Historical information
Historic photo of mining at Specimen Hill. After crushing ore, the sand pyrites remaining could be treated to extract even finer gold. The sand was placed in large brick ovens to be roasted, which freed the sand of arsenic, sulphur etc, with the fumes containing these elements released into the atmosphere via a large chimney.
Spargo's Pyrite Company operated from about 1870. It closed when there became a shortage of workers during WW1 and appears to have not restarted after the war.
Physical description
Black and white image, possibly copy. Weatherboard building on left hand side, elevated weatherboard building centre with chute descending to lower building. Possibly Spargo's Pyrites works, date unknown
