Louise Gold Mine, The Island Goldfield (Austin), Cue Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Louise Gold Mine	Mine
The Island Goldfield (Austin)	Ore Field
Cue Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Located towards the south-west end of the Moyagee field. Limited information found. Like alot of the mines on the Moyagee section of the goldfield, it was the preserve of prospectors, who rarely released information to the public. The mine had a strong inflow of salt water from the nearby Lake Austin, at only 30 feet below the surface of the shaft. In the early days it was also expensive to cart ore to the nearest battery (Lennonville). Both these factors limited development of the deposit.

Anderson and Dalziel (surnames) are reported to own the mine in 1901. This source states the mine had been worked for eight years, which brings it to 1892/93, about the time of other discoveries in the area. It is unclear whether Anderson and Dalziel were the ones working the mine entirely across this period. The lode is described as 4 feet wide, occasionally up to 10 feet. From 1892 to 1901, 211 tonnes of ore had been produced for 269 oz, and almost the same amount dollied.

In 1905, the mine was operated by the Adelaide based Louise Gold Mining Company. A few crushings resulted before they went under. At the end of the year the leases (GML 686, 688, and 742), and all the machinery was sold at public auction outside the court rooms in Mount Magnet by the bailiff.

Irregular small crushings were found in subsequent years, with little further information. It is thought the mine was operated by individual or pairs of prospectors, and information never reached the public domain.

In 1939 the lease was applied for by Gildo Poletti and party. He went by the name of Jack, and it was common for Italian immigrants at the time to either Anglo change their first name, or be given one by other miners. The 'party' were also of Italian descent. They had taken over the Moyagee Mine, and more information can be found under this Mindat listing.

In 1945, George Moss applied for the lease, and 1949 Jack Poletti again.

Modern exploration began in the early 1980's. This culminated in Silver Lake Resources in 2013 announcing a plan to develop a pit at the nearby Moyagee Mine, but it never came to fruition. The company names a prospect about 1 kilometre south-west of Moyagee as Leviticus, and is possibly the modern exploration workings to the south of the Louise Mine.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References