Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	37° 7' 52'' South , 175° 33' 39'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	-37.13129,175.56110
GeoHash:	G#: rckufbrww
Köppen climate type:	Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate

Historic gold mine.

This mine produced minor crushings, much development at intermittent periods, and rosy mine manager reports somewhat at odds with the limited production.

The first information found was in 1890 by the Occidental Gold Mining Company, then the first decade of the 20th Century as the New Occidental Gold Mining Company, however news is sparse. The North Star lease was purchased by the Occidental Company in 1896. This section between 1887-1896 produced 1943 tonnes of ore for 3319 ounces of gold. The Occidental and New Occidental companies produced 1757 tonnes of ore for 4579 ounces of gold 1889-1907.

The Occidental gold mine is part of Una Hill, just east of Thames. 21 acres. The mine produced from the Hague Smith, Occidental, Pride of Karaka or Loyalty reefs. The workings reached 5 levels. The Hague Smith Reef trends north-south, dipping west 45 degrees, averaging 12 feet thick. The quartz is variably described as hard, crystallised, cavenous, with the near surface stained brown and black by manganese oxides and limonite. Pyrite is found at deeper levels. Gold values are low grade. The reef is named after John Hague Smith, who owned a large hardware store in Thames during the gold rush days, and invested his spare money in local mining interests. He was also connected with the boards for the harbour, school, and Thames School of Mines.

From 1911 to 1917 the Occidental Consolidated Gold Mining Company worked the mine, with prosaic weekly reports about developments, and dabs of gold being found in the quartz (and in one entry abundant sphalerite). More development occurred in the late 1920's, until mine manager Richard McGregor (68) met with an un-specified accident at the battery, and later died at home.

In 1934, W. Langguth requested forfeiture of the mine from A.C. Rae due to the mine not being worked for some time.

Mineral List

4 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

Miocene 5.333 - 23.03 Ma ID: 1308094

Coromandel Group Miocene andesite and basaltic andesite lava Age: Miocene (5.333 - 23.03 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Coromandel Group Description: Andesite and basaltic andesite lava, tuff and tuff breccia, agglomerate and pyroclastic flow deposits; andesite, diorite and dacite dikes and subvolcanic intusions. Comments: Zealandia Megasequence Extrusive and Intrusive Rocks (Neogene) Lithology: Andesite, tuffite, tuff-breccia, agglomerate, pyroclastic material, andesite, diorite, dacite 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]

Tortonian - Burdigalian 7.246 - 20.44 Ma ID: 1315860

Kuaotunu Subgroup andesite and dacite (Coromandel Group) of Coromandel Volcanic Zone Age: Miocene (7.246 - 20.44 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Kuaotunu Subgroup Description: Basaltic andesite, andesite and dacite intrusives, flows, volcaniclastites and volcanic epiclastites. Comments: Neogene igneous rocks. Age based on K-Ar Lithology: Major:: {andesite},Minor:: {dacite} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13]

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

References