Mount Allen Copper prospect, Mount Hope, Blaxland Co., New South Wales, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Allen Copper prospect	Prospect (Abandoned)
Mount Hope	Mountain
Blaxland Co.	County
New South Wales	State
Australia	Country

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A former small underground mine with shafts and shallow pits. Operated early 1900s.

Copper mineralisation was at depth, however mined for ironstone flux for the Mount Hope Copper Mine about 16 kilometres to the south, then as a gold mine for a short period.

Carne (1908) states: 'The ironstone flux was carted from Mount Allen, a distance of 10 miles and formed a serious item in the expenditure. A large amount of this flux was used by the New Mount Hope Company before its auriferous nature was discovered which resulted in the Mount Allen Gold Mining Company being formed. Gold mining operations were established and successfully maintained for a time when the gold yields fell below payable proportions. Cyanidation was afterwards resorted to for the large amount of ironstone tailings produced by the battery treatment. The tailings were purchased by the copper company at 7s. per ton for fluxing purposes, but the supply was stopped in view of the new treatment. The purchase, mining and carriage of ironstone flux at the Mount Hope attracted an expenditure of 15s. per ton which should expediate the development of the sulphide resources of Mount Hope.'

According to McQueen (2021) The Mount Allen site was discovered by Richard Jones who sank a shaft and adit but lacked capital so sold the mine to the Mount Hope Copper Company as a source of ironstone flux.

Peter Bergan Febuary 1885 discovered gold in the flux material however lacked capital to develop the mine, so it continued to be mined for flux until 1891. Joseph Reilly formed the Mount Allen Gold Mining Company with John Hutchens appointed the mine manager. The Mount Hope Copper Company received government compensation for the loss of its ironstone flux source. A ten head battery was installed, however much gold was lost to the tailings as it was very fine and muddy water used. There was spasmodic production for the next three years. In November 28 1895 the mine manager's house and office burnt down. In September 1896 the company was reconstructed to access more capital. Mining ceased late 1897 due to the easily available ore being exhausted. The tailings were reprocessed in 1899. In 1901 the Great Central Freehold Mines Ltd purchased the mine however little was done with it. Tributors took out a small amount of gold in 1909. Total production across the entire period was 6,974 oz gold.

The ore was described as gossan and oxidised ore in the upper levels, and deeper pyritic with copper sulphides, and supergene gold enrichment.

Gilligan (1993) lists a Mount Allen Cu, and Mt Allen Au-Fe (Bi, W) P68 and in the metal data cards section separately. They are under different rock types in the same area, however it is possible it's one and the same mine. The reference only describes the second mine (pp 69-70).

The quarry and immediate area shows rhyolitic tuff, sandstone, shale, quartz-magnetite rock, and hematite-magnetite-chlorite siltstone. Low grade gold is distributed erratically in strongly chloritic siltstone up to 90 metres wide. The ironstone is massive hematite and lesser magnetite as lenses the largest 18 metres long, 9 metres wide and over 30 metres deep. Au, Ag and minor Bi, W, Se values were found in the iron ore, and pyrite in the Fe siltstone. Sulphide mineralisation at depth contained pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite as disseminations and associated with quartz veins. There were minor Pb-Zn values in the overlying volcanics.

Mineral List

4 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded