Black and white photograph. Image shows tall mining shed, smaller shed attached on side with brick chimney and tank alongside. Written on back of photo: '1940'. Possibly South New Moon Mine Eaglehawk.gold mines, mining equipment, south new moon mine site

Corrugated iron shed, large rectangular opening in front, shed attached on side. Possibly South New Moon Mine site, Eaglehawk, 1940's.gold mines, mining equipment, south new moon mine site

Beam balance (gold scales) made by Oertling - London. The balance is in a case made of mahogany and fully glassed, it has two draws. The brass scales are built into the case. The maker's name is present on the base of the scale. There is a brass knob that fits in the front to make adjustment to the scales and also on either side of the exterior case to set the top of the scales. There are two front draw, the left one is missing the drawer knob.mining, equipment, scale, ludwig oertling (1818-1893) was born near hamburg and gained his apprenticeship in instrument-making with his brother johann. he immigrated to london in 1840, where he joined instrument-maker and assayer george makins (1815-1893). oertling collaborated with makins and built his first balance, which was "a twin-column assay type with a light lattice beam". by 1851, the year of the great international exhibition of the works of all nations, oertling had established his own instrument-making business, employed five instrument-makers, and by 1861, ten staff were engaged in designing and making instruments, principally analytical balances. oertling's first twin-column beam balance was the prototype for all oertling assay balances that were produced during the next century and exported to the british colonies: australia, new zealand, canada, south africa and india, to europe and america.

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

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

Black and white photograph (copy) of South New Moon Mine. Written on base of photograph : 'South New Moon Mine.Eaglehawk. Leading Mine in State, 1903. Gold Yield 257,498 ozs.' Image shows mining dam in forefront, large mine buildings and chimney LH side and trestleway connecting to poppet head on RH side. Smaller mine buildings in background. Photo on buff coloured backing board, enclosed in plastic, sealed at back. See: Victorian Heritage Database for history of site http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/12109?print=truegold mines, mining equipment, south new moon mine site

A miners water bottle made of galvanized iron with handle. It has few dents and rust patches but overall in fair condition.mining, equipment, water bottle

Model of a trestle-way over. The trestle was attached to the poppet head and used to move the rocks over the crushing plant.mining, equipment, trestle

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

Black enamelled cast iron company seal for the North Virginia Gold Mining Company with gold trim and the name N.Virginia painted on one side in white paint.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines- north virginia

Large black enamelled cast iron company seal with wooden handle, red and gold decoration, seal is a general cross hatched pattern.gold mines, mining equipment, company seal, bendigo-companies-gold mines-seals

Black metal miners' lamp, rectangular base with 'pyramid' shaped, perforated, top section. Circular metal loop attached to top with metal pin. Glass sides with metal cross bar for protection. Candle holder inside lamp.gold mining, mining equipment, miners' lamp

Metal miners' 'spider', circular candle holder on side, half loop on side for resting 'spider'. Circular handle on end. Spike on one end. One continuous piece of metal forged to shape.gold mining, mining equipment, spider lamp

Bendigo clay crucible used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Printed inside circular mark on side of crucible in black : 'Bendigo Clay Crucible' Large letter 'G' stamped in centre. Manufactured by Bendigo Pottery.gold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Bendigo clay crucible used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Printed inside circular mark on side of crucible in black : 'Bendigo Clay Crucible' Large letter 'F' stamped in centre. denoting size. Manufactured by Bendigo Pottery.gold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Small, clay crucible bowls, used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Pink discolouration inside crucible. Impressed on bottom of crucible "Battersea Works England' and number '3', denoting size, in centre of maker's name.Battersea Works Englandgold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Small clay crucible bowl used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Maker's name impressed on bottom 'Battersea Works England ' and '2 ?1m', possibly denoting size of crucible.Battersea Works Englandgold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Small clay crucible used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Maker's mark indecipherable on bottom of crucible.gold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Small gold crucible, bowl shape, used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. No maker's mark on base.gold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible

Clay gold crucible used for smelting, assaying and refining gold. Inside of crucible discoloured with brown and pale green mark. Maker's name on side: 'Juleff, number 78, (location indecipherable) England.Juleffgold mines, mining equipment, gold crucible