Prince Imperial Mine, Thames, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato Region, North Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 37° 7' 57'' South , 175° 32' 35'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -37.13255,175.54321 |
| GeoHash: | G#: rckuf84xj |
| KΓΆppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
Historic gold mine.
Walter Allen fell 570 metres down the main shaft in 1884. Hugh McCormack was killed from a fall of earth underground in 1885.
The Prince Imperial Gold Mining Company was formed to develop the mine in 1872. Little happens until 1882, when a bonanza of gold is found by the New Prince Imperial Gold Mining Company. Rich gold was found in quartz, 90 feet long along the lode, 3 feet wide, with specimen stone in a well defined band 2-9 inches wide along the Footwall, at the No. 4 level. It was mined out by 1884. A battery was purchased from the Alburnia Company also in 1884. So much gold was being found that 52 battery stamps were working 24 hours a day to keep up.
The ore in the mine shows abundant pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and other un-named sulphides, associated with the gold. Small pyrite veinlets extend into the wall rock. The country rock is highly propylitised andesite, with some harder darker bars of un-altered andesite. The vein system is faulted by a traverse clay filled fissure.
By 1885, the amount of gold won rapidly decreases. In 1889, the Saxon Company purchases the battery. The Victoria Gold Mining Company took over in 1891, and immediately removed all the buildings and machinery from the lease, and boarded up the shaft.
Mineral List
5 valid minerals.
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
| 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
