West Coast Tasmania Mines

The mines of the West Coast of Tasmania have a rich historical heritage as well as an important mineralogical value in containing or having had found, specimens of rare and unusual minerals. Also, the various mining fields have important roles in the understanding of the mineralization of the Mount Read Volcanics, and the occurrence of economic minerals.

This list is a partial collation of the names of mines that have existed, a considerable number are found on or adjacent to the West Coast Range. Other mines and leases with different names may have existed.

• The place names after the name of the mine are as found in records, and may not be accurate.
• Where possible, subheadings are created for entries such as Mount Lyell, where different workings at the mine were named, and some common usages do not necessarily relate to company or Mines Department records
• It is not a list of exploration leases, or "finds" where a mineral has been found on the west coast.

List of named mines

• Adelaide Proprietary Mine,^[1]Dundas
• Austral Mine,^[2] Zeehan
• Boulder Mine,^[3] North Dundas ^[4][5]
• Britannia Mine,^[6] Zeehan
• British-Zeehan Mine, Zeehan ^[7]
• Central Balstrup Mine, Zeehan
• Colebrook Mine, Rosebery
• Comet Mine, Dundas ^[8]
• Comstock Mine, Zeehan
• Cumberland Tin Mine, Mount Heemskirk ^[9]
• Curtin Davis Mine, Dundas
• Dundas Extended, Dundas
• East Hercules Mine, Rosebery ^[10]
• Farrell Mine, Tullah
• Federation Mine, Mount Heemskirk
• Fraser Creek Mine, North East Dundas
• Grubbs Mine, Zeehan
• Hal Jukes, Mount Jukes
• Hecla Mine, Dundas
• Henty Gold Mine, Henty River
• Hercules Mine, Mount Read
• Hydes, Mount Jukes (West)
• Jukes Proprietary, Mount Jukes
• Junction Mine, Zeehan ^[11]
• King Jukes Mine, Crotty ^[12][13]
• Lake Jukes, Crotty ^[14]
• Magnet Mine, Waratah
• Maynes Mine, Mount Heemskirk ^[15]
• Melba Mine, North Dundas
• Montana Mine, Zeehan ^[16]
• Montana Western Extended Mine ^[17]
• Mount Black Mine, Rosbery
• Mount Bischoff, Mount Bischoff
• Mount Darwin, Mount Darwin
• Mount Farrell Mine, Tullah
• Mount Lyell, Queenstown
  • Cape Horn ^[18]
  • Comstock (also known as Lyell Comstock, in close proximity to Cape Horn)
  • Crown Lyell
  • Flux Quarry
  • Iron Blow - site lost with opening of the large open cut
  • Lyell Blocks ^[19]
  • Open Cut (also known as West Lyell Open Cut)
  • Prince Lyell
  • Royal Tharsis Open cut
  • Tharsis
  • Twelve West
  • West Lyell (also known as Open Cut)
  • West Tharsis
• North Farrell Mine, Tullah
• North Mount Lyell, Gormanston
• Oonah Mine, Zeehan ^[20]
• Queen Jukes, Mount Jukes
• Prince Darwin, Mount Darwin
• Razorback Mine, Dundas ^[21]
• Renison Bell Mine, Renison Bell
• Silver Queen Mine, Zeehan ^[22][23]
• Silversteam Mine, Zeehan
• Spray Mine, Zeehan ^[24]
• Sussanite Mine, Zeehan
• Tasmanian Copper Mine, Rosebery
• Taylours Reward, Mount Jukes
• Tenth Legion Mine, Zeehan ^[25][26]
• West Comet Mine, Dundas

List of Mining Field names

There are also designated 'fields'-

• Dundas ^[27]
• Jukes-Darwin Mining Field ^[28]
• Mount Farrell Mining Field ^[29]
• North Dundas
• North Heemskirk ^[30]
• Read - Rosebery ^[31]
• Rosebery ^[32]
• South Heemskirk ^[33]
• Zeehan ^[34][35][36]

Smelters

• Crotty ^[37][38]
• Mount Lyell ^[39]
• Tasmanian Metals Extraction Company, Rosebery, smelter ^[40]

