Ovens Gold Mine, Yerilla Goldfield, Menzies Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Ovens Gold Mine	Mine
Yerilla Goldfield	Ore Field
Menzies Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Ovens Gold Mine is 5 kilometres south of the main Yerilla Goldfield area. It was owned by G.B. Fletcher and Dalgleish, and was discovered mid 1896, about eighteen months after the initial discovery on the main field.

The mine consisted of 1 x 24 acres, and 1 x 12 acre lease. It contained three parallel north-south trending reefs. Most of the work had been done on the middle reef, with a shaft down to 60 feet on a reef 2 to 3 feet wide.

The west reef also contained a shaft to a 15 foot depth, on a reef 2 feet wide.

To the south-west of this was a leader, being of a different composition than the reefs. The leader was yellowish brown flint like rock, carrying good gold values, and also assaying silver. A shaft had been sunk to 20 feet.

Prospectors Watson and Bennett are at the same or nearby location in 1935, on a reef south of the old workings. Near surface potholes had been dug showing gold and galena freely.

Like a lot of the outlying deposits for this gold field, they are impossible to map with the necessary accuracy. A track heads south from the main gold field, and after five kilometres reaches a well/tank. The Mindat co-ordinates mark this spot. A faint track continuing further south, has several scattered shafts and small cross trenches a short distance both east and west of the track, extending for about one kilometre south of the well, any of which could be the mine. Further about 1 kilometre south-west is a small, semi collapsed, abandoned open pit hidden in the scrub, which apparently is the Yerilla chrysoprase deposit listed by others who have been there.

Ovens produced 86 tonnes of ore for 97 ounces of gold.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References