Mount Somers Mine 2 (Tripps; Burnley), Mount Somers, Ashburton District, Canterbury Region, South Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 43° 38' 39'' South , 171° 17' 16'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -43.64442,171.28798 |
| KΓΆppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
Old coal mine.
This site is different from the other Mt Somers Mine listed under the Mount Somers heading, although also a coal mine. The first is found in Woolshed Creek mined mainly by the Mount Somers Coal Mining Company, and J McClimont, amongst others historically. No. 2 location is the relatively modern name for a small abandoned open cast (pit) coal mine, bordering the northern side of the Ashburton Gorge Road. A small shed remains on the site, and the state of the workings indicate it was mined several decades ago. No information could be found. The large silica sand quarry is just to the south, and should also not be confused with this location.
This article will focus on the geology of the site.
The site shows coal, coaly clay, and clayey coal (we are not certain of the difference other than maybe the proportions of clay to coal). When inspected in 1988, 5 metres of coal was exposed, however another 3 metres of coal is below the pit floor. The coal seams range from 2.5 to 0.25 metres thick, and coaly clay beds 0.7 to 0.1 metre thick.
This is overlain with silica sand and kaolin clay, showing at the time on the eastern wall, 8 to 14 metres thick, with carbonaceous material. In turn this is overlain by Pleistocene outwash gravels.
History for the location was difficult, as the newspaper articles can be vague on location details, and the various individuals were involved in leases over much of the area, including the one in question. An old map states Tripp's and Burnley coal mines were in the immediate area. Tripp was the landowner who other individuals and companies leased their mines from. As such, a mention of a Tripp mine could potentially relate to any mine across the coalfield. No information could be found on the Burnley Mine.
Commodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramRegional 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
| Eocene - Late Cretaceous 33.9 - 100.5 Ma ID: 1313030 | Eyre Group and Broken River Formation Late Cretaceous-Eocene terrestrial sedimentary rocks Age: Phanerozoic (33.9 - 100.5 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Eyre Group; Broken River Formation Description: Quartz sandstone, carbonaceous mudstone and claystone with minor conglomerate and lensoidal coal seams. Comments: Zealandia Megasequence Terrestrial and Shallow Marine Sedimentary Rocks (Paleogene to Cretaceous) Lithology: Sandstone, mudstone, claystone, conglomerate, coal 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] |
| Lutetian - Danian 41.3 - 66 Ma ID: 1334281 | Broken River Formation Paleocene - Eocene mudstone (Eyre Group) Age: Paleogene (41.3 - 66 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Broken River Formation Description: Carbonaceous and quartzose claystone mudstone and sandstone; local coal seams. Comments: Paleogene sedimentary rocks. Age based on Paleontology/palynology/stratigraphy, Dt-Dp fossils Lithology: Major:: {claystone},Minor:: {lignite, sandstone} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
| Triassic - Permian 201.3 - 298.9 Ma ID: 3188829 | Paleozoic-Mesozoic sedimentary rocks Age: Phanerozoic (201.3 - 298.9 Ma) Lithology: Argillite,limestone,chert,greywacke 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
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