Historic gold mine.

The mine was worked by the Eclipse Gold Mining Company from 1897 to 1903, under the supervision of the Thames Exploration Syndicate (London), producing 9932 tonnes of ore for 5219 ounces of gold.

From 1904 to 1906, the New Eclipse Company (Auckland) produced 1356 tonnes of ore for 1192 ounces of gold. The mine was accessed via two main adits, with smaller outcrops mined via shallow workings. The lease contained a ten (or sixteen depending on the source) stamp battery and aerial tramway.

When inspected in 1908, the mine was owned by the Tararu Mines Limited of Auckland, and included the old Vulcan, and several other nearby historically minor leases. Most of the workings by this stage had collapsed. Shortly after the mine and battery was purchased by H.H. Adams, but appears little mining took place.

The Campbell brothers took out 2.5 tonnes of ore for 10 ounces of gold in 1932.

The mine was in the upper Tararu valley, near the Scandinavian Mine. The Mindat co-ordinates are very approximate.

The country rock is propylitised andesite, highly pyritised. The lease contained a large braided lode called the Vulcan or No. 1, trending north-east to south-west, dipping south-east. The reef shows curly banded structures, and occasionally calcite pseudomorphed by quartz. Where a cross-reef met the main vein, good specimen stone was found. The quartz reef contains abundant pyrite, and occasionally chalcopyrite, and sphalerite, with Au-Ag values.

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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List

ⓘ Calcite

6 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

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Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

ⓘ Andesite

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Calcite

Formula: CaCO₃

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Chalcopyrite

Formula: CuFeS₂

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Gold

Formula: Au

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Pyrite

Formula: FeS₂

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Quartz

Formula: SiO₂

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Sphalerite

Formula: ZnS

References:

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘ	Gold	1.AA.05	Au
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘ	Sphalerite	2.CB.05a	ZnS
ⓘ	Chalcopyrite	2.CB.10a	CuFeS₂
ⓘ	Pyrite	2.EB.05a	FeS₂
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘ	Quartz	4.DA.05	SiO₂
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘ	Calcite	5.AB.05	CaCO₃

List of minerals for each chemical element

C	Carbon
C	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
O	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
Si	Silicon
Si	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
S	Sulfur
S	ⓘ Chalcopyrite	CuFeS₂
S	ⓘ Pyrite	FeS₂
S	ⓘ Sphalerite	ZnS
Ca	Calcium
Ca	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
Fe	Iron
Fe	ⓘ Chalcopyrite	CuFeS₂
Fe	ⓘ Pyrite	FeS₂
Cu	Copper
Cu	ⓘ Chalcopyrite	CuFeS₂
Zn	Zinc
Zn	ⓘ Sphalerite	ZnS
Au	Gold
Au	ⓘ Gold	Au

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australian PlateTectonic Plate

Taranaki ProvinceVolcanic Arc

New Zealand

North IslandIsland

Pacific OceanOcean

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Auckland Star newspaper (1903) New Eclipse, Vol. XXXIV, issue 218, 12 September 1903.

Fraser, Colin (1910) The geology of the Thames subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. Bulletin (New Series) 10. New Zealand Geological Survey

Auckland Star newspaper (1932) The Eclipse Reef?, Vol. LXIII, issue 304, 23 December 1932.

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