Mount Samuel Gold Mine, Mount Samuel, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Samuel Gold Mine	Mine
Mount Samuel	Mountain
Tennant Creek	Creek
Barkly Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

Map sheets: Tennant Creek 100K Map.

Mount Samuel is one of the highest points in the district, topped by an impressive ironstone formation. Gold here was discovered in 1934 by Barney O'Leary. It was considered the richest early lease in the Tennant Creek district in the mid 1930's, until others later eclipsed it.

The lease consisted of 40 acres, and a shaft was sunk to 40 feet. The first crushing was 50 tonnes of ore yielding 929 ounces of gold, and second crushing 72 tonnes of ore yielding 367 ounces. By October 1935, the mine had produced 315 tonnes of ore for 1712 ounces- a very rich small mine.

O'Leary was a cattleman from Western Australia, who sold the lease around 1936 to Rudolph Schmidt (early accounts name him Adolph Schmidt- there may have been a name change due to certain issues happening in Germany at the time). The mine was sold for between 7000 to 20 000 pounds depending on the source. Schimdt erected an empire mill at the site, as part of the Central Milling Company.

Mining during the 1930's was described as intermittent and half hearted, leading to requests for forfeiture of the lease. Edward Hale's request in 1936 was dismissed without even the Central Milling Company having to attend, when H.B. Owen deputy mining warden was advised by the Federal mines minister to throw out any applications until the warden returned.

It is noted in 1947, the mine had produced to that point 2796 tonnes of ore for 4283 ounces of gold. Tennant Creek Gold Mines Limited took an option over the Mount Samuel and neighbouring Southern Cross leases around 1947, finding ore to be erratic, gold sporadic with high yielding patches going no distance, abandoning the leases mid 1949. Testing of mullock next to old shafts in 1984 by CRA produced only weak mineralisation.

The Mount Samuel lease contains quartz-hematite-magnetite bodies discontinuous on the surface, but as one continuous body at depth, dipping steeply north. Some hematite is specular. This is intersected by north-south fractures, the source theorises were conduits for the mineralised fluids. The ironstone trends east-west along a ridge extending east from Mount Samuel, bordering a shale horizon. Some of the ironstone shows irregular quartz-hematite banding. All gold has been found in the ironstone on the lease, with brecciated zones.

A bore sunk on the south-west side of Mount Samuel discovered a pink (un-named) coloured rock with quartz crystals, at 60 feet, under shale, quartz pebbles, and clay. Sand volcano beds are found west of Mount Samuel.

The mine can be accessed by travelling 7 kilometres south of Tennant Creek along the Stuart Highway to the railway goods yard, marked by a large shed next to the highway. Take the west track immediately south of this, after crossing the railway line, immediately the faint track north, which soon turns west north-west. The Hammerjack, Red Ned, and Outlaw mines are passed, and about one kilometre west is Mount Samuel. The Southern Cross mine borders it to the north. The site contains a couple of shafts, and an open cut-hole directly below the peak.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References