area. Tararan
gold prospect The
Tararan gold prospect is located near the Cherry
The
Cherry Bell gold prospect
is located 18km north-west of Gin Gin. An 8 to 25cm quartz
vein of approximately 24m length in biotite granite averaged only
7.8grams of gold per tonne. A trial crushing of 3 tonnes in 1933
assayed 18.4 grams of gold per tonne. No production is recorded. Busy
Bee gold prospect The
Busy Bee gold prospect is located about 5km north of the
Cherry Bell.
Denmead reported that of several quartz veins in altered sediments,
lavas, and granite in the area, only one is gold bearing.
Assays of 13.5grams of gold and 3.1grams of silver per tonne
were considered far from encouraging. The
Bell Booth mine (also called Curd’s gold
prospect) is located at Jackass
mine In
the far north of the Geological Sheet area the Jackass mine is located
on a quartz fissure reef in poorly exposed Miriam Vale Granodiorite,
25km north of Miriam Vale. The reef and an associated ironstone leader
strike about 275° and dip an average of 60° south. The fissure
ranges in width from a few centimetres to up to 2.7 m. Stillwell
described the ore as comprising quartz, calcite, chlorite, and pyrite,
with very minor quantities of arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite,
galena, tetrahedrite, native bismuth, and gold. The gold occurs both
free in the quartz and in the chalcopyrite and pyrite. The reef was
mined in 1939 and in the period 1948 to 1953. The grade of ore worked
varied considerably up to a maximum of 47.5grams of gold per tonne. A
representative sample of sulphide ore assayed 44.8 grams of gold per
tonne. Production in 1939 is recorded as 62grams of gold from 2.5
tonnes of ore, but between 1948 and 1953 a total of 309.23 tonnes of
ore from two shafts working a 27m long ore shoot to a depth of 14.6m
yielded 10.3255kg of gold and 1.3250kg of bullion. Glassford
Creek Mining Field The
Glassford Creek Mineral Field is 13km west of The
Glassford Creek gold deposits were first discovered in 1893, and
copper mining commenced in 1899, after unsuccessful attempts to mine
silver and gold. Glassford township (now abandoned) was situated on
Coppermine Creek, 14 miles by road from The
more important gold-copper deposits at this centre were exploited
between 1905 and 1907, when a local smelter operated. Production (of
an intermittent nature) has since been confined to odd shoots of
copper ore, which occasionally carry over 30grams of gold per tonne.
Large quantities of cupriferous lode material exist in the vicinity of
the main workings, but development work alone would indicate how much
of this contains sufficient values in copper, gold, and silver to
constitute ore. The
deposits were first worked by the Bompa Syndicate, from 1899 to 1903.
This syndicate had failed in its attempts to smelt the ore when the
Glassford Creek Copper Mining Company commenced its operations in
1905. This company was unable to work the deposits at a profit, due to
a combination of factors including transport difficulties, lack of
sufficient sulphide ores. and a fall in metal prices in 1907. Minor
development work was continued until 1910. Small parcels of ore were
produced between 1915 and 1918, and from 1932 until 1945, although
none of this ore was smelted at Glassford. There has been no
production since 1945. The
ores are of contact-metasomatic type, and they occur associated with
skarns, developed from rocks of the Caswell Creek Group. Tile skarns
occur as roof pendants within the Glassford Complex, within a short
distance of its contact with the sediments. Garnet and magnetite are
the principal gangue minerals in the primary ore; the magnetite has
altered to hematite in the oxidized zones. Copper minerals present are
chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite; other sulphides present are
sphalerite and galena. Gold and silver are associated with the copper
mineralization. The
principal workings were the Blue Bag and the
Lady Inez, which lay at
the north and south, respectively, of a line of workings which extends
for more than a mile. Ball described the workings and general geology,
and Shepherd described the workings during the last period of operations in the area. Workings at both the
Blue Bag and Lady Inez
consist of open cuts in the oxidized ( surface)
deposits, with several shafts and drives to work below the open cuts.
