West Wyalong Goldfield, New South Wales, Australiai

Regional Level Types
West Wyalong Goldfield	Gold Field (Repurposed)
New South Wales	State
Australia	Country

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Historic sources call it the Wyalong Goldfield. Modern sources call it the West Wyalong Goldfield.

The goldfield is located between the towns of Wyalong and West Wyalong. It covers either side of the main road between the towns totalling three kilometres in length, and approximately the same wide. Little evidence remains of the goldfield, with shafts filled, tailings rehabilitated, and workings built on by the expanding two towns. Information, and some relics can be viewed at the Cooinda Reserve between the towns.

The goldfield straddles the counties of Bland and Gipps.

Within this compact area an incredibly rich goldfield developed. Between 1897-1921 the goldfield produced 439,000 to 445,700 ounces of gold. Peak production was 1899, that year alone producing 44,500 ounces. Some of the major mines were at 30-60 g/t, when modern mining companies get excited about grades in single figures. Production waned after 1907, the last mine closing in 1920. The tailings were re-treated in the 1930's.

Fred Neeld and his family moved to Wyalong from Central Victoria, and having experience gold prospecting set about searching around his property for gold. One of his sons picked up a rock containing gold in September 1893, and the family traced it to the reef, registered as the Pioneer claim. They spent another few months searching, locating the Dead Rabbit (later Easter Gift), and Harry's claim. More gold was found at White Tank, and this became the major Neeld's gold mine.

The goldfield was proclaimed on 14 March 1894. By the end of the year there was a gold-rush, and 300 claims were registered. The goldfield eventually contained six crushing plants, and two chlorination works.

The lodes are hosted by the Ungarie Granite. Twenty five lodes were identified during historical mining, running parallel, striking NNE. (The exception is the Pioneer lode striking east-west). The Mallee Bull lode is the longest at two kilometres, and richest in gold. Gold tends to be leached near surface, and at depth.

Gold is found in narrow quartz-calcite veins, highly variable in thickness and width, even over short distances. The shoots dip steeply east (but some flatten at depth), and pitch north (but south in the eastern part of the goldfield). Below the water table, sulphides were found including pyrite, lesser arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. Gange minerals are quartz, colourless/white/reddish opaline, and minor gypsum. The gold was fine grained, with rare coarse gold (mostly in white quartz, eastern part of the goldfield).

Gold bearing lodes are found in fault zones in the Ungarie granite. Epidote-quartz-chlorite wall rock alteration is found in the fault zones. Higher grades are found where secondary fissures join the main lode. Water has also enriched some areas, and leached others at varying depths.

The goldfield did not only include mines, but processing plants as well. For 1898, at the height of the goldfield's production, it contained the following: Wyalong chlorination works, Neeld's chlorination and cyanide Works (on Neeld's mine), Duncan Moyse and Co. cyanide works, Nicholas and Reymond's 32 head stamp battery (located near the western edge of the Wyalong town-site), Goughs 15 head stamp battery (located east of the All Nations mine and south of the Robert Burns mine), and West's 10 head stamp battery.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

13 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities