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Glenfine Location

GLENFINE

THE BEGINNINGS OF GLENFINE

In 1896 the number of companies floated in England to work gold mines in Victoria is recorded as 15, with an average capital each of the equivalent of $25 million today.

The average capital of twenty Victorian floats, same period, was about equivalent to $8 million today. The difference is described as "commission" costs (see Report to the Minister, AR 1896).

In this year, the Government were active in support of the mining industry in various ways, one of which was a free service - by boring holes through the basalt cover for information about prospects for gold. The same service extended to hard rock gold, and to coal. Boring was proceeding in 1896 at four locations - Stawell, Allendale, Pitfield and Archdale.

At Pitfield, a series of bores were commenced in 1895 to prove the extension southward of the deep leads then being worked further north. The first holes, numbers 1 to 7 on the map, presumed a southern direction found to be incorrect. In 1896 numbers 8 to 14 shown how the traverse progressively came to locate the deep lead at Glenfine South.

The Government Annual Report publishes the logs for holes bored in this program. The targets set up through this program are specific, and explain why it was that Victoria floats needed less capital to start up than those competing from England. There is no equivalent program today.

THE OUTCOME OF GLENFINE

THE SITUATION TODAY

The Company has an application in process which proposes retreatment of certain wastes (tailings) at Glenfine - see location plan. The application has been given reference No. MIN 5492. The ownership of the application is 80/20, with Mount Rommel holding 80% of the "rights" being established.

The objective of the application is to gain rights to gold, for the purpose of feeding material (these wastes) through a modern treatment facility for gold recovery, and for the removal of other minerals which may be present at the same time.

The site is rather unusual, in that -

• the location of the deep lead below Glenfine Road (an isolated location) came about through bores drilled by the Government in 1895,
• the displacement westwards from that presumed by earlier drilling (holes 1 to 7 described above) is a consequence of a major flexure in the strike of the bedrock - mapped now, due to access under the lava cover as deep lead mines opened the ground.
• the mine began in 1898 with the purpose of winning gold from deep lead gravels,
• in the opening up of those workings in 1899, the miners intersected a mineralised quartz reef (shown in red colour on the illustration) of substantial dimensions (not previously known);
• at the close of mine life (1908) the total gold won was recorded as 61,063 oz, about half of which came from the battery treatment of the mineralised quartz;
• the wastes (tailings) of interest today are those residual in-place old battery sands, which amount to more than 20,000 tonnes.

The Company proceeds by following due process for applications of this kind. A period of 21 days is given by Government for the lodgement of objections, in accordance with established statutory procedures.