Waitangi Mine (Siam), Thames, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Waitangi Mine (Siam)	Mine
Thames	Town
Thames-Coromandel District	District
Waikato Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

Historic gold mine.

Located on the northern slopes of Shellback Creek. When inspected in 1908, the lease contained 62 acres. Neighbouring leases included the Bonanza, Watchman, Dixons Consolidated, Old Alburnia, and Kuranui claims.

The country rock is andesite and breccia, with the mine workings concentrated only on the Waitangi Reef, and two of its branch reefs. (Fraser, 1910) suggests it is a continuation of Dixons No. 1 Reef on the Old Alburnia claim. A clay filled fissure follows the Hanging Wall, but departs from the quartz vein at the bend in the reef, probably caused by the Moanataiari Fault. Three levels of workings are mentioned.

The reef is considerably fractured with shearing, with solid quartz rarely found from one wall across to the other. The best vein material is found on the Hanging Wall side, although veins do occur in other areas of the reef. The main reef is surrounded by many quartz stringers in the country rock.
The Waitangi Reef is north-east to south-west trending (it turns abruptly east-west at one point before resuming its original course), dipping 45-65 degrees north-west.

The quartz reef contains parallel bands, veinlets, and irregular patches of sulphides and tellurides including pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, electrum, hessite, coloradoite, petzite, altaite, tetradymite with Au-Ag values.

Hessite is said to be the principal ore mineral, containing variable amounts of gold. The hessite is fine grained, steel-grey, exhibiting flashing facets, and may at face value look like fine granular galena. Hessite increases with depth, and was found particularly at the bend in the reef. Secondary free gold is found adjacent to hessite grains grading to petzite. Electrum is found precipitated on hessite. The tellruides and sulphides are found in considerable quantities within parts of the reef (8-10% total volume), as lustrous steel-grey streaks and lenses, associated with quartz forming compact aggregates. The mine is said to be the first in the area where tellurides were focused as a source of gold-silver.

Kernals of country rock and quartz are often enclosed with concentric bands of sulphides. Sphalerite occasional occurs alone as resinous coloured scales showing some alignment in bands of blue-white quartz, with fair Au-Ag values.
Barite is found sometimes in cavities, and as a secondary mineral encrusting dark granular pyrite.

There is also the Siam Reef on the lease, 4-7 feet wide, with two small cross veins, connecting the reef to the Waitangi Reef. The reef is filled with clay and crushed rock, with occasional ribs and bunches of quartz, with low grade Au-Ag.

The mine was owned and operated by the Waitangi Gold Mining Company from Auckland, which formed in 1906. Little mining occurred on the lease prior to this, when it was known as the Siam. During this late 19th Century mining some gold was obtained from the upper levels, however the machinery of the day could not cope with the very refractory nature of the ore, and the lease was abandoned. The Waitangi Company had only extracted 41 tonnes of ore across the two year period.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References