Paeroa dredging plant, Paeroa, Hauraki District, Waikato Region, North Island, New Zealand
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 37° 23' 9'' South , 175° 39' 12'' East |
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Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -37.38602,175.65342 |
Köppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
The Waihi-Paeroa Gold Extraction Company had taken over the Waihi Dredging Plant in 1908, which was sited just south-west of Waihi on the Ohinemuri River. Its purpose was to dredge the river of tailings deposited into the river by batteries upstream from prior years. Early gold technology was such, that gold extraction rates were poor, leaving much gold in the river silt.
The company erected substantial buildings and machinery, however in 1910 moved everything to the Ohinemuri River near Paeroa. Here tailings from batteries at Waihi and Karangahake were silting up the river as it entered flat lands.
The complex contained four mills, nine conical air agitators, a vacuum filter slimes plant, pumps, compressors etc. The tailings were extracted from barges in the river, that were then towed to the plant. The tailings were then transferred to storage hoppers via an elevator, before being ground into slime, and treated by a cyanide process. The plant treated until it closed in 1918, 907 428 tonnes of tailings for 654 960 ounces of gold.
The site is next to the Ohinemuri River, near Mill Road, about 2 kilometres south-west of Paeroa. There are three metal conical tanks, and substantial concrete foundations. It appears the local farmer uses the site to store hay. Access is unclear, and is possibly on private land.
No minerals currently recorded for this locality.
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
Holocene - Late Pleistocene 0 - 0.126 Ma ID: 1314975 | OIS1 (Holocene) river deposits Age: Pleistocene (0 - 0.126 Ma) Description: Alluvial gravel, sand, silt, mud and clay with local peat, includes modern river beds. Comments: Holocene river deposits. Age based on mixed Lithology: Major:: {gravel},Minor:: {sand, silt, clay, peat} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
Quaternary 0 - 2.588 Ma ID: 1308452 | Late Quaternary alluvium and colluvium Age: Pleistocene (0 - 2.588 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Pakihi Supergroup Description: Unconsolidated to poorly consolidated mud, sand, gravel and peat. Comments: Zealandia Megasequence Terrestrial and Shallow Marine Sedimentary Rocks (Neogene) Lithology: Mud, sand, gravel, peat Reference: Edbrooke, S.W., Heron, D.W., Forsyth, P.J., Jongens, R. (compilers). Geology Map of New Zealand 1:1 000 000. GNS Science Geological Map 2. [12] |
Pliocene 2.588 - 5.333 Ma ID: 3185935 | Cenozoic sedimentary rocks Age: Pliocene (2.588 - 5.333 Ma) Lithology: Conglomerate,siltstone,limestone,sandstone,tuffaceous sandstone 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
External Links
http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz/journals/37-journal-11-may-1969/624-waihi-paeroa-extraction-works
http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7397