Page 52 SOUVENIR-CHARTERS TOWERS, 1872 TO
July, 1950
Present Day Mining
Black Jack Gold Mining Co. N.L.
EXECUTIVE STAFF
Manager: Mr. L. H. DRAKE.
Underground Manager: Mr. A. JOCHHEIM.
Mill Manager: Mr. A. C. POOLE.
Cyanide Manager: Mr. J. W. MACKIE.
THE major gold producing mine on the field to-day is the Black Jack
Mine. It i's situated 6½
miles from Charters Towers on the Clermont Highway. First
discovered and worked in 1875. Worked intermittently until 1886 when
rich stone was obtained in the Black Jack P .C. Mine it boomed for
three years Then the area was worked intermittently until 1912.
In 1933, due to the efforts of the late Mr. W. Clark, the Black Jack
South Block Shaft was cleaned out and has been worked ever since.
Mining Practice.
Overhead cut and fill stoping is the mining method
used. Quartz is handled through chutes to the various levels and
transported to the surface where it is deposited into the Ore Bin.
The ore is fed through a Jaw Cracker and elevated to the Mill Storage
Bin. From the Mill Storage Bin it is fed by challenge feeders into two
sets of five head stamper batteries. The crushed pulp is then run over
amalgam tables which collect the free gold in the ore on the mercury
covered copper plates. After passing over the amalgam tables the ore is
fed on to a Wilfley concentrating table which separates the
mineral from the ore and passes the sands containing approximately
5 dwts. gold portion into a sand pump which transports it to the
Settling Pits. The concentrate mineral product average over 10ozs.
gold per ton from the table, is dried and bagged and sent to Port
Kembla for treatment. The gold amalgam from the amalgam tables is
collected and retorted, which process removes the mercury
from the amalgam and leaves the gold which is smelted into a bar to be
deposited into the bank for sale to the mint. The sand pumped into the
settling' pits is prepared for cyanide treatment. This is done by
drying the sands and then depositing' them into 18-ton capacity
treatment vats where cyanide solution is pumped on. The cyanide
solutions dissolves the gold in the sand and this solution is then run
off and passed over zinc shavings in a series of precipitate boxes.
The zinc deposits the gold out of solution and the sludge found is
dried and roasted to from the precipitate. This precipitate is : then
fluxed and smelted in
which process the gold is deposited to the bottom of the mould and the
slag to the top. This bottom is then smelted
again and poured into a bar of precipitate bullion which is deposited
in the bank for sale to the mint.
At the present time 52 men are employed at this mine and the
fortnightly paysheet amounts to slightly over £800. This means a
lot to the town. This is in direct wages only. If indirect amounts paid
to firewood contractors and so on were added, the benefit to the town
would be much greater.
Some interesting figures of mines operations are as
follows
Proceeds of 'Gold Won
| 1945 |
£4608 |
£6087 |
£3504 |
£14199 |
| 1946 |
5354 |
7679 |
4722 |
17755 |
| 1947 |
7548 |
11264 |
7203 |
26015 |
| 1948 |
11047 |
17386 |
15785 |
44218 |
| 1949 |
9166 |
12760 |
9110 |
33638 |
Wages Paid. For Above Period
It is important to note that the whole of these wages would be spent in
or around Charters Towers.
| 1945 |
£8245 |
| 1946 |
10763 |
| 1947. |
16719 |
| 1948 |
19001 |
| 1949 |
23407 |
Another promising mine just coming into production is the
"Ladybird
