Invincible Mine, Glenorchy, Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Invincible Mine | Mine |
| Glenorchy | - not defined - |
| Queenstown-Lakes District | District |
| Otago Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 43' 32'' South , 168° 28' 10'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Arrowtown | 2,151 (2011) | 35.8km |
| Queenstown | 10,442 (2018) | 37.1km |
Abandoned gold mine.
The Invincible Mine is 18 kilometres north of Glenorchy in the Rees Valley. A steep one hour walk will take visitors to the locked mine entrance, tailings, waterwheel remains, and a unique set of seven berdan pans. In the valley below is the Otago Pyrites Saving Company's buddle, a science fiction looking contraption in a forest clearing, used to separate gold from the tailings brought down from the mine.
The underground mine was operated by the Invincible Quartz Mining Company from 1882, until they lost the reef in 1887. The battery yielded 325 ounces from one crushing, and worked 24 hours per day, crushing 90 tonnes of ore per week. Around 7500 ounces of gold in total was recovered in the mine's history, at an average grade of 30 gr per tonne. Efforts to re-open the mine in 1902, 1912, and 1922, all came to nought. The underground workings have collapsed.
The Invincible Reef occupies a near vertical high angle reverse fault, cross-cutting regional schistosity, which regionally dips west by 50 degrees. The reef is on the eastern limb of the Miocene aged Earnslaw Synform. The host schist contains quartz, albite, muscovite, chlorite, epidote, titanite, graphite, actinolite, pyrrhotite, and calcite.
The reef trends north-east to south-west, and dips steeply south-east. The underlying Aspiring Terrane is the significant source of the mineralising fluids and metals. This occurred in the latter stages of metamorphism, and is the earliest recognised gold bearing vein system, in the regionally extensive Otago Schist.
Gold occurs as blebs in quartz. An up to one metre alteration zone surrounds the lode, marked with sulphides, although little alteration other than the recrystallization of chlorite. The mineralised vein material filling the fault zone consists of quartz, albite, muscovite, chlorite, calcite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, and minor gold. The minerals have been strained and recrystallised during ductile deformation.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| β Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Calcite Formula: CaCO3 Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β 'Chlorite Group' Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Epidote Formula: {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Gold Formula: Au Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Graphite Formula: C Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Pyrrhotite Formula: Fe1-xS Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Quartz Formula: SiO2 Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
| β Titanite Formula: CaTi(SiO4)O Reference: Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| β | Graphite | 1.CB.05a | C |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| β | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| β | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| β | Pyrrhotite | 2.CC.10 | Fe1-xS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| β | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| β | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| β | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| β | Epidote | 9.BG.05a | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| β | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| β | Titanite | 9.AG.15 | CaTi(SiO4)O |
| Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
| β | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | β Graphite | C |
| C | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | β Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| O | β Titanite | CaTi(SiO4)O |
| O | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | β Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| Si | β Titanite | CaTi(SiO4)O |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | β Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| S | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | β Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| Ca | β Titanite | CaTi(SiO4)O |
| Ca | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | β Titanite | CaTi(SiO4)O |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | β Epidote | {Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH) |
| Fe | β Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| Fe | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Fe | β Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | β Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | β Gold | Au |
References
Sort by
Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)Hay, R.M. (1991) Invincible Gold Mine Rees Valley N.W. Otago New Zealand (Unpub. thesis, MSc), Otago University, Dunedin.
Hay, R.M., Craw, D. (1993) Syn-Metamorphic Gold Mineralisation Invincible Vein N.W. Otago Schist New Zealand, Mineralium Deposita, 28:2, 90-98.
Otago Daily Times (2008) Wakapitu Walkabout: The Invincible Mine Track, 19 September 2008.
External Links
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/places/glenorchy-area/things-to-do/invincible-gold-mine-track/
https://jontnz.com/2017/07/07/invincible-gold-mine-track/
https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/walking-in-paradise/
https://jontnz.com/2017/07/07/invincible-gold-mine-track/
https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/walking-in-paradise/
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