CASSITERITE CRYSTALS FROM ELSMORE HILL NEAR INVERELL NSW AUSTRALIA
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| Photo from ALF |
A recently
reactivated thread on the Australian Lapidary Forum (ALF) about a
well-known mineral hunting locality near Inverell, in the New England region of
NSW Australia, should remind us all of how precarious our access to collecting
localities really is. Read the thread here. Follow it and if a petition
is commenced, be sure to add your name to it. It would be a good idea to get
involved with the Forum if you aren’t already.
There is a wealth of
information available on this locality. I’ve gathered together a number of
photographs from some of these and assembled them, into a You Tube slide show,
which you will find here. Not only is Elsmore the site of one of
the earliest
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| Photograph from Minerama book "Cassiterite" |
payable alluvial tin deposits in Australia (1871), but it has (in
more recent years) become the source of some of the most superb cassiterite
crystal specimens in the world. A search on eBay will show that they are in
great demand. Until recently, access to the fossicking spot had been made legally possible in
an unusual way. The local Inverell Lapidary Club has held a mining lease
over the area for the use of its members. By becoming a member of the Club,
visitors could legally fossick there. I imagine that the revenue raised has been
used to defray the cost of maintaining the mining lease.
What has caused the
Club to surrender its lease I cannot say. It may be that income was falling
behind expenses or perhaps that the Club has an aging membership (as many
lapidary clubs do) and continuing to provide this service simply became a burden.
It could be that changes in the mining law are making it difficult for smaller
operators to stay in business. Whatever the reason, follow the ALF thread for
more information.
Here are some useful
references for you to follow up. As you read you will discover that
cassiterite and quartz are only two of the many mineral species which have been
found at Elsmore Hill.
The first few are to
be found in the DIGS data base and can easily be downloaded. The most comprehensive reference is: Geological Survey Report 45
(1966): The Geology and Tin Deposits of
the Elsmore Area. The DIGS reference is R00050621. Related to this
document, and incorporating much of it, is Elsmore
Tin Mine, Inverell which incorporated material from mine records 1934-1981
(DIGS R00046476).
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| Diggings on the lease |
You will discover
that the basic geology consists of granite intruding Palaeozoic sediments,
overlain by Tertiary basalt. The primary cassiterite deposits are associated
with the granite intrusion. Secondary deposits include modern alluvial material
and, in particular, “deep leads” – older alluvial material lying beneath the
basalt. Much of the prospecting in the area has been (and still is) directed to
locating payable wash in these concealed leads. The classic geological map is “Geological Map of the Tin-bearing district
around Tingha, Stannifer and Elsmore” by Carne and Pittman (1910). (DIGS
R00030525). There is a lot more recent material available also (Inverell
metallogenic study) but these should help you to understand what the place is
all about.
A search through
DIGS shows that there many other reports available from this source. One is Partial relinquishment report EL7177 Elsmore
2011 Malachite Resources (DIGS RE0001817), which is quite recent. The article in Mindat includes
further photographs, mineral lists and references here.
https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos
Limestone Caves of NSW
Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs
Shoalhaven District Geology.
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| Tin Sluicing at Elsmore |
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