Orion Gold Mine, Niagara, Kookynie Goldfield, Menzies Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Orion Gold Mine	Mine
Niagara	- not defined -
Kookynie Goldfield	Ore Field
Menzies Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Orion Gold Mine was the largest and deepest gold mine in the Niagara area. The deposit was discovered by the Ryan brothers in 1895, and for a time they worked the near surface areas. It was then sold to Hannans Main Reef Ltd in 1900 for 3500 pounds, then the Orion Mines Ltd was floated in London in 1905 to acquire the mine.

6 leases. 64 acres. A ten head battery was erected. The mine employed about 40 men. The main shafts eventually reached about 500 feet, but several shafts were sunk on the leases. The main lode ranged from a few inches to 8 feet wide, with variable gold grades. The water level cut in at 230 feet. The lode channel was said to be rotten in the upper levels, but in the sulphide zone, contained excellent walls, and a strong reef and channel.

The work of the Orion Mines Limited was important, as up to that point it was believed no gold existed at depth. Like other mines the gold values deceased with depth though the oxide ore to virtually nil. At this point, 330 feet below the surface, the company cross-cut to the Footwall, and discovered sulphide ore. Initially a small width but it widened with depth, all of high gold values. The main shaft eventually reached a depth of about 500 feet.

Gold was found in the quartz reef as coarse and free, but much was also coated with bismuth. There was also a little sulphur and iron pyrites. Gold was associated with bismutite, bismutinite, and tellurobismuth. Bismuth tellurides are moderately rare, and a full scale study of the mine would have been interesting, but such things never happened in the early Twentieth Century.

The ore was not amenable to normal gold processing by plate amalgamation. Mercury was poured into the mortar boxes to amalgamate the coarser free gold. The material taken from the boxes were partially amalgamated gold and bismuth minerals. This was retorted (heated), roasted, fluxed and smelted, then further refined by cupellation (further heated to separate the gold from other metal). The gold through this process would exude small globules of virtually pure bismuth.

The adjacent lease was the Justice, tributed by Holk and Treloar, and next to this the Mara lease tributed by Gooden and Pall. Both leases were owned by the Orion company. The sands were being cyanided in 1912.
The Orion Company had produced 24 772 tonnes of ore for 12 352 ounces of gold.

High fashion is not a subject I envisaged would crop up in a mine full of dust, dirt, mud and grease. The assayer, Gussey (surname) was called 'The Clothes Peg', after his resemblance to the item, and his habit of wearing 'wondrous' shirts. Chris the engine driver was described as a dandy, in an ever escalating fashion arms race amongst mine employees.

The Orion Company ceased operations at the mine in 1915. Sometime between 1920 to 1925 the battery was given to the Kanowna Consols Company, for part ownership of its mine at Kanowna. The Orion company later purchased the entire mine.

Small scale mining took place at the site in the early 1930's, with the Fitzgerald brothers, and P. Christini. Together they sent 600 tonnes of ore to Coolgardie for treatment amounting to 15 dwt. The Emu Mining Company took an option over the mine in 1935, and while some rich ore was located, it was not sufficient to progress to full scale development.

In recent decades a small narrow east-west pit was dug in the oxide zone. This is found opposite the Niagara Dam turn-off, and borders the north side of the railway. Many shafts and small pits run in an east west line, 500 metres west of the pit. Also 500 metres east, crossing the Kookynie Road, incorporating the Sapphire pit, and extending a short distance further from this. Many east-west line of workings are found to the north of this location, consisting of innumerable historic shafts and shallow pits and trenches.

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