Collection McColl,Rankin,Stanistreet. Cast iron hand press company seal for the Central Napoleon Gold Mining Company, used to seal all official documents pertaining to the Central Napoleon Gold Mining Company. Black enamelled body and handle with brass seal, written in white paint C.Nap.commerce, office equipment, company seal

Collection McColl,Rankin,Stanistreet. Cast iron hand press company seal for the East Clarence Gold Mining Company, used to seal all official documents pertaining to the East Clarence Gold Mining Company. Black enamelled body and handle with brass seal, written in white paint E.Clarance.commerce, office equipment, company seal

Collection McColl,Rankin,Stanistreet. Cast iron handpress company seal for the New Monument Gold Mining Company, used to seal all official documents pertaining to the New Monument Gold Mining Company. Black enamelled cast iron base and handle with Brass seal. Scratched into enamel New Mon & written in white paint New Monument.commerce, office equipment, company seal

Shovel. Shaft has Imprint with D - Arrow - D.gold mining

Cast iron seal for Derbyshire Gold Mining Co registered Bendigo, black with gold and red decoration, wooden handle.LV 55organization, mining, derbyshire gold mining co

Hand Made Miners Axegold mining

Gold Cradle constructed of oiled timber. Approx 500mm high by 1000 mm long. Modern era, Not Gold mining 1860-70's era

Miner's pick, badly rusted iron in poor condition, no handle. Pick was found in the Whipstick bushland by a gold prospector.bendigo, mining, pick

Metal thimble. Item is engraved in a cross hatch pattern. Item is rusted, out of shape and is missing the top.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal thimble. Item is engraved in a series of dots. Item is rusted, cracked and has been flattened.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal thimble. Item is engraved in a series of dots in the upper part with a border of decorative scrolls around the lower. Item is rusted and a little out of shape.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal thimble. Item is engraved in a series of dots in the upper part with a worn border. Item is rusted and a little out of shape.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal cocktail shaker top. Object is round and perforated with a metal knob in the centre. Knob has been bent over.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks, brooch, qc binks.

Gold coloured metal 8 Dram Weight.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks, qc binks, weight

Round metal objectbendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal object. Half dome shape.bendigo, gold mining, qc binks

Metal shaft bucket hook, used in gold mining. Metal ring on top , locking device to secure bucket on shaft of object.gold mines, mining equipment, shaft bucket hook

Brass weights used for weighing gold. Smallest weights a 4 'grain' and 5 'grain' square weights. Rectangular 1 pennyweight weights (brass lozenge apothecary style weights ) through to round, flat 2 ounces. Weights enclosed in an oval shaped tin with side clasp.gold mining, scales, brass weight for weighing gold

Metal candle holder, cylindrical, open top and bottom, with metal spike attached. Used by underground miners. Candle holder was stuck into timbers or rock to provide light. Small stub of candle in holder. Wick fraying.gold mines, mining equipment, candle holder

Chinese gold scales. Wooden scale holder (a) two part wooden device secured at end of handle with a metal pin to allow swivelling of both pieces. At end of handle, two pieces 'violin' shaped to hold scale and weights. This enabled placement of scales within holder. Bottom piece has indent for scale pan, weight and long handle. Chinese scale (b) thin cream handle marked with inch graduations, without numbers. Separately suspended from handle with thick cotton is a small semi-circular lead weight and a round brass scale pan.gold mining, mining equipment, chinese gold scales

Cast Iron gold mould. Mould used in gold pour to shape ingot. Rectangular shape mould with rectangular handle.gold mines, mining equipment, gold mould

Cast iron mercury bucket, used to hold mercury, potentially in the process of recovering minute pieces of gold mixed in soil and sediments. See research page for description of one process of using mercury to extract gold.gold mines, mining equipment, mercury bucket, miners used mercury in a number of ways to amalgamate gold, with each mill or battery operator having their preferred method depending on the nature of the ore. by the late 1850s the most common way of crushing goldbearing quartz ores or consolidated alluvial cements was in a stamp battery. the battery featured heavy iron stamp heads held in a frame, with each head often weighing up to 500 pounds (226 kg) or more (see msv 1880, page 45) (birrell 2005). stamp heads were lifted and dropped by a rotating overhead cam shaft driven by a steam engine or water wheel. ore was fed into a large cast-iron battery box, mixed with a steady stream of water, and pulverised by the stamp heads. in some batteries, mercury was placed in the base of the boxes to amalgamate with freed gold. the violent agitation of the mercury in the mortar box, however, could cause the mercury to break into myriad tiny globules that were carried away by the water with the tailings, thus losing a certain amount of gold in the process (thompson 1867; ritchie & hooker 1997). the water and sand slurry was splashed by the falling stamps from the box through fine mesh screens and onto inclined wooden tables below the mortar box (figure 2). the tables were covered with copper sheets or plates coated with mercury, which caught and amalgamated with a portion of the gold. the grey putty-like amalgam was periodically scraped off the sheets and retorted in a furnace to collect the gold and recover the mercury for reuse. mercury was inevitably lost from the plates, while poor maintenance resulted in further losses of gold and mercury in the tailings. mercury use and loss from gold mining in 19th century victoria. peter davies1, susan lawrence, and jodi turnbull, department of archaeology and history, la trobe university.

Metal gold retort, it has a two parts circular container attached to crook shaped long handle. A caption reads Mr. G. Humphrey. An amalgam (gold and mercury) is placed inside and fire built around outside. Mercury vaporizes away leaving the gold. Diameter of retort 23 cm. Overall size 37x75 cm.mining, equipment, retort

Cast iron company seal used by the South Deborah Gold Mines for official documents including shares, painted black with wooden handle and gold embellishments, painted on one side Sth.Deborah in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines-south deborah

Black cast iron company seal for Deborah United Gold Mining Company used for official documents including shares, black enamelled cast iron with gold trim, painted on one side Deb United in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines- deborah united

Black enamelled cast iron company seal for the Napoleon Reef Gold Mining Company used for official documents including shares, with gold trim and Napoleon Reefs.NL and Nap.Reef painted on sides in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-compaines-gold mines-napoleon reef

Black enamelled cast iron company seal for the Central Garden Gully Gold Mining Company, with gold trim and C.G.Gully painted on one side in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines-central garden gully gold mining company

Black enamelled cast iron company seal for the Monument Hill Consolidated (Bendigo) mine, with gold trim and the name Mon.Con painted on one side in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines-monument hill