Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	28° 47' 54'' South , 121° 29' 5'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	-28.79859,121.48490
GeoHash:	G#: qdykhmqs5
Locality type:	Mine
Köppen climate type:	BWh : Hot deserts climate

Harriston Gold Mine was discovered by William and J. Harris in 1901. It was active until 1919.

The Starlight mine just to the south became paramount, and both mines were worked together under the Starlight name. Pig Well referred to the subsidised state battery a few hundred metres further north, which crushed ore for local prospectors. Like many of these gold mines noted for Western Australia, isolated shafts and minor alluvial workings extend for miles from the locations described, hidden for over one hundred years in the mulga scrub.

To access, travel approximately 10 kilometres north-east from Leonora, along the Leonora-Nambi Road, then head along an unmarked track which heads due east in a straight line for approximately 5 kilometres, and then turns south-east just before the location. There is a minor square heap of battery sands, a line of historic shafts trending north-west to south-east and 200 metres further south another grouping of shafts.

The Harris brothers operated the mine on behalf of a small syndicate until around 1907. In 1903, a 5 head battery was installed, the state battery being erected shortly after. Years later a lack of capital to develop the mine is mentioned as the reason mining ended. However this was a sales pitch for a prospectus. Lack of gold, or too much water could be other reasons. They had extracted 3000 tonnes of ore for 9000 ounces of gold (approx.), all above the water line at 100 feet.

The Harriston Mine came into the possession of Moon (surname), who had worked the Starlight lease for several years, and after this point both mines were lumped together as the Starlight. During his time 214.5 tonnes of ore was raised for 932 ounces, again above the 100 foot level. A heavy inflow of water overwhelmed the pump, and the mine was abandoned again.

A small Perth syndicate led by H.E.B. Gull, was formed in 1913 with 5000 pounds capital to work the mine. They had little success with the mine, and lack of finance and too much water again scuttled any mining.

In 1935, yet another company was floated during the 1930's gold boom. No further information was found, and it is thought the float was unsuccessful.

The reef only outcropped in one small place, but the rest remained hidden under the surface, dipping almost vertical. The ore channel trends north-south, the reefs 1 to 3 feet wide, as a kaolin/laterite formation of low grade ore. Quartz veins within the lode contain higher grades, but were short and unreliable. The lode was worked down to 100 feet and a length of 300 feet. Ten shafts are noted at the site.

The Harris brothers were termed at the time half-castes. It was one of the less offensive terms used in the early 20th Century. In researching hundreds of gold locations for Mindat, information often comes to hand in newspapers relating to interactions between miners and aboriginals. It is not often mentioned only because it is usually off topic. Attitudes ranged from murderous to paternalistic. Some of the terminology used we would cringe at today.

The Harris brothers background did not appear to be an issue, in fact it was not mentioned, until William Harris decided to weigh into local aboriginal politics, and warfare occurring between tribes in the region. He stated the aboriginals north of Laverton were prone to cannibalism, in particular killing off half-castes who they viewed as impure.

Local explorer, Frank Hann, had spent many years wandering the western deserts in the region, naming small hills and minor salt-pans, and stated the claims were rubbish. However, Harris got support from local mayors, who were pushing for rations to be handed out to aboriginals. This appeared to have more to do with reducing aboriginals raiding mining camps and stations, than any concern over their welfare. With their backing Harris met the Premier to set out his case. When faced with the highest authority in the land he was more cautious, stating the killings were infrequent. (No other mention has been found on cannibalism from thousands of newspaper articles read, so far over a 5 year period). The Premier stated he would investigate the matter thoroughly, which of course he didn't.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

Mineral List

3 valid minerals.

Regional Geology

This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.

Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org

Quaternary 0 - 2.588 Ma ID: 917228

colluvium 38491 Age: Pleistocene (0 - 2.588 Ma) Description: Colluvium and/or residual deposits, sheetwash, talus, scree; boulder, gravel, sand; may include minor alluvial or sand plain deposits, local calcrete and reworked laterite Comments: regolith; synthesis of multiple published descriptions Lithology: Regolith Reference: Raymond, O.L., Liu, S., Gallagher, R., Zhang, W., Highet, L.M. Surface Geology of Australia 1:1 million scale dataset 2012 edition. Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia). [5]

Neoarchean - Mesoarchean 2500 - 3200 Ma ID: 3188638

Archean volcanic and intrusive rocks Age: Archean (2500 - 3200 Ma) Comments: Yilgarn Craton Lithology: Greenstone belt; mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154]

Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

References