Croesus Mine, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Croesus Mine	Mine
Greymouth	- not defined -
Grey District	District
West Coast Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

The Croesus battery site is on the southern side of the Left Hand Branch Creek, a tributary of the Blackball Creek. It was erected at the site in 1897, with much difficulty considering the rugged terrain, thick rainforest, and no roads. An aerial ropeway to cart ore was erected from the mine to the creek.

In 1905, the company was reconstructed into the Paparoa Gold Mining Company. By this stage the company had sold (1902) the lease, battery, aerial tramway, sawmill, and blacksmiths building to the Garden Gully Gold Mining Company, much of it moved further up the valley to Dugout Creek.

The Croesus site became active briefly in 1932, when out of work coal miners during the depression years, searched here again for gold.

There are eight quartz lodes in the area in the Greenland Group rocks, concordant with greywacke bedding. The Croesus reef is the only one with economic amounts of gold, which is coarse and blebby. The reef strikes for 213 metres, averaging 1.5 metres wide, worked to a depth of 86.6 metres.

To reach the mine go through Blackball, and just past the Blackball Mine ruins, take the narrow gravel road, which twists over the hills for 8 kilometres to the Smoke-Ho car park. Then hike up the Blackball Creek valley along the Croesus Track. The site is about half-way between the car park, and the Garden Gully site at the top of the valley. It is uncertain much remains at the locations considering it was all moved, or even if they are accessible from the Croesus Track, and on the ground confirmation is needed.

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References