Production amounted to 18,116 tons of ore, for a yield of 724 tons of
copper, 2,540 oz. of gold and 23,250 oz. of silver. Shepherd
(1942) stated that reserves of up to 20,000 tons of 3 percent ore
could be present in the Blue Bag area and up to 200,000 ton; of 2.3
percent ore in the Lady Inez area. The iron oxide minerals are not
considered to be potential producers of iron ores. Mount
Jacob (Bompa) Gold Mines A
small group of gold workings is situated in the foothills of the Bobby
Range, on the headwaters of the Boyne
Mount Cannindah Mineral Field This
field, of 2¼ square miles, was proclaimed in 1892. It is situated on
Cabbage Tree Creek, in the Many
Peaks Many Peaks is
93km by rail south of Gladstone. The large ore-bodies of the In
the Gladstone district
there has been considerable gold-mining at Calliope
(26km from Gladstone), Barmundoo
and Rainbow fields
(50 to 60km south-west of Gladstone), Norton
(Milton) gold field (53km south of Gladstone), Monal
(68km south of Gladstone), and Bompa
(71km south-east of Gladstone). There has been little work in recent
years. On each of these fields, alluvial mining gave place to reefing
and it seems that, particularly in the case of the Norton field there
were treatment difficulties once the oxidized zone was passed. Future
activity on these fields will probably depend on the possibility of
reworking the old mines with modern methods of treatment. More
recently developed was a small gold mine at Rodd’s
Barmundoo
Goldfield The
Barmundoo Goldfield. 253 square miles in area, was proclaimed in 1894,
following the discovery of gold in the Tablelands area in 1887. Access
to the area is by road from the Biloela - Gladstone road, by way of
station tracks. The Tableland area lies between the headwaters of The
most recent period of activity was between 1930 and 1940. Several
inspections were made by departmental geologists, but prospects were
generally poor. Small gold occurrences are known elsewhere within the
goldfield area, but are not of commercial importance. The rock in
which the reefs occur is granodioritic in composition, and fresh
material is difficult to obtain. The mass is probably related to the
Galloway Plains Tonalite. The Barmundoo Goldfield is not considered to
offer any potential for future development on a large scale. Milton (Norton) Goldfield Gold
was discovered on Almost
the entire production of the Norton Goldfield has been from the reefs.
Gold occurred in ‘compound veins’ or 'formations', consisting
of altered granitic rocks, veined and impregnated with secondary
minerals. Quartz and calcite are the principal gangue minerals.
Sulphide minerals are present in the veins below the water table, and
their presence caused considerable difficulty in the extraction of the
gold and silver. Ball records the presence of pyrite, sphalerite
(blende), chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite (mispickel), galena and marcasite
in the ores. The reefs occur in a grey granodiorite, an extension of
the Miriam Vale Granodiorite, separated from the main part of the
intrusion by a younger body of Castletower Granite. Production
figures for the field are incomplete, but Ball lists principal
crushings and returns for the period 1878-1905, amounting to 16,630
ozs of gold. The Annual Report of the Department of Mines for 1890,
records a production of 2,328 ozs. in addition to Ball’s total. It
is probable, then, that the total production exceeded 20,000 ozs.
Silver is present in most of the reefs. This
field is considered to offer some possibilities for further
exploration and development, since metallurgical problems in gold
extraction were the principal cause of closure of the mines. However,
the existing price of gold (at that time) is too low to inspire
interest in this and other small fields. Ball reported that attempts
had been made to treat the ore by roasting and chlorination, without
success. The possibility of treating the complex ores by flotation has
not been investigated. Monal
Goldfield This
goldfield has an area of 104 square miles, the principal centre of
activity being The
Monal Goldfield is considered to be of little further potential,
because of the small size of the individual reefs. The possibility of
small-scale operations is not discounted, and any further prospecting
in the area should be directed to the contact between the Glassford
Complex and its country rocks. The
Mount Rainbow Goldfield has an area of 14 square miles. It includes Langmorn
Goldfield The
Langmorn Goldfield, west of Gladstone covers a large area extending
from Targinie (39km south-southwest of Rockhampton) west to the Dee
Range, and embraces the Raglan, Mount Larcom and Targinie fields. The
Raglan field was discovered in 1867. The reserve covers an area of 4
square miles immediately west of Raglan, but most of the alluvial gold
was found outside this reserve. The most important reef was the Duke
of Brittany reef which was described by The
Mount Bennett Mine is situated about 22.5km south of Raglan. This
mine was worked from 1901 to 1904, when 1,099 oz of gold were obtained
from 2,972 tons of ore, and 602 oz were recovered from tailings. The
mine closed down in 1904, and subsequent attempts to reopen the mine
have been unsuccessful. At
The
Mount Turrett Reef is within .8km of The
Duke of York Mine is situated on Nine Mile Creek, a tributary of
Langmorn Creek. It was first worked in 1901, and until 1913 had
produced 2,286 oz of gold from 1,637 tons of ore, with 1,281 oz of
gold recovered from the tailings. Numerous
small mines near Targinie have been worked at times since the original
discovery in 1900. The reefs have been described by Cameron and Reid
with some additional references given by Dunstan. Cameron described
reefs up to 1.5m wide, but with a very erratic gold distribution,
although rich shoots were present in places Reid described numerous
small narrow quartz veins in granite and the hornfelsed country rocks
assaying 1 to 3 oz/ton gold. Dunstan recorded garnet-epidote rock at
the contact, containing copper and manganese mineralisation.