See also

• Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania
• West Coast Range

Notes

1. "MANAGERS' REPORTS.". Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 13 October 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
2. Note that newspaper reports call this mine the 'Austral Valley Mine'"ZEEHAN.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 11 January 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
3. "NORTH DUNDAS TINFIELD.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 11 June 1909. p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
4. Waller, George A; Tasmania. Government Geologist's Office (1902), Report on the tin ore deposits of North Dundas, Government Geologist's Office, retrieved 9 February 2015
5. Conder, Hartwell; Tasmania. Department of Mines (1918), The tin field of North Dundas, Dept. of Mines, retrieved 9 February 2015
6. "ZEEHAN MINES.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 26 October 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
7. "BRITISH ZEEHAN.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 4 August 1900. p. 8. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
8. "MINING MEETINGS.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 25 December 1900. p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
9. "MINING MEETINGS.". Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 24 December 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
10. "MINING NEWS.". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 6 April 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
11. "THE JUNCTION MINE, ZEEHAN.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 14 October 1892. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
12. "KING JUKES MINE.". Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 19 October 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
13. "MT. JUKES COPPER FIELD.". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) (Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia). 2 October 1899. p. 9. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
14. "LAKE JUKES MINE.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 5 October 1904. p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
15. "A NEW TIN FIND.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 18 April 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
16. Hart, J. G. (John G.); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Australia); University of Melbourne. Department of Mining (1940), Flotation of silver-lead ore from the Montana Mine, Zeehan, Tas, CSIR and Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Melbourne, retrieved 22 February 2015
17. Hart, J. G. (John G.); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Australia); University of Melbourne. Department of Mining (1937), Preliminary investigation of silver-lead ore from the Montana Western Extended Mine, Zeehan, Tas, CSIR and Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Melbourne, retrieved 22 February 2015
18. Green, Geoffrey Richard (1971), Geology and mineralization of the Cape Horn - Lyell Comstock area, Mt Lyell, retrieved 9 February 2015
19. referring to the Blocks company "LYELL.". Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas. : 1890 - 1922) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 19 March 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
20. "THE OONAH MINE.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 21 February 1910. p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
21. "RAZORBACK MINE, DUNDAS.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 16 April 1924. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
22. "DISCOVERY ON THE SILVER QUEEN.". Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 17 September 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
23. "THE SILVER QUEEN.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 8 June 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
24. "THE SPRAY MINE.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 7 October 1908. p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
25. "ZEEHAN AND DISTRICT.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 6 November 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
26. "ZEEHAN AND DISTRICT.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 6 November 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
27. Reid, A. McIntosh; Tasmania. Department of Mines (1925), The Dundas mineral field, Dept. of Mines, retrieved 10 February 2015
28. Hills, Loftus; Tasmania. Department of Mines (1914), The Jukes-Darwin mining field, Dept. of Mines, retrieved 10 February 2015
29. "THE FARRELL FIELD.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 5 April 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
30. "NORTH HEEMSKIRK.". Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) (Tas.: National Library of Australia). 21 July 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
31. "MOUNT READ-ROSEBERY FIELD.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 30 June 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
32. "THE ROSEBERY MINING FIELD.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 30 May 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
33. Waterhouse, L. Lawry; Tasmania. Department of Mines (1916), The South Heemskirk tin field, Dept. of Mines, retrieved 10 February 2015
34. Waller, George A (1904), Report on the Zeehan silver-lead mining field, with map and two plates, Government Printer, retrieved 10 February 2015
35. Twelvetrees, W. H. (William Harper); Ward, L. Keith (Leonard Keith), 1879-1964; Tasmania. Department of Mines (1909), Geological examination of the Zeehan Field : preliminary statement, Dept. of Mines, retrieved 10 February 2015
36. Pullen, Glenn C. (Glenn Charlton) (1963), The discovery and decline of the Zeehan silver lead field, retrieved 10 February 2015
37. "CROTTY.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 18 November 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
38. Photograph - Crotty - North Mount Lyell Smelters, LINC Tasmania, retrieved 10 February 2015
39. "THE MOUNT LYELL SMELTERS.". Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 24 August 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
40. "ROSEBERY SMELTERS.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 3 August 1912. p. 4 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

References

• Blainey, Geoffrey (2000). The Peaks of Lyell (6th ed.). Hobart: St. David's Park Publishing. ISBN 0-7246-2265-9.
• How, Duncan (1992). Historic Mines of Western Tasmania, a walking guide. Walk the West Publications. ISBN 0-646-10651-1.
• Pink, Kerry (1984). The west coast story : a history of Western Tasmania and its mining fields (Rev. ed.). Zeehan, Tasmania: West Coast Pioneers' Memorial Museum. ISBN 0-9598295-2-0.
• Rae, Lou (2001). The Abt Railway and Railways of the Lyell region. Sandy Bay: Lou Rae. ISBN 0-9592098-7-5.
• Tuma, Andrew and Bottrill, R.S.(2006) The minerals of Western Tasmania:Introduction, history and geological setting in Australian Journal of Mineralogy, volume 12, No.2, December 2006
• Whitham, Charles (2003). Western Tasmania - A land of riches and beauty (Reprint 2003 ed.). Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown.
• Whitham, Lindsay (2002). Railways, Mines, Pubs and People and other historical research. Sandy Bay: Tasmanian Historical Research Association. ISBN 0-909479-21-6.