Sylvia Mine (Little Agnes), Tararu, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Sylvia Mine (Little Agnes)	Mine
Tararu	- not defined -
Thames-Coromandel District	District
Waikato Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

Historic gold mine.

The Kaiser-Sylvia-Dunedin is considered the same lode, and the deposit borders to the west the Ohio Stream prospect. Only species specifically mentioned as part of the Sylvia Reef are listed, although other species listed for the above locations could easily also be part of Sylvia. The mine was active in the early 1890's, and in the early 20th Century several nearby leases were combined under the Sylvia name.

The country rock is propylitised brecciated massive andesite, with some hard bars of unaltered andesite, overall the lodes much jointed and crushed.

The lodes consists of quartz-sulphides-gold-anhydrite-tellurides (Au,Ag,Bi) within and adjacent to a porphyry system occupying dilational faults. The anhydrite is associated with other minerals in the veins, and as monomineralic veinlets. Native gold is abundant in the few samples saved from historic times, associated with galena, and acanthite. Gold occurs in cavities in galena. Tellurides include altaite, nagyagite, tellurobismutite, and sylvanite.

The quartz veins trend east north-east to north-east, dipping steeply south-east, and show crustiform or banding. It is also described as milky white or bluish, finely crystalline, cavenous, sugary with considerable amounts of pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite. Bornite, malachite, minor azurite, and other secondary products of copper is noted in the early days. Rhodochrosite gives some of the ore a delicate amethystine colour.

Like many of the Thames mines, early information is in short supply. Taylor and sons in 1877 as the Little Agnes lease produced 2695 ounces of gold. The Sylvia Gold Mining Company controls the lease in 1890, and in some form still owns the lease when reported in 1908. Intermittent mining continues across the 1890's, and the first decade of the 20th Century. Its noted in 1908 the mine is owned by the Sylvia Gold Mining Company based in Melbourne Australia.

Information on the New Sylvia Gold Mining Company was found from 1912, with development work and crushings. In 1913, Joseph Senior, and David Christie were killed in a fall of earth underground.

The New Sylvia Gold Mining Company was reconstructed in 1917 as the Sylvia Reefs Gold Mining Company Limited, with the double purpose of raising more capital, and excluding thirteen shareholders who could not prove they were British born citizens, in line with War Regulations in New Zealand at the time. In 1920, the company sank a shaft 50 feet below the lowest level.

The Sylvia Gold Silver and Base Metals Company was formed in 1935 to take over the Sylvia and several nearby leases. They received a government subsidy to sink a shaft, and cross-cut on the reef. The last mention of the company is 1940.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

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