Piedmont Gold Mine (Vicquery Piedmont; Cosair Piedmont), Lennonville Goldfield, Mount Magnet, Mount Magnet Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Piedmont Gold Mine (Vicquery Piedmont; Cosair Piedmont)	Mine (Abandoned)
Lennonville Goldfield	Ore Field
Mount Magnet	Mountain
Mount Magnet Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The mine was half-way between Mount Magnet and Lennonville. The deposit was discovered October 1895, and initially worked by Vicquery, Ward and party. Vicquery and at least some of the 'party' were Italians. One quote at the time states: 'The Piedmont is an excellent mine, developed by honest hard working fellows. The property stands as a credit to them, and they deserve to be successful. Their only chance however is to find a purchaser to develop the property'.

There were initially two 12 acres leases - the Vicquery-Piedmont and Westbury, as well as a 4 acre Reward Claim.

The reef outcropped in two sections 3feet and 6 feet wide. Gold was largely not visible to the eye. The reef was described as opaque white (quartz), with iron oxide, manganese and occasional blue green traces of copper oxides, along with gold. The hanging wall was perfect like a pain of glass it states.

During this period five shafts were sunk, between 105 to 125 feet down on a reef 2 feet 6 inches to 5 feet wide. The shafts were eventually all connected via a main drive.

Mid 1896 the mine was sold for 5000 pounds to mining speculator George Grey, who floated the Vicquery Piedmont Mining Company in England. R. Tansey, the underground boss at the New Chum Mine, was employed as mine manager. The mine name changed to Cosair Piedmont. They immediately set about ordering and erecting machinery. This consisted of a horizontal winding engine 30 H.P, pumping engine 40 H.P., battery engine 30 H.P., 20 head battery, 4 large Cornish boilers, ore bins, stone cracker, self feed, and a 60 foot high mainframe. The main shaft reached 220 feet.

Initially crushings were poor, and the mine limped along for a couple of years, making money competing with the public battery at Lennonville for ore from other leases.

Early 1900, Australian Gold Recoveries installed cyanide vats at the mine to treat the 6000 tonnes of tailings at the mine. Further, 5000 tonnes were treated for the Mount Magnet Gold Mining Company. The same year the government purchased the battery. The Lennonville public battery was dismantled and removed to the East Magnet Goldfield, even though this field was already in a downward spiral. The Piedmont battery remained to process ore for leases on the Lennonville Goldfield.

Mining at Piedmont had ceased, and the plant was gradually sold. The mine had been abandoned by 1907 when the government called for tenders to process the remaining tailings. The headframe was sold to Ingliston Consols in 1908.

The mine had produced a total of 170 tonnes at 321 oz.

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