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Siberia Goldfield (Waverley), Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
Regional Level Types
Siberia Goldfield (Waverley)Ore Field
Kalgoorlie-Boulder ShireShire
Western AustraliaState
AustraliaCountry

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PhotosMapsSearch
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
30° 14' 38'' South , 120° 57' 16'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:


86 kilometres north-west of Kalgoorlie, and 25 kilometres north-west of Ora Banda. Gold was discovered here in October 1893 by Billy Frost and Bob Bonner. What resulted next is an incredible story which deserves to be better known.

Many of the Mindat localities for Western Australia relate to gold discoveries in the 1890s, in the dry interior of the continent. The regions around Kalgoorlie contain salmon gum woodland and scrub, but this does mean there is any water. These plants have adapted to the dry conditions, and with no roads, maps, towns, getting lost would be an easy thing to do, and many prospectors perished. Water at Coolgardie during the goldrush there in the early 1890s cost more than gold itself.

We have a detailed description of Billy Frost: horseman, drover, overlander, buffalo hunter and discoverer of the 19 mile goldfield. In fact I suspect the following description printed in the Melbourne Argus newspaper was written by Billy himself it is so over the top: 'tall, strongly built, with a resolute devil-may-care expression which marked him as tough amongst even the tough Coolgardie crowd, able to walk miles under a sweltering sun or ride a 24 hour stage without turning a hair, with this went absolute knowledge of bushlore, ability to smell water 10 miles away, and a vocabulary as extensive and ready as his iron hard fist'.

He rode into Coolgardie with 50oz of gold and was mobbed. They had to wait for the announcement the next morning when Frost made his claim at the Warden Office. He called it Siberia, probably as an ironic joke. It came with a warning of no water and not to go. Virtually ever man by whatever means,left almost immediately with no idea of where the gold discovery was, other than 70 miles north-west of Coolgardie. The only other person to have been through the area was explorer Ernest Giles in 1875.

Hundreds of men left from Coolgardie. People who had come from jobs as clerks, shop assistants, artisans, from lush places overseas or from Victoria. They had little idea of the countryside ahead of them. The men were followed by teams of horses with water and other supplies. Later in the day another rush of men went through Coolgardie from Hannans (Kalgoorlie). It was a stampede.

Nothing was heard for a week, and then rumours began reaching Coolgardie. Rumours of men dying of thirst in the desert.

Fred Renou was Superintendent of Water Supplies in Coolgardie, and sent his young assistant Armitage to investigate. His heroic efforts saved many men. He reached the 25 Mile Well, the last known water source before the long track to Siberia. He came upon a scene of frantic confusion, with 600 men with wagons and horses, fighting over the water at the well. The well-keeper whose job is to charge for and ration the water, had been thrust aside, with threats of violence. Much of the water had been spilt by men perishing of thirst fighting over the water. At the bottom of the well were two men fighting over the trickle left. The well was dry. Armitage pulled out a gun and brought the situation to order. He placed armed guards at the well, which gradually replenished so the men could drink by the day's end.

The wagon teams had tried to proceed north to the gold discovery but had to turn back as they got bogged in the sandy terrain. Meanwhile hundreds of men had walked on ahead cross country through the scrub, believing the wagon teams with water were following behind. For 2 nights, Armitage lit a beacon on a large granite hill nearby, and several men saw this and dragged themselves into the camp almost dead. They brought with them horrific stories of men going mad from thirst and dying.

At this point, an Afghan water carter arrived at 25 Mile taking water supplies to the Bayley's Reward Mine at Coolgardie. His name was Ameer, had eight camels and two employees with him, Pindar and Jamelkin. The camels were packed with tanks of water and Armitage asked for volunteers. Only two out of the 600 men did; Lewis Davis, and William Lobban. Armitage, the Afghans, and these last two men headed north on a rescue mission. It took them a week to cover the 80 miles, as each day they had to detour following tracks of men who had wandered off course. One was followed for miles, along a trail of discarded cloths, and dragged footmarks, until lost on an ironstone ridge. Another was found naked under a bush, mouth swollen from thirst and un-able to move. Clothes, tools, swags littered the ground everywhere.

They eventually got to Siberia Soak and found it had no water, and 140 desperate men. They all made the slow march back to 25 Mile Well, with Armitage bringing up the rear picking up stragglers.

Meanwhile, without any knowledge of what was going on at 25 Mile Well, Renou sent three wagons of water, which proceeded north from 25 Mile and met up with the weary army of men marching back.

No-one knows how many men died out there. For years after various prospectors would stumble across bleached bones of one of the victims, and they would be buried in lonely bush graves.


Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.


Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

15 valid minerals. 1 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

Azurite
Formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 3, p 428
Chalcocite
Formula: Cu2S
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 3, p 428
Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 1, p 433
Ernienickelite (TL)
Formula: NiMn3O7 · 3H2O
Type Locality:
Reference: GRICE, J.D. GARTRELL, B., GAULT, R.A. & VAN VELTHUIZEN, J. (1994): Ernienickelite, NiMn3O73H2O, a new mineral species from the Siberia complex, Western Australia: comments on the crystallography of the chalcophanite group. Canadian Mineralogist 32, 333-337.
Erythrite
Formula: Co3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
Reference: Simpson, Edward S. (1951) Minerals of Western Australia Vol 2 (Facsimile ed. 1984). Hesperian Press, Carlisle, Western Australia (p255).
Goethite
Formula: α-Fe3+O(OH)
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)
Gold
Formula: Au
Localities: Reported from at least 16 localities in this region.
Reference: Mining Annual Review (1985): 367.
Graphite
Formula: C
Reference: Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper (1919), Mine Inspector's Report, 14/10/1919
Hematite
Formula: Fe2O3
Reference: Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper (1919), Broad Arrow Goldfield. Mines Inspector's Report, 14/10/1919
'Hornblende'
Reference: Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper (1919), Mine Inspector's Report, 14/10/1919
Magnesite
Formula: MgCO3
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)
Malachite
Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 3, p 428
'Manganese Oxides'
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 3, p 393
Nimite
Formula: (Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)
Nontronite
Formula: Na0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)
Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
Reference: Simpson, E.S. (1948), Minerals of Western Australia, Vol 3, p 428
Quartz
Formula: SiO2
Localities: Reported from at least 6 localities in this region.
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)
Quartz var. Jasper
Reference: Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper (1919), Mine Inspector's Report, 14/10/1919
'Serpentine Subgroup'
Formula: D3[Si2O5](OH)4
Reference: Canadian Mineralogist 32,333-337(1994)

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
Gold1.AA.05Au
Graphite1.CB.05aC
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
Chalcocite2.BA.05Cu2S
Chalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
Pyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
Ernienickelite (TL)4.FL.20NiMn3O7 · 3H2O
Goethite4.00.α-Fe3+O(OH)
Hematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
var. Jasper4.DA.05SiO2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
Azurite5.BA.05Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Magnesite5.AB.05MgCO3
Malachite5.BA.10Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates
Erythrite8.CE.40Co3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
Group 9 - Silicates
Nimite9.EC.55(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
Nontronite9.EC.40Na0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc.
'Hornblende'-
'Manganese Oxides'-
'Serpentine Subgroup'-D3[Si2O5](OH)4

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
H ErnienickeliteNiMn3O7 · 3H2O
H Goethiteα-Fe3+O(OH)
H Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
H Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
H NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
H AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
H MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
H ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
CCarbon
C MagnesiteMgCO3
C GraphiteC
C AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
C MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
OOxygen
O ErnienickeliteNiMn3O7 · 3H2O
O QuartzSiO2
O Goethiteα-Fe3+O(OH)
O MagnesiteMgCO3
O Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
O Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
O NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
O HematiteFe2O3
O AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
O MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
O ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
NaSodium
Na NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
MgMagnesium
Mg MagnesiteMgCO3
Mg Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
AlAluminium
Al Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
Al NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
SiSilicon
Si QuartzSiO2
Si Serpentine SubgroupD3[Si2O5](OH)4
Si Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
Si NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
SSulfur
S PyriteFeS2
S ChalcociteCu2S
S ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
MnManganese
Mn ErnienickeliteNiMn3O7 · 3H2O
FeIron
Fe Goethiteα-Fe3+O(OH)
Fe NontroniteNa0.3Fe2((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O
Fe HematiteFe2O3
Fe PyriteFeS2
Fe ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
CoCobalt
Co ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
NiNickel
Ni ErnienickeliteNiMn3O7 · 3H2O
Ni Nimite(Ni,Mg,Al)6((Si,Al)4O10)(OH)8
CuCopper
Cu AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Cu MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Cu ChalcociteCu2S
Cu ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
AsArsenic
As ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
AuGold
Au GoldAu

References

Sort by

Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)
The Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper (1941): Goldfields Pioneers (28 Nov 1941)
The Australian Womens Weekly (1973): Along the Old Gold Trail of the West (14 Nov 1973)
The Western Mail newspaper (Perth) (1952): This was Siberia
(12 Jun 1952)
Elias, M., Donaldson, M.J., Giorgetta, N.(1981): Geology, Mineralogy and Chemistry of Lateritic Nickel-cobalt Deposits near Kalgoorlie Western Australia, Economic Geology (1981):76: 1775-1783

Localities in this Region

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australia
Australian PlateTectonic Plate

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
 
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