Waldron's Hill Gold Prospect (Munjupanji), Willowra, Central Desert Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Waldron's Hill Gold Prospect (Munjupanji)	Prospect
Willowra	- not defined -
Central Desert Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The site was discovered in the mid 1930's by Harold Alfred Waldron, who claimed he was a gold diviner. Legend says a chest owned by Waldron, full of gold is buried somewhere in the vicinity.

Several aboriginal and European ancestry prospectors were working the area shortly after. On the 31 October 1937, most had left for a day at the Boomerang Waterhole on the Lander River. Waldron remained, along with two prospectors, Jack Simpson, and Doug Cooper. Their version of events is Waldron fell off a camel, his foot getting caught in the stirrup, and died after being dragged along the ground. This was accepted by the authorities. The aboriginal prospectors believed Simpson and Cooper had killed Waldron, after being dis-appointed in the lack of gold found at the location. His body was dragged through the scrub behind a mule, to give credence to their story.

Waldron's grave remains hidden in the scrub, and has been maintained over the decades by members of the Willowra community.

The mine site is located 10 kilometres east of the Boomerang Waterhole on the normally dry Lander River. The site contains a costean 70 metres long, 2 metres deep, and one metre wide, when the site was inspected in 1940. There was also a collapsed timbered shaft, thought to be 5 metres deep.

Gold is found in a carbonate-quartz vein filling a shear zone. The country rock is amphibolite-diorite, and medium grained biotite granite, surrounded by garnet-sillimanite-cordierite-hornfel. Also found on the hill is quartz-diorite, acid pegmatites, and porphyritic rock.

When inspected in 1940, the dumps contained much tufa (calcium carbonate porous rock), the source suggests is a decomposed product of igneous rock, decomposed slate, minor quartz, and some limonite encrustations. Gold assayed from trace to 5 dwt.

Explored 1970 by B.D. Brown, 1973 by G.S. Rhea, and 1986 by Yuendumu Mining Co. N.L.

The site is very remote about 30 kilometres north of the Willowra indigenous community. No access tracks were seen, although one recent source states there is a graded track to the mine site. While the likely costean was found on satellite images, the lack of man-made and physical features in the area means the Mindat map is still approximate. Permission is likely needed to visit Willowra.

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References