Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 29 July 1901, page 8


MINING IN NEW SOUTH WALES

A TRIP THROUGH THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS

THE GULF CREEK COPPER MINE.

(BY OUR SPECIAL, MINING REPORTER.)

I.

Few mining men in this State know that in the Barraba district there exists an enormous copper belt, sections of which are adding considerably to the copper production of this State The chief mine in the belt is the Gulf Creek Limited, but there are others which show most favourable prospects from the little work that has been done upon them. Mr W H. Trewenack, who is developing and equipping the Gulf Creek mine, has within the last two years aroused considerable interest in the district in mining circles, and to him may be given the credit of reopening a mine which had previously been refused by expert representatives of the mining industry. SUCCESS has attended Mr. Trewenack's efforts on every hand, and upon a close examination of the Gulf Creek mine I am able to state that it looks like turning out to be one of the big copper producers of the colony. The cupriferous belt, it may be stated, continues practically in a north and south line for many miles in fact from Gulf Creek to a point some miles norteast of Bingara . A lengthy report on the Gulf Creek mine appeared in the " Sydney Mail " recently

but I am unable to give more definite information concerning location as this had not been provided The cupriferous belt is one of the many Silurian existing in this state where similar silver and Ivory permanent copper deposits have been found, and are now being worked with considerable gain. The belt is skirted on the western side by a

continuous curprentile run, and on the east by the very extensive belt of ............................. district the Silurian belt, where the slate does not come to surface, it is capped by deposits of ironstone, go-saus, quartz, quartsites, 111 large compact bodies, and in fragmentary particles about the surface The belt at right is at once recognized as one containing mettallic roa-t contents, nut! m development it has not been deceiving For the purposes of this report it is Intended to gene-ralise on what the writer has seen rather than give a detailed report of each location. Starting at Gulf Creek, Limited, it might be well to state that this locality is reached by taking the train from Sydney to Manilla, thence by coach 20 miles to Barraba, reaching there at about li 'Ü a ni , the liaveller hu» Iho option of going the balance of the journey to thu mint-, iO mile-», bj taao rimtu« ono m nu taaterly direction, an 1 tho other via" tho Cíngara main road north for 11 mile», un-t then due cast, aa} , 1> nnl«r lhe iiiiigura route li the better of tho two One 13 surpiised on reaching Gulf Creek to und a now anti perma-nent mining village established, with lb« necesa»r\ business and privuto houses and a population uf over uOl? »ouis I-or the length of time that thu mino has been 1 p»n it 1» wonderful what stride» the camp has made. The continuous quantities of red met-1 produced is, however, responsible for tall this, and it socola highly probable that the popula tutu will, before the end of tbe Near, still further luigolv increase The p.ope'ly n one coiupri»iug 30,001) £1 shares, ihn greater portion of which ure owned bv British investor« It waa purchased from the former owner« ut a iiominal sum of money, and about two \ears aga operations were start-d. Tho furmor owners, known 113 the Cornish Copper Complain, mined couMilerabie quantities ol ore from the mine, but their c£t.:ts were re-stricted to shallow level» aud limited areas, owing mainly to the want of sufficient louds to work on 11 much larger scale Ihn has be°n tho case with inanj of the good mine» of New bouth Willes which to-dav aro tho mainstay of the industry, lhe lirst elf ort» of the new owuers wera directe? to developing olher por

lions of the lode, and in nil the openings a lo'te'bf mammoth proportions and ol higb-coproi grado w is disclosed. Tho uiei of Ino pioperti 1» 310 acres, giving Tully- a milo on the lo.Iu strike north west 07 south-east lu the vionilv ot the main shaft, by »tupping a tew feet of the surface earth, ivhat appesra to be a western lode, quito diuiuct from the maia lode worked by tbe Cornish Company, hu» boen disclosed In fact, the wcsti-ru It de, lroin ita open iug at some 48ft from surface aud for it distance aloa*-* ii maia drive uf some 150ft south, appeau« to be the malu lode of the mine, und waa not riiaMo«orl whun tho original owuers worked the propel Ï- At the bouth end of tho drive the contour of the a -nuiry ia considerably highor than at the point of rom rucuceineut frooi malu shaft, about -0ft in fact -lilli» 1 will ha seen 'hat where the dn\e is holed through by air shift lu the Routh end it is some 18ft fiom surface At diftcrent pointa along the drive covenug the full distauce of 4 lOft

crosscuts havo been driven acres» thu ore hodv, also au undtrcuttmg ¡t'ope has be'ii run for the same dis-tance carrying the oro body lo both walis showing tlita average tbickne-s of lodo to ba from JSft to 30ft, and the glade as shown by actual return» lo bo abiur. I' per csnt copper per ton About bOOO ton» have been put through the smelters, aud

tnere 1» 11 large pile of oro at gra'S The lode has a distinct pitch to tho oast about 17 decrees , the strike us before »tute I 1» S W by *» E . lhe oro bodte» occur iu lenticular blocks, and in a rrre-it many in-stance» the«e block» overlap oath other The cha actor of the ora is a dense sulphide from ti--a carbonato ¿one, which apparently lives down to about aoft On the north side of the shaft (about 40ft ) a go-go or lavino occurs, und the sulphides come mar the surface, the capping be ng tl-nudetl Therinae

Iront the 4Sit level shall ¿omg north |

nu th» western lode ha» been extended from j 7»ft to 80it on tin lodo which appears even strongci. but 1« a shade lo^er in grade On the north »ido of the ravino at surttto a ven «(ring go-sou outcrop occurs, impregnated with copper cir

bonntea of higo grade. Whether tin» outcrop is on the elstern or wettern lode it is impoeaiblo toaav until lurther work has been done A tunnel lotel haï bean driven into the hill Ililli, nni the oro boda, is vcrv strong beneath tho gotaan capping The tunnel is being continued a further distance, ami it ia proposed to put in a cros-tour. weat to demónstrate whether or not there uro ore bodies west ol tho 1 n expoa I III the tunnel