Mount Boppy Gold Mine, Canbelego, Robinson Co., New South Wales, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Boppy Gold Mine	Mine (Care and Maintenance)
Canbelego	- not defined -
Robinson Co.	County
New South Wales	State
Australia	Country

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Map sheet: SH 55-14, 8134 I N.
Coordinates: 434800mE, 6508000mN.
A former copper and gold mine (under care and maintenance 2012).

Located in the Parish of Cohn in Robinson Co. Nearest town Canbelego.

The mine is located in the northern part of the regional Devonian aged Canbelego-Mineral Hill Rift Zone flanked by the Kopyje Shelf on the far eastern side of the Cobar Basin.

The deposit is flanked by two north striking faults, dipping steeply west. The eastern part is thicker and more continuous; the western part narrower and less well developed. Both are truncated to the west and at depth by the NNE trending steep east dipping West Fault.

It is a mesothermal/epithermal lode style deposit, with gold in brecciated and silicified sediments and quartz veins. The main lode strikes north-south and dips 70-80 degress west. Gold is found within microcrystalline and finely crystalline tension quartz veins and silica alteration zones. The highest gold grades are found near the hanging wall of the east zone, and in the Baledmund Formation on the west side of the main lode. Gold is associated with grey quartz and minor pyrite.

The mine was the largest producer of gold in New South Wales during its initial mining phase 1901-1923. Good management, constant upgrading of treatment plants, the introduction of innovative technology, and a rich ore lode were all factors. It produced approximately 433 000 oz Au during this period, and shareholders got back five times the original capital invested.

The deposit was discovered by Michael O'Grady and Thomas Reid September 1896. M.J. Brown and William Budd joined the syndicate. After a year of cursory mining they sold the mine to the Anglo Australian Exploration Company. In 1900 the Mount Boppy Gold Mining Company was floated in England. Mining commenced in 1901 with a 40 head stamp battery and cyanide plant. The machinery and plant was changed and added to numerous times over the next twenty years. Large tonnages and ounces of gold followed. It peaked in 1908 with 34,000 ounces for the year. The mine was employing 380 men by this stage.

While still large, tonnages and the amount of ounces gradually decreased due to droughts, the effects on labour and material during World War One, and the exhaustion of the oxide ore. In 1922 the mine was let on tribute and then it closed a year later. The town of Canbelego which had been established next to the mine declined, until today it is little more than a ghost town.

George William Budd (son of the original prospector) purchased the mine after the company left and did some small scale mining, and retreating of the tailings 1928-1941. Several companies have had a go at treating the substantial tailings with little success. In 1974 Leighton Mining erected the first CIP plant in Australia. The new technology was not a success, however the plants are common place at gold mines today. Epoch Minerals conducted minor open pit mining employing six men 1985-1991. July 1993 Polymetals Australia Pty Ltd purchased the lease, reconditioned the processing plant and used it to process ore from its Elura Mine near Cobar. Then they started mining via an open pit at Mount Boppy 2002-2005. Black Oak Minerals did the same in 2015. Manuka Resources began open pit mining 2020-2023.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

Mineral List

15 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded