Mount Morgan Mining Company
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Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981. Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately of gold, of silver and of copper. The mine was once the largest gold mine in the world. The Mount Morgan Mine also operated assay laboratories, brickworks, foundry, power house and workshops (including carpentry, electrical and plumbing) as part of its operations. The Mount Morgan Mine also contained
Fireclay Caverns The Precipice Sandstone an Early Jurassic (Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian, with possible Hettangian levels) geologic Formation (geology), formation of the Surat Basin in New South Wales and Queensland, eastern Australia, know due to the prese ...
excavated to provide clay for the mine brickworks. Wealth from the Mount Morgan mine funded Persian
oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods V ...
, establishing the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...
, which became BP in 1954. Wealth from the Mount Morgan mine was also bequeathed in 1912 to establish the
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1 ...
.


Resources

The area near the mine contains sedimentary and igneous rocks. The gold was rated 0.998 fine.


History


The Beginning (1882 to 1886)

In 1882, a syndicate was created to open a gold mine at Ironstone Mountain, south of
Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. The syndicate comprised
William Knox Darcy William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British-Australian businessman who was one of the principal founders of the oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and allowed D'Arcy to ...
(later influential in establishing the Anglo Persian Oil Company),
Walter Russell Hall Walter Russell Hall (22 February 1831 – 13 October 1911) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Biography Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, eldest son of Walter Hall, glover (later a miller), and his wife Elizabe ...
(later influential in establishing the
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1 ...
),
Thomas Skarratt Hall Thomas Skarratt Hall (6 December 1836 – 14 June 1903) was a British bank manager and mine director in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. Early life Thomas Skarratt Hall was born on 6 December 1836 in Kington, Herefordshire, Kington, Here ...
, and Thomas,
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
and Edwin Morgan. Ironstone Mountain was later renamed Mount Morgan after the Morgan members of the syndicate.


Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Limited (1886–1928)

In October 1886, the syndicate became the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Limited, with James Wesley Hall, the younger brother of Walter Russell and Thomas Skarratt Hall, as the first general manager. The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Limited operated using underground mining methods until 1927 when fire destroyed underground workings. The company deliberately flooded its underground workings in response to the fire and went into liquidation. By 1907 the mine had produced $60,000,000 worth of gold, making it one of the most productive in the world.


Mount Morgan Limited (1928–1990)

The Mount Morgan Mine was reestablished using open-cut mining methods in 1928, operating as Mount Morgan Limited. Conversion to open-cut operation included substantial modernization of Mount Morgan’s mining infrastructure and mining techniques. Mount Morgan Limited became a subsidiary of
Peko-Wallsend Peko-Wallsend was an Australian mining company. History Peko-Wallsend was founded in 1961 when Peko Mines merged with Wallsend Investments. In 1962 Peko-Wallsend purchased Toll Transport. In January 1968, Peko-Wallsend acquired a majority share ...
in 1968 and continued operations until 1974, when Mount Morgan Limited began to reach the end of its ore body. Mount Morgan Limited progressively scaled back its workforce and operations until it reached the end of its ore body in 1981. From 1982 to 1990, Mount Morgan Limited began processing tailings of its previous operations at the Mount Morgan mine site. In parallel, Mount Morgan mine facilities were used to process materials from other Peko-Wallsend operations. At the end of both such operations in 1990, the
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...
began negotiating with Mount Morgan Limited regarding terms of closure.


Recent

The
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...
began administration of the site in 1992. Perilya/Aumin NL commenced further exploration in 1992 leading to plans for potential further reprocessing at the Mount Morgan mine site in the future. Since 2007 the mine and mining leases have been owned by Norton Gold Fields. An estimated of gold still exist at the site.


Broader influence of the mine


BP

William Knox Darcy William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British-Australian businessman who was one of the principal founders of the oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and allowed D'Arcy to ...
, an original member of the Mount Morgan gold mine syndicate, used proceeds from the Mount Morgan gold mine to fund oil exploration in
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. The exploration made successful oil discovery in 1908 and commenced the Anglo Persian Oil Company. The company became The British Petroleum Company ( BP) in 1954.


Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Walter Russell Hall Walter Russell Hall (22 February 1831 – 13 October 1911) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Biography Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, eldest son of Walter Hall, glover (later a miller), and his wife Elizabe ...
was also a member of the original Mount Morgan Gold Mine syndicate. Substantial personal wealth of
Walter Russell Hall Walter Russell Hall (22 February 1831 – 13 October 1911) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Biography Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, eldest son of Walter Hall, glover (later a miller), and his wife Elizabe ...
was bequeathed on his death in 1912 to establish the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust. The
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1 ...
was established from the trust in 1915.


Today

The Mount Morgan mine site is a tourist attraction in the Central Queensland region. The site contains remaining structures of its mining operations including the General Office, Gold Rooms and Main Stack. The Arthur Timms lookout overlooks remaining mine buildings and the Mount Morgan township. According to former Queensland Minister for Mining,
Stirling Hinchliffe Stirling James Hinchliffe (born 23 November 1970) is an Australian politician. Early life Born in Dalby, Queensland, he was educated at state schools and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. He was a property indus ...
, water in the pit contains elevated levels of copper, aluminium, magnesium and other metals. The site contains a lime dosing water treatment plant and onsite evaporators. Controlled water releases done to prevent an uncontrolled release during heavy rainfall events has been done twice in March 2011, once in January 2013 and again in February 2013. In June 2011, the Government of Queensland announced $24.2 million in funding for site rehabilitation and management. On 26 January 2013, the mine filled with water and overflowed in the Dee River for the first time ever. Although mining company Carbine Resources announced plans in 2014 to extract gold, copper and pyrite from tailings and improve the mine's
acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weatherin ...
problem, it withdrew the proposal in March 2018 due to its doubts over the financial viability of the project. Estimates for a partial rehabilitation of the toxic environmental legacy of the old gold mine start at $450 million, but no costings of a full rehabilitation of the site have yet been carried out.


See also

*
Mining in Australia Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth ...
* G. A. Richard, general manager of the mine 1903–1912


References


External links

{{Commons category, Mount Morgan Mine
Mount Morgan Deposit Summary Report

Mt Morgan

CQUniversity: CQUniLibrary: Mount Morgan Mine Manuscript Collection


* ttp://www.wehi.edu.au/ Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Gold mines in Queensland Silver mines in Queensland Copper mines in Queensland Mines in Central Queensland Queensland Heritage Register 1882 establishments in Australia 1981 disestablishments in Australia Tourist attractions in Queensland