Barnicoat Gold Mine, Laverton, Laverton Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Barnicoat Gold Mine	Mine
Laverton	- not defined -
Laverton Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Barnicoat Gold Mine is a large abandoned pit, 8 kilometres east of Laverton, and just south of the White Cliffs Road. For such a large mine, it historically had an inauspicious start.

The mine was owned by John Waddington, who gave the mine, for 10 shillings to the Menzies Golden Rhine Company. Further he threw in the neighbouring 10 head battery at cost. The Rhine company was a large bloated concern from London typical of the time. Investors had seen a few people get incredibly rich from Western Australian gold mines, and were throwing money into new companies, with no idea if the prospect would turn out a duffer or not. The directors still got their fees, the mine was expensively fitted out, and if things turned bad, oh well the company gets wound up and everyone moves on. There was the small point of shareholders losing all their money.

The company had purchased leases at Menzies from Waddington which turned out duffers. So he gave them Barnicoat, which he also knew held little gold. Then he gave them the Augusta west of Laverton, but by 1899 the company was reconstructed, and Waddington got 6000 pounds cash and a preferential share deal. Meanwhile by 1900, the Barnicoat was let on tribute, and the mine limped along for a few years before falling silent.

The open pit was developed by Sons of Gwalia to a 100 metre depth, along with several others in the neighbourhood, between 1989 to 1993, when the CIP plant was moved from Barnicoat to Leonora. They sold the mine to Apollo Gold Mining in 2002, who re-opened the mine is March 2007 and closed again July 2008. Crescent Gold Ltd recommenced mining at Barnicoat in 2009 for a short time. Focus Minerals Ltd took over Crescent in June 2011.

The Barnicoat superpit has produced during the Sons of Gwalia period, 61 600 ounces from 1.12 Mt @ 2.3 g/t.

Gold is found in the 30 kilometres long Barnicoat Shear Zone, which hosts several gold deposits. The shear zone is 20 to 100 metres wide. Gold is developed on or close to contact of mafic and felsic rocks, and between volcanic and sedimentary rocks.

There is a 15 to 20 metres enrichment zone within the saprolite, but a depleted zone of the same thickness immediately above it.

Gold is found in a heavily silicified and lensoidal quartz-carbonate ore zone, of interwoven veins and microveinlets. The shear zone shows a complex history of activity. The ore zone is sub-vertical to vertical, 0.6 g/t at the surface improving to 2.00 g/t at depth. Large displacements have disrupted the ore zone by 1 to 10 metres.

Gold is mainly associated with quartz veining, and carbonate-silica-sulphide alteration, within the shear zone, or near the contact between mafic and felsic rock units. Increased gold is found in structurally thick areas like fold hinges.

Barnicoat has a JORC Indicated resource of 340 000 tonnes of ore at 1.3 g/t yielding 14 900 ounces of gold, and an Inferred resource of 250 000 tonnes of ore at 1.0 g/t yielding 7800 ounces.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References