Beaconsfield Mine (Tasmania mine), Beaconsfield, Beaconsfield district, West Tamar municipality, Tasmania, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Beaconsfield Mine (Tasmania mine) | Mine (Inactive) |
| Beaconsfield | - not defined - |
| Beaconsfield district | District |
| West Tamar municipality | Municipality |
| Tasmania | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
41° 12' 7'' South , 146° 48' 55'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Mine (Inactive) - last checked 2025
Age:
At least 395 ± 405 Ma
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Beaconsfield | 1,217 (2012) | 0.2km |
| Beauty Point | 1,116 (2015) | 4.5km |
| Sidmouth | 403 (2014) | 6.7km |
| Kayena | 328 (2014) | 6.8km |
| Deviot | 466 (2014) | 10.3km |
One of the richest gold mines in Australia, located near the centre of the town of Beaconsfield.
Gold was found in 1877 and several workings soon started on the Tasmania reef, which combined into the underground Tasmania mine in 1888. It operated until 1914, producing about 1Mt of ore at 25g/t gold, recovering 26.6 tonnes of gold. It closed largely due to a high water flow and ground problem, stopping at about 450m. The old mine buildings now house a museum, the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre.
After rehabilitating the old main shaft, the mine reopened in 2000 and finally closed in 2013, after bad ground conditions, at more than a km deep, caused a large collapse. This caused the death of one miner and entrappment of two others for two weeks, before a complex rescue operation saved them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaconsfield,_Tasmania). The final resource calculation was 3.6Mt @15.9g/t Au, producing 1.8 Moz Au (about 60t).
The lode is an unusually consistent quartz-dolomite+/- sulphide vein about a metre wide, 200-300m long and plunging to at least a km deep. It is hosted in silicified Ordovician sandstone of the Salisbury Hill and Eaglehawk Gully Formations, stretching between the Cabbage Tree and Cobblestone Creek Thrusts. Surrounding and enclosed wallrocks are variably to highly brecciated, silicified, carbonate altered and fuchsitic. Dating of wall rock alteration gave a date of 400Ma, consistent with the late Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities15 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Ankerite Formula: Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS |
| ⓘ Bismuthinite Formula: Bi2S3 |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chromite Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| ⓘ Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 References: |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ⓘ Melanterite Formula: Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| ⓘ Meneghinite Formula: Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite Formula: K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Siderite Formula: FeCO3 References: |
| ⓘ 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 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Bismuthinite | 2.DB.05 | Bi2S3 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| ⓘ | Meneghinite | 2.HB.05b | Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Chromite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Siderite | 5.AB.05 | FeCO3 |
| ⓘ | Ankerite | 5.AB.10 | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Melanterite | 7.CB.35 | Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Muscovite var. Fuchsite | 9.EC.15 | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Melanterite | Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| C | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Melanterite | Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| Mg | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| S | ⓘ Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Melanterite | Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| S | ⓘ Meneghinite | Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Cr | Chromium | |
| Cr | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Cr | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Fe | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Melanterite | Fe2+(H2O)6(SO4) · H2O |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Meneghinite | Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Sb | Antimony | |
| Sb | ⓘ Meneghinite | Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| Pb | ⓘ Meneghinite | Pb13CuSb7S24 |
| Bi | Bismuth | |
| Bi | ⓘ Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
Localities in this Region
- Tasmania
- West Tamar municipality
- Beaconsfield district
- Beaconsfield
- Beaconsfield Mine (Tasmania mine)
- Beaconsfield
- Beaconsfield district
- West Tamar municipality
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Delamerian OrogenOrogen
- Tasmania
- Tasmania BasinBasin
- Thylacine ProvinceGeologic Province
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- Eastern TasmaniaOrogenic Belt
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References
Russell, D.W; van Moort, J.C (1999) The chemical characterisation of auriferous vein quartz, Beaconsfield gold mine, Tasmania. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 67 (1). 191-200 doi:10.1016/s0375-6742(99)00076-x
Beaconsfield Mine, Beaconsfield, Beaconsfield district, West Tamar municipality, Tasmania, Australia