Production from this area appears to have been small. The total
recorded gold production from the Langmorn Goldfield from 1893 is
19,566 oz.
ROCKHAMPTON
AREA - Overview Nine
proclaimed Goldfields lie within the Rockhampton and Port Clinton
Geological Sheet areas, and gold occurrences are discussed for each
field. Some gold mines were located outside proclaimed fields. In each
field the initial discovery was of alluvial gold, and reef mining
developed subsequently. Although some of the reefs were very rich,
most were small and few sustained mining operations for long periods.
Most occurred in granitic rocks or in the country rocks adjacent to
the granitic rocks. These reefs are associated with intrusive rocks of
at least four ages, viz. Middle Devonian, late Lower Permian, late
Upper Permian, and possibly Cretaceous. Gold near Gavial Creek Gold
was discovered near the headwaters of Gavial Creek in 1865, and in the
following year about 2,000 people were working the field. However it
was rapidly deserted. The Hector Reef, the first reef worked in Early
production from the mine was not recorded, but between 1890 and 1913,
3,279 tons of ore were crushed for a yield of 3,599 oz of gold. This
excludes the yield for 1903 when 2, 260 tons of ore were crushed, but
no yield is given. Treatment of tailings from 1899 to 1904 yielded
3,933 oz of gold. Jack
described several reefs near Bouldercombe. These were all quartz reefs
up to 6 inches thick, in breccia zones up to 4 feet wide, in granitic
rocks. The reefs contained gold, chalcopyrite, pyrite and sometimes
sphalerite. They generally assayed less than 1 oz/ton gold. Production
from these mines is not recorded, but was presumably small. Jack also
described small reefs in sedimentary rocks to the north-east of
Bouldercombe. The
Hidden Star Mine is situated about .8km from the Hector
Mine. It
was first worked in 1934, Denmead described two reefs consisting of
vitreous or porcellaneous quartz containing biotite, garnet, and
chlorite, which had replaced altered slates and limestone along
bedding planes close to their contact with a granodiorite to the west.
From 1934 to 1936, 1,187 oz of gold were obtained from 2,692 tons of
ore, and a further 150 oz were recovered from tailings in 1936.
Similar smaller mines in this area were described by Denmead and Reid.
Several attempts have been made to work the alluvium along Gavial
Creek using dredges. However,
the coarseness of the gravel and lack of water have made such
operations difficult. The first attempt was in 1901 and 1902, when the
Lord Roberts United Gold Dredger produced 231 oz of gold. However the
operations were uneconomic and the dredging ceased. Between 1934 and
1938, the Crocodile Creek Gold Dredging Company treated 251, 000 cubic
yards of alluvium for a yield of 2,352 oz of gold. This company was
liquidated in 1938, and the machinery was purchased by the Resarf Gold
Dredging Company. This new company obtained 1,408 oz of gold from
175,000 cubic yards of gravel, from 1938 to 1944. Struck
Struck Oil and
Gold
was known from the The
gossan on the ore body, which was up to 300 feet thick, contained the
greatest enrichment of supergene gold found in mining. Operations were
successful until after World War I, when the fall in the price of
copper and rising mining costs made economic mining difficult. In 1925
the underground workings were gutted by fire, and the mine was flooded
to control the fire. The company went into voluntary liquidation in
1927. This company had treated 9,307,000 tons of ore for 5,345,000 oz
of gold and 140,000 tons of copper. The
Rosewood
Goldfield The Rosewood Goldfield is
52km west of Rockhampton. Gold was discovered here in 1867. Several
nuggets up to 100 oz in weight were found, but after the rich alluvial
patches were worked out, the field rapidly became deserted. Some reef
mining was done but little information on the geology of these reefs
is recorded. Dunstan records the Caledonia Reef
as quartz containing
pyrite and chalcopyrite, and the Great Northern Copper Mine
as working
a quartz reef containing chalcopyrite and copper oxides. Ridgelands
Goldfield Gold
was discovered at Ridgelands (32km north-west of Rockhampton) in 1866.
