Rabbit Warren Gold Mine, Leonora, Leonora Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Rabbit Warren Gold Mine | Mine |
| Leonora | Town |
| Leonora Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
28° 49' 28'' South , 121° 22' 52'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Leonora | 532 (2012) | 8.3km |
In 1980, Sydney 'Snowie' Barnes, and Peter Thompson, uncovered about A$130 000 worth of gold here in a few days. The site is 9 kilometres north-east of Leonora, and less than 50 metres north of the Leonora-Nambi Road. It appears the endeavours about to be discussed produced a small pit, now largely filled in.
One oral source states, Barnes and Thompson, had dug a 15 foot pit, and set explosive charges into the wall, uncovering a thin plate of gold 3 feet across at a depth of 7 feet. A subsequent 8.5 tonne parcel produced 232 ounces to the tonne, or 7430 grams of gold.
The discovery led to a rash of exploration, during a period when certain local entrepreneurs had more money than sense. The prospectors got paid just over half a million for the lease by Peter Englebrecht, who then made some unwise comments about the deposit in the hope of generating interest, which had to be retracted on the insistence of the Australian Stock Exchange.
After much wheeling and dealing, a joint venture was formed between Cliffminex headed by Englebrecht, Endeavour Resources, Amber Gold Ltd, and Bond Corporation headed by Alan Bond, infamous in Western Australia for some less than ethical business dealings in the 1980's.
Seven years later Endeavour and Amber are still persisting at the site, but announce the deposit is only worth 17.7 g/t (which is good), but a 8.5 tonnes of ore yields 48 ounces worth A$3000 (which is bad, considering the half million purchase price). Essentially this a classic case of companies falling over themselves to buy a bonanza, which turns out to be a small but rich find, which does not extend to any depth or width beyond the original discovery.
The Barnes and Thompson families continued in the mining game, particularly Barnes' grandson, Daniel Tucker, who formed the successful mine contracting business Carey Contracting. I live for the day in this country, when being indigenous in these matters is viewed as irrelevant.
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Gold Formula: Au Reference: The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Big Gold Find at Leonora, 12/09/1980 |
Gallery:
References
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Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper (1987), Rabbit Warren Let Down, 06/02/1987
Hissink, L. (2003), A Geologist Reviews the Autobiography of One of Australia's Greatest Corporate Villians, (Bond, by Alan Bond- an autobiography), 19/12/2003
Threadgold, T. (2004), Tucker Leading the New Wave, BN Western Australia, 13/04/2004
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Rabbit Warren Sale, 08/11/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Rabbit Warren Exploration to Proceed, 06/11/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Rabbit Warren to be Sold for $4M, 04/10/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Big Gold Find at Leonora, 12/09/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Company Retracts Statement, 18/10/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1981), Buying Leases, 18/02/1981
The Canberra Times newspaper (1980), Bond Corp to Raise $46M with Issue, 18/11/1980
The Canberra Times newspaper (1981), Amber Buying More, 11/02/1981
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Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Western Australia
- Mount Keith Nickel Metallogenic ProvinceGeologic Province
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- Yilgarn CratonCraton
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Rabbit Warren Gold Mine, Leonora, Leonora Shire, Western Australia, Australia