Mount Solitary Gold Mine, Mount Hope, Blaxland Co., New South Wales, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Mount Solitary Gold Mine | Mine (Exploration Target) |
| Mount Hope | Mountain |
| Blaxland Co. | County |
| New South Wales | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
32° 51' 10'' South , 145° 54' 45'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Mine (Exploration Target) - last checked 2026
Deposit first discovered:
1901
Age:
419.2 ± 3.2 to 393.3 ± 1.2 Ma
Geologic Time:
Reference for age:
Gilligan, L.B., Suppel, D.W. (1993) Metallogenic Study and Mineral Deposit Data Sheets: Nymagee 1:250 000 Metallogenic Map (SI/55-2). Geological Survey of New South Wales, Sydney, 171 pages.
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Cargelligo | 1,288 (2017) | 65.5km |
A former underground gold mine located on the steep slopes of Mount Solitary, just east of Mount Hope. Au with significant Bi.
The deposit occurs on a small hill at a height of 100 metres above the surrounding plain, and three kilometres east of Mt Hope. Workings can be seen on the northern side of the hill, just below the summit. Access is prevented by roadside fencing and unfriendly signage.
Gold was discovered at the site by Andrew Dowd in August 1901. In 1903 Dowd and W. Davis pegged leases and mining commenced in 1904. 12 tons was initially produced for 3 oz Au. However they lacked capital to develop the deposit further and sold the mine in 1905 to a Melbourne syndicate. They tested the deposit further however no major mining took place.
In 1934 W.E. Strawbridge took out the leases, and in 1935 he floated the Mount Solitary Gold Mining Company NL. A treatment and cyanide plant was erected in 1938, with ore in the meantime sent to Port Kembla for processing. In 1935-1938 900 tons of ore was crushed for 70 oz Au. The site at this stage had several shafts and an open cut on two lodes.
The site in 1938 was taken over by Matakana Gold Company NL. The plant was further upgraded and open cut mining occurred until 1940. At this stage the tailings had been retreated and the low grade ore remaining was unprofitable.
A mesothermal sheer hosted deposit within an altered complex of folded sediments-silica to sericite to chlorite. Alteration zones near surface are hematite-silica-strongly iron stained silicified sericite, and deeper chlorite-silica-pyrite. The ore zone covered 250 metres by 250 metres, with shoots dipping steeply 80-90 degrees NNE to 70-90 degrees SSW. Ore shoots were in a closely spaced parallel array within the lode structure. Gold was located in sheeted stacked quartz veins within a broader shear zone. Gold was associated with quartz, pyrite, and bismuthinite. Mineralisation was said to be fine grained and patchy.
The deposit occurs on a small hill at a height of 100 metres above the surrounding plain, and three kilometres east of Mt Hope. Workings can be seen on the northern side of the hill, just below the summit. Access is prevented by roadside fencing and unfriendly signage.
Gold was discovered at the site by Andrew Dowd in August 1901. In 1903 Dowd and W. Davis pegged leases and mining commenced in 1904. 12 tons was initially produced for 3 oz Au. However they lacked capital to develop the deposit further and sold the mine in 1905 to a Melbourne syndicate. They tested the deposit further however no major mining took place.
In 1934 W.E. Strawbridge took out the leases, and in 1935 he floated the Mount Solitary Gold Mining Company NL. A treatment and cyanide plant was erected in 1938, with ore in the meantime sent to Port Kembla for processing. In 1935-1938 900 tons of ore was crushed for 70 oz Au. The site at this stage had several shafts and an open cut on two lodes.
The site in 1938 was taken over by Matakana Gold Company NL. The plant was further upgraded and open cut mining occurred until 1940. At this stage the tailings had been retreated and the low grade ore remaining was unprofitable.
A mesothermal sheer hosted deposit within an altered complex of folded sediments-silica to sericite to chlorite. Alteration zones near surface are hematite-silica-strongly iron stained silicified sericite, and deeper chlorite-silica-pyrite. The ore zone covered 250 metres by 250 metres, with shoots dipping steeply 80-90 degrees NNE to 70-90 degrees SSW. Ore shoots were in a closely spaced parallel array within the lode structure. Gold was located in sheeted stacked quartz veins within a broader shear zone. Gold was associated with quartz, pyrite, and bismuthinite. Mineralisation was said to be fine grained and patchy.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
10 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) |
| ⓘ Bismuthinite Formula: Bi2S3 |
| ⓘ Bismutite Formula: (BiO)2CO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ 'Limonite' |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Bismuthinite | 2.DB.05 | Bi2S3 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Bismutite | 5.BE.25 | (BiO)2CO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | var. Sericite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Bi | Bismuth | |
| Bi | ⓘ Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
| Bi | ⓘ Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Lachlan OrogenOrogen
- Central NSW - Omeo ProvinceGeologic Province
- Mount Hope Trough
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- Lachlan Fold Belt
- Stalwell ZoneOrogenic Belt
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