Showing 3 items matching "large-scale mining methods"
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The Beechworth Burke MuseumPhotograph, 1920-1950
... ...large-scale mining methods...Large water quantities were required for hydraulic sluicing, and the long water races and deep tailraces that were constructed were considered great engineering feats. This method of mining is extremely effective, but causes significant environmental damage and impacts to waterways and agricultural operations. Miners at Beechworth built extensive networks of races and dams to secure reliable supplies of water on a scale...This photograph has historic and research potential for understanding changes to the landscape, the evolution of mining methods, and the extensive construction, manipulation and management of water networks in the Beechworth district. burke museum beechworth museum beechworth gold fields gold rush victorian gold rush hydraulic sluicing spring creek netwown falls mining tunnels water races tailraces gold ming history colonial australia australian gold rushes mining technology beechworth historic district indigo gold trail indigo shire john pund water manipulation water engineering three mile creek three mile mine water race large-scale mining methods historical mining construction alluvial mining mining environmental impacts baarmutha water barons Reverse: 7597-1 / Sluice Mining / Copied from original on loan from Webb (Qld) / Donated Nov 2009 / Baarmutha Three Mile Mine c1920-1950 / Managed by the Plain Bros then Parkinsons / Current Location is: Beechworth Animal Shelter / used for Baarmutha Black and white rectangular photograph on matte paper Photograph Photograph ...This image taken between 1920-1930 depicts open-cut hydraulic sluicing at the Three Mile Mine, located about five kilometres south of Beechworth. Alluvial, or surface, mining began on this site in the 1850s, but was soon replaced by hydraulic sluicing methods. By the start of 1880 it is estimated that nine hundred miles of water races had been cut though soil and rock in the Beechworth district. Hydraulic sluicing employs high pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Gold gets caught in the sluice and the remaining slurry is washed away. Large water quantities were required for hydraulic sluicing, and the long water races and deep tailraces that were constructed were considered great engineering feats. This method of mining is extremely effective, but causes significant environmental damage and impacts to waterways and agricultural operations. Miners at Beechworth built extensive networks of races and dams to secure reliable supplies of water on a scale far greater than elsewhere in Victoria. By the 1880s Beechworth's water barons continued to hold more than half of all the water right licences on issue and undertook sluicing operations on a massive scale. The manipulation of surface and ground water via race networks was well planned and recorded in detail by local mining surveyors. The maps that were created, combined with modern geo-spatial technologies, provide a vital key in understanding the great lengths to which miners went to capture and control critical water resources. Today, Three Mile mine is called Baarmutha. The Three Mile Mine was unproductive until 1865 when John Pund and three other miners secured a fifteen year license and constructed a water race from Upper Nine Mile Creek to Three Mile Creek. In the early twentieth century Pund & Co. averaged over one thousand ounces of gold per year from the mine. After Pund's death in 1915, GSG Amalgamated Co operated the site, continuing sluicing until 1950. This image of hydraulic sluicing methods shows the extent of water-works engineering in the landscape. This photograph has historic and research potential for understanding changes to the landscape, the evolution of mining methods, and the extensive construction, manipulation and management of water networks in the Beechworth district. Black and white rectangular photograph on matte paperReverse: 7597-1 / Sluice Mining / Copied from original on loan from Webb (Qld) / Donated Nov 2009 / Baarmutha Three Mile Mine c1920-1950 / Managed by the Plain Bros then Parkinsons / Current Location is: Beechworth Animal Shelter / used for Baarmuthaburke museum, beechworth museum, beechworth, gold fields, gold rush, victorian gold rush, hydraulic sluicing, spring creek, netwown falls, mining tunnels, water races, tailraces, gold ming history, colonial australia, australian gold rushes, mining technology, beechworth historic district, indigo gold trail, indigo shire, john pund, water manipulation, water engineering, three mile creek, three mile mine, water race, large-scale mining methods, historical mining construction, alluvial mining, mining environmental impacts, baarmutha, water barons -
The Beechworth Burke MuseumPhotograph - Photograph - Reproduction, ca. 1900
... mining at Beechworth was similar to that in other Victorian goldfields like Ballarat and Bendigo, Beechworth is notable for its use of hydraulic sluicing as a major method of removing wash-dirt. Hydraulic sluicing employs high pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Gold gets caught in the sluice and the remaining slurry is washed away. This method of mining is extremely effective but causes significant environmental impacts and damage to waterways. Large water quantities were required for large-scale...mining at Beechworth was similar to that in other Victorian goldfields like Ballarat and Bendigo, Beechworth is notable for its use of hydraulic sluicing as a major method of removing wash-dirt. Hydraulic sluicing employs high pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Gold gets caught in the sluice and the remaining slurry is washed away. This method of mining is extremely effective but causes significant environmental impacts and damage to waterways. Large water quantities were required for large-scale ...This image shows the approach to Beechworth from the south-west via the Newtown Bridge. Numerous early buildings line the road as it bifurcates to become Ford and High Streets on the ridge above Spring Creek and Newtown Falls. The sloping, rocky terrain and water course along the gorge show evidence of the intense mining activity that occurred at the site. The Ovens Gold Rush at Beechworth started when gold was found at Spring Creek in February 1852, prompting an influx of miners from around the world. The population grew over 20,000 by 1857. While the earliest mining at Beechworth was similar to that in other Victorian goldfields like Ballarat and Bendigo, Beechworth is notable for its use of hydraulic sluicing as a major method of removing wash-dirt. Hydraulic sluicing employs high pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Gold gets caught in the sluice and the remaining slurry is washed away. This method of mining is extremely effective but causes significant environmental impacts and damage to waterways. Large water quantities were required for large-scale sluicing, and the long water races and deep tailraces that were constructed in the Beechworth area in the nineteenth century are nonetheless considered feats of engineering. The site in the photograph is associated with the Rocky Mountain Mining Company who constructed an eight hundred meter tunnel under the township between 1876-1880 to reduce water levels at Spring Creek, which had been subject to diversions since the earliest days of alluvial mining. Over four million ounces of gold (115 tones) were found at Beechworth between 1852 and 1868, and the wealth from the gold rushes built Beechworth and the nationally significant buildings that remain standing today.This image shows the early development of the Beechworth township above Spring Creek, where gold was discovered in 1852. Evidence of hydraulic sluicing, a uniquely predominant method at Beechworth, and water-works engineering are present in the landscape. By the 1870s, alluvial gold deposits were depleted and increasingly complex engineering was required so deeper shafts could reach bedrock. This image is significant for understanding changes to the landscape and the evolution of mining methods and engineering practices related to the extensive construction, manipulation and management of water networks. The shift from smaller scale alluvial mining to larger company dominance in the mining industry has implications for understanding wider social, economic, political and industrial changes in the region of Beechworth and within the context of the Victorian Gold Rush more broadly. A black and white rectangular reproduction photograph printed on photographic paper. burke museum, beechworth museum, beechworth, gold fields, gold rush, victorian gold rush, hydraulic sluicing, rocky mountain mining company, spring creek, netwown falls, mining tunnels, water races, tailraces, colonial australia, australian gold rushes, mining technology, beechworth historic district, indigo gold trail, migration, indigo shire, gold mining, gold mining history -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.Document - Michele Matthews Collection: Presentation - "We Did Our Dough in Bendigo", July 2005
... Misapplied expertise (iron ore mining methods used for gold exploration).Insufficient focus on exploration and prospecting before large-scale development. 2. ...Misapplied expertise (iron ore mining methods used for gold exploration).Insufficient focus on exploration and prospecting before large-scale development. 2. ...Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records. This document from the Australian Mining History Association Annual Conference in Bendigo July 2005 provides a historical analysis of the exploration, development, and management of the Bendigo goldfield by major mining companies from the 1930s to the early 1990s, focusing on two main episodes: 1. Gold Mines of Australia (GMA) and Bendigo Mines Ltd (BML) in the 1930s. BML, a subsidiary of GMA, invested over $1 million (equivalent to $35 million today) to reopen and develop the Bendigo goldfield. Extensive infrastructure was built, including three major new shafts, a stamp battery, and associated plant. Despite significant scientific and engineering efforts, no major gold discoveries were made. Only 7,347 ounces of gold were recovered from 47,000 tons of ore, yielding revenue far below investment. The company was liquidated in 1937, with shareholders receiving nothing. Excessive spending on production infrastructure before confirming ore reserves. Misapplied expertise (iron ore mining methods used for gold exploration).Insufficient focus on exploration and prospecting before large-scale development. 2. Western Mining Corporation (WMC) in the 1970s–1990s WMC reassessed the Bendigo field in the late 1970s, leveraging improved drilling technology and historical data.Comprehensive geological reviews and innovative drilling identified several promising areas. WMC invested over $20 million in exploration, shaft rehabilitation, and bulk sampling. Environmental regulations, local opposition, and administrative hurdles complicated operations. Attempts to form a public company (Great Bendigo Goldfields Ltd) to share risk and involve local stakeholders failed due to regulatory delays and waning public interest. Falling gold prices, loss of tax incentives, and restrictive government policies led WMC to cease operations in 1989. The project was sold in 1992 for $1.6 million, a fraction of the investment. 3. Both major efforts ended in financial loss, encapsulated by the phrase "We did our dough, in Bendigo. "Key factors in failure included premature large-scale investment, external economic and regulatory pressures, and underestimation of exploration risk. The document notes that future efforts may benefit from the accumulated knowledge and changed technical, economic, and political conditions. These episodes illustrate the risks of large-scale mining ventures without adequate exploration and the impact of external factors on mining project viability. Michele Matthews Collection: Presentation - "We Did Our Dough in Bendigo" July 2005 by Gilbert M Ralph, MBE, OAM This item includes the following two documents: 8672.20a This eight typed paged document from the Australian Mining History Association Annual Conference in Bendigo July 2005 provides a historical analysis of the exploration, development, and management of the Bendigo goldfield by major mining companies from the 1930s to the early 1990s. 8672.20b Business card - Gilbert M Ralph, Consultant, Mt Waveley - Victoria - Contact BHS for detailsbendigo, brac, michele matthews collection
