Big Blow Gold Mine, Coolgardie, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Big Blow Gold Mine	Mine (Abandoned)
Coolgardie	City
Coolgardie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

News about the mine first comes to light mid 1894 as GML 35 of 12 acres, some 3 kilometres south of the town. It is being operated by a small syndicate of Perth and Coolgardie men. Mine manager is Chas Watkins. Shortly after Solomon Sterne is appointed as mine manager.

The footprint for the mine has significantly increased by the end of 1895, incorporating GML 463, 35, 227, 1573, 1574, 1752, 313 and 314 totalling 106 acres. 227, 35 and 463 contained the reef, 1574 was set aside for the construction of a battery (20 heads erected), and 1573, 1752, 313 and 314 for dam construction. Seven shafts and a costean are on the property at this time. W.M. Vivian is appointed new mine manager. He gives an interesting description on the geology of the reef.

There are three reefs which boldly outcrop, all are close, and at some points virtually merge. They form altogether a 100 foot wide jumbled mass between walls of diorite. This mass contains white quartz, hard fine brown hematite, decomposed feldspar, red and yellow ochre, and traces of iron pyrites. All carried gold. The feldspar and ochre the least, the gold being exceedingly fine. Visible gold was seen in the iron stone, while the quartz contained coarse and fine gold.

It proved to be a large low grade affair, and by the end of 1896 the company was in difficulty. It reconstructed from Big Blow Gold Mines Ltd to Big Blow Ltd. A reconstruction often involved the cancelation of prior shares, with the original shareholders losing their money. Sometimes they were given partial shares in the new enterprise, while the company hoped to raise more money by enticing new shareholders. The only time this could work, is if a new lode had been discovered requiring money to develop. Usually however no such bonanza existed.

From this point to 1900, the battery was idle for extended periods. A miner called Smith was fatally injured by an exploding stick of dynamite in the underground workings end of March 1899. Around 1900, the company was gone, and the battery had been purchased by the nearby Flagstaff mine. They constructed a tram line and were carting ore from their mine to the battery. In 1902, the battery was dismantled and re-erected at the Flagstaff mine.

John Taylor is owner of the mine, and several crushings are reported across 1908 to 1910. Nothing is then heard from the mine until 1932, with Taylor still the owner. Under the assumption, all comes to those who wait, he had mothballed the mine through World War One, and the 1920's, until the Great Depression saw gold prices skyrocket. A company is floated in Melbourne called the Big Blow Gold (NL) with 45 000 pounds capital. The prospectus notes Taylor had sunk 4 shafts in the prior 9 months, 1 to 150 feet and 3 to 1000 feet. It is noted a total of 40 000 tonnes of ore had been crushed to that point from 1894 valued at 76 000 pounds by 1932 standards. There was an unimpressive trial crushing. Then the promoters claimed they had received an offer from London, and all the money invested into the enterprise was refunded.

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