Some of the patches of alluvial gold were very rich. Reef mining did
not become very important because the water level was rapidly reached
and the mines were then abandoned. Very little information on the
geology of these mines or their production has been recorded. Benjamin
Dunstan records the Morning Star Mine as working a quartz reef 2 feet
wide, which assayed 2 oz of gold to the ton. Morinish
Goldfield Alluvial
gold was discovered at Morinish, 56km north-west of
Rockhampton, in 1866. On and at the head of The
gold was very patchy in its distribution, and reef mining soon became
dominant. Jack described the Welcome Reef
as quartz containing pyrite,
arsenopyrite, and minor galena and sphalerite, in fine-grained
greywacke. This appears to have been the main mine in the area. The
only production figures recorded are for 1899 and 1900 when 3,965 tons
of tailings were treated for 2,636 oz of gold. The Alliance Mine is
recorded by Dunstan as having worked a quartz reef containing native
copper, redruthite, tenorite and other copper ores. Recorded
production from this mine from 1889 to 1904 is 1,883 oz of gold from
3,128 tons of ore, and 845 oz of gold from tailings. The Mount
Morinish Mine produced 1,029 oz of gold from 1,076 tons of ore from
1889 to 1906. Hunter's
Gully Auriferous
reefs have been worked to some extent in recent years at Hunters Gully
and Blackfellow’s Gully, but operations have now ceased. Gold was
produced from deep leads in Hunter’s Gully. The gold occurs in wash
of probable Cretaceous age up to 13 feet thick. The wash consists of
pebbles of chert, shale, and quartz, and rare cobbles of igneous rocks
up to 6 inches in diameter, set in a cemented gritty matrix containing
magnetite and ilmenite grains. Only the basal two feet of the wash
contained gold. There were no defined gutters and the gold was very
patchy in its distribution. The conglomerate unconformably overlies
indurated Lower Carboniferous shale, and is overlain by green unctuous
clay containing coaly laminae, which in turn is overlain by Cretaceous
basalt. The first recorded production was in 1909 and 1910, when 80 oz
of gold were produced from 91 tons of wash. Mining recommenced in
1935, and up to 1939 a further 914 oz of gold were produced from 811
tons of wash. A further 221oz of gold was produced from 1939 to 1946. Gold
was discovered in 1930 in the Total
ore production from the mine is 428,000 tons which yielded 10,059 tons
of copper, 51,022 oz of gold and 181,027 oz of silver. The ore body
was first described by Dunstan and the most recent description is that
of Fisher & Owen. They describe it as the more highly mineralized
part of a large mass of silicified rock which had resulted from the
metasomatic replacement of sheared andesitic breccia, following the
emplacement of dykes of varying compositions, but prior to the
intrusion of olivine dolerite dykes and sills. The ore body is a lens,
whose major diameters are 150 feet, 400 feet, and 700 feet. Mineralization
appears to have been controlled to some extent by faults, dykes, and
changes in rock type. Barite is a common gangue mineral. Secondary
enrichment was insignificant. The copper/gold ratio decreased markedly
with depth, and there was a rapid decrease in the grade of ore below
300 feet. Reserves were estimated at about half a million tons of ore
averaging 2.75 % copper and 2.25 dwt/ton gold, but it was considered
that much of this would be difficult to extract. Reserves
of low-grade gold copper sulphide ore still remain in the At
Cawarral Cawarral is
32km north-east of Rockhampton. This was the centre where a number of
reefs were worked to the sulphide zone. They have long been abandoned.
A large amount of gold was previously won from Alluvial
gold was discovered on the spurs of The
Helena Mine worked a quartz reef up to 4 feet wide, which contained
veins of sphalerite and galena. Gold production from 1895 to 1907 was
3,225 oz from 7,710 tons of ore, and 2, 230 oz recovered from
tailings. The Last Chance Mine produced 3.356 oz of gold from 2, 707
tons of ore between 1891 and 1895, and 779 oz from tailings in 1897.
