Opitonui Mines (Maiden; Carvill; Hilda; Lannigans), Whangapoua, Coromandel peninsula, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Opitonui Mines (Maiden; Carvill; Hilda; Lannigans)	- not defined -
Whangapoua	- not defined -
Coromandel peninsula	Peninsula
Thames-Coromandel District	District
Waikato Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

The Kauri Timber Company owned vast tracks of land on the Coromandel peninsula in the late 19th Century, which it used to cut down Kauri trees. It was so successful few original trees remained, and recent decades have seen replantings in various parts of the district. While the company was focused on sawmilling, it also had to contend with various gold districts opening on its land. In 1896, it decided to get in on the action at Opitonui by developing a series of new gold mines in close proximity to each other in the Opitonui valley, inland from Whangapoua. A company was spun off called the Kauri Freehold Gold Estates.

Financed from London during the 1890's gold bubble, the company was flush with money, it used to sink around six shafts on mines named Maiden, Carvill, Hilda, Lannigans. (Carvill has several spellings in the sources). An overly optimistic 40 stamp battery was erected, and a railway from the mines to Whangapoua. A town of several hundred formed to service the mines. Crushings began in 1899.

The Maiden Mine supplied most of the ore to the battery, the reef 13 feet wide, which junctioned at right angles with the Carvill Reef. Lannigans Mine had a shaft down to 211 feet, with three levels, with a drive at the no. 3 level 405 feet east and 431 feet west. This junctioned with the large Opitonui Reef to the east, and the Hilda section to the west. The Hilda No. 2 adit was driven 1178 feet.

It is reported the mine is on low grade ore in 1902, but are confident rich ore is within sight... or maybe not. The mine closed in 1903. The battery was sold shortly after to the Waihi Grand Junction Mine, and most was removed to this site. Proving little will remain when the human race ends, in 1926 it is reported only a lone chimney marks the town.

The trustee for F.W. Peddle sold 16 250 acres of land to Harold C. Bull in 1915, and part of the property included the old Opitonui mines.

In the 1930's, several companies were formed with the intention to explore and develop the old mines. The Opitonui Development Ltd sampled various areas it named the No. 1 cut, Turners leaders, Power of Paddys tunnel, Hilda West, Carvill, the tailings pit next to the old battery site, the tailings pit east of the roadway, and Maiden site. Au-Ag was found in electrum hosted by propylitic altered andesite. In 1935, an Australian mining group took an option over the leases from the company.

The Opitonui Reefs Limited was formed in Christchurch in 1934, covering 10 000 acres of old Kauri Freehold Gold Estates land, although no further details are given. The Opitonui Consolidated Gold Mining Company was ordered to be wound up by the Supreme Court in 1943 at the request of shareholders. The company had initially refused claiming it could repay its debts to shareholders within a short period.

It is assumed the mines border the Opitonui Stream, some 8 kilometres south of Whangapoua, however is unknown. The Mindat co-ordinates mark the battery site, which could be near the mines, or merely along the railway from the mines to the coast. The un-maintained site is opposite (west) of the Whangapoua and Te Rerenga-Kuaotunu road junction, bordering the eastern side of the Te Rerenga hamlet. Concrete foundations, the battery safe, and berdan, and minor elements remain that were not removed in 1903. A holiday park with cabins is open during summer across the road.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References