Rail trip: Maldon mine site
Sep. 16th, 2010 03:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenithA sequel to my Maldon post earlier today :)
Founded in the late 1850s, all the early work was carried out in an open cutting, between where the main shaft and the engine house stood. Miners were granted claims 30 feet square, and out of these claims much gold must have been taken, but the amount will never be known. ... The method of hauling dirt and stone was by means of a windlass. This was slow and hard work so it was decided to call a meeting of the claim holders to pool resources.
The outcome of the meeting was to form a company and to purchase a winding machine. A new shaft was sunk while the engine, engine house and poppet legs were being erected. With installation of the machinery, the ground was worked, with varying returns for about 3 years. Then at the 300 feet level a heavy flow of water was met. The plant was not capable of dealing with it so another meeting was held to form a more powerful company. This was called the "New Beehive Company" and comprised 30,000 shares. New engines, boilers, large pumping plant and quartz crushing battery were purchased.
Extract from "The New Beehive Mine, based on a brief history of the Beehive Mine by Garnet Pearce of Maldon", a leaflet I picked up. The mine closed in 1918.
The information panel on the site
And the map accompanying the above information.
It's a barren piece of ground. To put it in the context of the map, this is taken approximately from where the path leading up fro the "Here" arrow meets the circular track. The chimney is off to the right, over the back are the cyanide vat stands, and in the foreground is the corner of possibly the engine house.
Quartz mining, that is to say, the quartz was crushed to remove the gold. The bits of very white rock scattered about on the ground are quartz.
That would be the shaft. It's behind a wire fence.
Looking back towards the chimney, over the remains of boiler/engine/battery complex.
Base of the chimney
Part of the central buildings. Lots of bits of quartz there.
That must be part of the slum pond
"Cyanide vat stands" These are the most prominent feature, after the chimney. Crushed quartz is mixed with cyanide, which dissolves the gold and creates a cyanide-gold slushy mixture thing, which the gold is later precipitated from by various methods at various times (I have no information on the process used here, other than it did occur, or there wouldn't be cyanide vat stands).
I guess that's the furnace building.
From the end of the path (left-hand side of the map) looking back.
Founded in the late 1850s, all the early work was carried out in an open cutting, between where the main shaft and the engine house stood. Miners were granted claims 30 feet square, and out of these claims much gold must have been taken, but the amount will never be known. ... The method of hauling dirt and stone was by means of a windlass. This was slow and hard work so it was decided to call a meeting of the claim holders to pool resources.
The outcome of the meeting was to form a company and to purchase a winding machine. A new shaft was sunk while the engine, engine house and poppet legs were being erected. With installation of the machinery, the ground was worked, with varying returns for about 3 years. Then at the 300 feet level a heavy flow of water was met. The plant was not capable of dealing with it so another meeting was held to form a more powerful company. This was called the "New Beehive Company" and comprised 30,000 shares. New engines, boilers, large pumping plant and quartz crushing battery were purchased.
Extract from "The New Beehive Mine, based on a brief history of the Beehive Mine by Garnet Pearce of Maldon", a leaflet I picked up. The mine closed in 1918.
The information panel on the site
And the map accompanying the above information.
It's a barren piece of ground. To put it in the context of the map, this is taken approximately from where the path leading up fro the "Here" arrow meets the circular track. The chimney is off to the right, over the back are the cyanide vat stands, and in the foreground is the corner of possibly the engine house.
Quartz mining, that is to say, the quartz was crushed to remove the gold. The bits of very white rock scattered about on the ground are quartz.
That would be the shaft. It's behind a wire fence.
Looking back towards the chimney, over the remains of boiler/engine/battery complex.
Base of the chimney
Part of the central buildings. Lots of bits of quartz there.
That must be part of the slum pond
"Cyanide vat stands" These are the most prominent feature, after the chimney. Crushed quartz is mixed with cyanide, which dissolves the gold and creates a cyanide-gold slushy mixture thing, which the gold is later precipitated from by various methods at various times (I have no information on the process used here, other than it did occur, or there wouldn't be cyanide vat stands).
I guess that's the furnace building.
From the end of the path (left-hand side of the map) looking back.
