Copley: H54-9/Umberatana SH5409
Record of mines - Summary Card No: 277

"Name: Sir Dominick Mine"
"Alternative names: No: 8 Yudnamutana Group"

"Location: On western bank of Daly Creek, 3/4 mile southeast of the Daly Mine."

"History: It was opened up in 1862 by the Northern Minerals Association and from 1866 to 1868 was one of the properties of the Daly-Stanley Mining Company. At a later date it was held by the Tasmanian Copper Company, and subsequently by tributors.
Further exploration was carried out about 1910 and in 1914 the mine was taken over by the Flinders Copper Mining Company, being known as the No: 8 Workings. (Jones 1910, p.24) A small amount of ore was produced in 1918, and work finally ceased in 1920 then the field was abandoned. W.C. 5174 (M.R. 573) of about 40 acres round the mine was taken up on October 9th, 1967 by Kennecott Explorations (Aust.) Pty. Ltd."

Above is an excerpt from the Record of Mines - Mines Summary Card
(Spelling and grammar may differ from present standards.)



The Daly Mine, the Sir Dominick Mine, and the nearby Daly Bore were all named after Sir Dominick Daly - the former governor of South Australia (1862–1868). He also served as governor of Prince Edward Island, Canada (1854-1859). Born on 11 August 1798 at Ardfry, Ireland; Died 19 February 1868, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. His nephew (and namesake) Dominick Daly became a government surveyor for the state of South Australia with G. G. McLachlan's No. 6 Party with Goyder's Expedition of 1869.

The alternative mine names would appear to be simply misspelled names and not official names for the mine. It is believed people often, while looking for the Sir Dominick Mine, come across the Daly first without realizing that there are in fact two mines in close proximity. It is interesting to note that there is quite a marked difference in the matrix and geology of the two mines. This was even noted by H.Y.L. Brown in 'The Record of Mines of South Australia - 1908'. To add to the confusion, there is only ¾ mile or 1.2 km (1.7 km by track) between these mines, and the official northern boundary of Sir Dominick is the southern boundary of Daly.

The Sir Dominick mine is reached by following the track past the Daly mine and continuing along the creek another 1.7 km; the last 500 m is cut into the side of the hill and is not recommended due to steep washouts. Heavy rains in January 2011 washed away whole sections of the access track along the creek from the Daly mine onward.

The mine is best known for specimens of malachite pseudomorphs after azurite, with some clusters found up to 10 cm across and single crystals 2-3 cm across. These have formed in a kaolinized matrix, which is often found in various earthy shades, and show no points of attachment. A small arsenate zone has been identified in the uppermost adit, producing specimens of olivenite with malachite, cornwallite, and cornubite.

There are a number of other mines in the vicinity that also contain copper arsenate minerals, so care should be taken when recording locality information.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References