The total recorded production from the Gold
was discovered in New Zealand Gully, 5 miles south of Cawarral, in
1868, and the area was worked for over 30 years. The gold was of very
poor grade as it contained a very high percentage of silver. Recorded
production from the area is small. The North Star Mine worked a quartz
reef up to 1.22m wide in acid crystal tuff. The reef contained some
pyrite and galena. Canoona
Goldfield The Canoona Goldfield is situated 48km
north-west of Rockhampton. This was the first gold rush in It
was essentially an alluvial field. It lies within a belt of
serpentinite which extends north-westwards to Princhester and
Marlborough. In this belt, deposits of chromite, nickel, magnesite and
asbestos (including thin veins of chrysotile asbestos) are known, and
high-quality chrysoprase is being produced, lateritic cover has been
investigated for exploitation of its low nickel content. Dunstan
stated that the Britannia Mine, located just north of Mona Vale
Homestead, worked a quartz reef which contained pyrite, chalcopyrite,
galena, and sphalerite The gold content was reported to be 6 oz/ton,
but no production figures are recorded. The Oaks View Mine, located
on Oaks View Hill, about 17.6km north of Canoona, was described by
Ball. Gold was discovered here in 1903, and mining began in 1904. The
gold, which was very irregular in its distribution, occurred in quartz
veinlets forming a box-work in a fissure in serpentinite. This fissure
was possibly a fault zone. Recorded gold production, including
treatment of tailings, to 1912 when operations ceased, was 4,694 oz.
Reid described an unusual, gold occurrence in serpentinite, 1.6km south-west of Canoona Railway Station. Here 75 oz of gold were found
as slugs up to 10 oz in weight in a fissure in serpentinite. However
no further discoveries were reported. Reid also described the Satan
workings, 7 miles from Canoona. These were on a white quartz vein
containing some patches of pyrite, in fine-grained sediments intruded
by andesite and quartz porphyry dykes. However the gold content was
very low as very little gold appears to have been produced. Torilla
District Gold
deposits in this area on the The
most important mine was the Jubilee Mine, situated about
1.6km south-west of Ulam Goldfield Gold
was discovered here in 1893, and the field was described by Maitland.
Most of the mining was done in a small area 6.4km south of Marmor.
Maitland described the country rocks as steeply-dipping slate, shale
and limestone having a general north-south strike, and intruded by
diorite. Although reefs occurred in both the country rock and the
diorite, the best values were obtained from those in the diorite. The
reefs consisted of milky quartz containing some arsenopyrite and
pyrite, and in places galena. Pyrite-bearing dykes which cut the reefs
were generally associated with the best gold values. The field was
worked in numerous claims, but most returns were disappointing. The
main producer on the field was the Queenslander
Claim, which from 1894
to 1905 produced 1,393 oz of gold. Stanwell
Goldfield This
goldfield was gazetted in 1889, but little information on the field is
available. The only mine of any importance appears to have been the
Native Cat, which worked a pyritic quartz reef. However production
figures are not known. Gold
has also been mined at Westwood to the west of the Stanwell Goldfield.
The Westwood Miscellaneous
Goldfields Gold
was discovered at Yatton, 11.2km east-south-east of Croydon
homestead, around 1880, and about 5,000 ounces of gold was estimated
to have been won by gully-raking before the field was proclaimed in
1386. Recorded production since then has been negligible, and the
field was abandoned by 1391. Jack described the field, and referred to
‘dioritic country rock intersected by dykes of silicated felsite’.
The gold occurs as flakes associated with quartz, calcite, and
siderite in brecciated zones within the diorite. Gold
also occurs in quartz veins cutting volcanics of the Carmila Beds in
the Salt Hill area 9 miles north-northeast of Saint Lawrence. The only
production recorded is 7 ounces of gold in 1950.
At
(a) quartz reefs in the Anakie Metamorphics; (b) Permian alluvial deposits; (c) (?)Tertiary alluvial deposits beneath the basalt; (d) and Recent alluvial deposits. Dunstan
in his report of 1902 also records Tertiary leads above the basalt; he
also regarded some of the leads at Miclere and Black Ridge as
Cretaceous because of their position below a hard siliceous billy, but
these leads are probably Tertiary. Dunstan describes over 25 reefs in
the area, but reef gold production was subsidiary to that from the
deep lead working so for the period 1878 to 1901, reef gold amounted
to 9,900 oz. but deep lead production was 175,500 oz. Most of the
production since 1877 has come from the Permian deep leads. Current GENERAL PERMISSION AREAS available for gold prospecting with metal detectors can be viewed on the following web-site: http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/mines/designated_lands.cfm#declared_fossicking_areas
..... To be continued
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