Daydream Mine (Meech's Blow), Yancowinna Co., New South Wales, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Daydream Mine (Meech's Blow)	Mine
Yancowinna Co.	County
New South Wales	State
Australia	Country

A former Silver mine located 20 kilometres from Broken Hill, 13 kilometres off Silverton Road. Mined from 1882-1983. Now a tourist mine well worth visiting (try the fresh scones!).

Mineralization is a Silverton-type vein mineralisation deposit. Ore is Ag-bearing galena in siderite gangue (most siderite altered to limonite).

Adjacent to the mine and on the same lease was historically a working named 'Little Blow'. Nearby is the Hens and Chickens lode, remnants of the mine can be seen next to the access road to Daydream, just on the other side of the hill before reaching the mine.

Discovered by Joe Meech in December 1881. Exhausted from a days prospecting, he retired to under the shade of a tree and slept. Upon waking he saw in front of him a metalliferous outcrop with bright blue, green and yellow carbonates. He consequently named the mine Daydream.

Meech had been in the company of Allan Sinclair, but each would prospect individually each day. Sinclair argued any finds should be shared equally and a bitter dispute erupted which ended in court.

Mining started in 1882. The Day Dream Silver Mining Company was floated in 1885 and mining continued to around 1889.

The mine and surrounding areas was mapped in 1935-1936 by H.C. Burrell. He described mine as containing streaks and lenses of gossan along the footwall of granite. The gossan was massive hematite limonite to porous boxwork limonite-commonly rhombohedral after siderite, and rarely cubical after galena. According to a later description by Ian Plimer the Daydream mine accesses Thackaringa type mineralisation producing at Daydream exceptionally high grade silver ore from above the water table, and the primary galena ore from beneath the water table also contained silver. The area above the water was rich in secondary minerals such as chlorargyrite, native silver and kaolinite. The primary vein material was composed of siderite (black as the result of intense oxidation),quartz, sulphides, and minor amounts of fluorite. The veins had a border zone of quartz with some showing terminated crystals, pale brassy yellow pyrite cubes, yellow chalcopyrite, and brown sphalerite.

In 1907 John Grose purchased the mine, which was worked by his two sons. The mine remained under the control of the Grose family, but little mining appears to have taken place till 1967. Robert Pittaway (nicknamed Popeye) had married into the Grose family and was a miner at Broken Hill. In 1967 with his son in law Harold Lawn and workmates Alan Whitelaw, Micky Johns and Brian Turley, mining recommenced. In 1983 the family opened the mine for tourism and daily tours are conducted to the underground workings.
Located in the Northern Broken Hill Block.

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