Mount Corlic Gold Mine (Mount Corlac; Mount Colac), Paddington (Gudarra), Broad Arrow Goldfield, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Corlic Gold Mine (Mount Corlac; Mount Colac)	Mine
Paddington (Gudarra)	- not defined -
Broad Arrow Goldfield	Ore Field
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Mount Corlic appears to be the most popular, followed closely by Mount Corlac, and a distant third is Mount Colac. Spelling mistakes? possibly for the last, but the first two several dozen articles were found with both spellings.

The Mount Corlic mine is an abandoned small, water filled, irregular shaped pit, 1 kilometre south of the Paddington mine and bordering the west side of the railway line. It was a satellite pit for the Paddington mill.More information needed.

November 1895 the lease, was sold to the Perth Proprietary syndicate. They floated Adelaide based, Mount Corlic Gold Mining Company with 140 000 pounds capital, only 35 000 of this devoted to working capital. Meek and party are noted as the original prospectors but no information was found on them.

The source states 'splendid' gold had been found at the 90 foot level, and near surface at 8 feet the walls were studded with fine and coarse gold. The lode ran north-south, 3 feet wide, described as an opaline formation. Another visitor about the same time (who was clearly not a geologist) stated the reef was quartz impregnated with gold, with iron and a greenish clayey substance. There was a costean and several prospecting shafts also. Two lines of reef were on the property. There is a 3 head battery but no water to run it.

Mid 1898, the Mount Corlic Company went into administration. It was an Adelaide concern, which the source states was run by directors with little idea of mining, and even less working capital supplied. One crushing from the company resulting being 24 tonnes at 29 ounces.
The lease was immediately taken over by a local Broad Arrow syndicate who put through two crushings from the dump, and issued a small dividend. 200 tonnes of ore from the mine was railed several hundred kilometres to the Northam battery in 1899.

This syndicate of miners, managed to raise enough capital for poppet legs and a 10 head battery with 4 cyanide vats. A poor crushing April 1901 saw the mine close, and thirty employees turfed out with wages owed. Meanwhile the shareholders were bickering over the mine, the result of an unequal share distribution. After much legal action in the wardens court, what little money they had left was gone. Lord (surname) was the principal owner and mine manager.

Meanwhile,well known local mine financier J Silverthorne with Adair (surname) had credited money for the erection of the battery, and seized the property through the Supreme Court. They tried to auction the lease and machinery through late 1901, with wallpaper advertisements. There were no takers and they spent the next few years trying to find buyers and tributers. There was little interest due to the high price Silverthorne wanted for what was viewed as an exhausted ore deposit.

By 1903, a new group of miners are working the deposit, but this ended in tears as well. One reported another syndicate owner, Timolean Lazarus to the police for stealing gold. At court it came to light, no gold had been stolen, but rather the court case was being used as pay back in an argument between the two. The case was dismissed, with the judge and police highly critical of the pair wasting their time. Scotty Allison and R.J. Pughe are mentioned as owners around this time but the source does not date it.

In 1905, Lambert and party from the mine were given permission to dig up the main road from Kalgoorlie to Broad Arrow in their search for gold. Another source states in 1905 the lease is tributed by Robert Blake, Phillips and Vallance. All appear to be tributers as its noted Silverthorne still owns the mine in 1906. Green and party are tributing at the mine in 1909.

Arthur Stone of Ora Banda, takes over ownership of the lease in August 1913. GML 1728A, previously forfeited 1639W

No other information was found until 1933, and across the next two years, Truss and McArthur put through several crushings from a rich shoot off the main reef. The prospectors had taken over the lease in 1931. Rich specimen stone was reported in the mine where the reef pinches. Around 10 000 tonnes of stone had been extracted to that point in its history averaging 9 dwt.

Tributers are at the mine in 1937, unwatering the main shaft, and extracted at least two crushings from the 250 foot level. A crushing is reported in 1939 of 24 tonnes yielding 35.85 ounces.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References