Northumberland Mine, Reefton, Buller District, West Coast Region, South Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 42° 12' 48'' South , 171° 53' 24'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -42.21358,171.89013 |
| Köppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
This long forgotten gold mine, was located on the southern edge of the Merrijigs plateau, as it falls steeply to Deep Creek. The claim was wedged between the Golden Lead, Cumberland mines to the north-east, and OK, A1, Merrijig mines to the south-west (Henderson), or bordered to the north-east by the Golden Lead, OK mines, and south-west by the Merrijig company (Thomas Lee).
In 1888, local promoter Thomas Lee formed the Northumberland Quartz Mining Company, with 12 000 pounds capital, to develop the claim. At this time he also floated the Tyne Quartz Mining Company, regarding a neighbouring lease.
It must have been a reconstruction of the Northumberland company, as Thomas Lee is noted as promoter with the same company in 1884, relating to the abandonment of a lease. Lee was involved with the formation of several companies to develop claims in the Reefton area, it appears most largely unsuccessful. The failure of these mining enterprises could have serious effects on shareholders. A few mines in the Reefton area were wildly successful, some were wild cats which never got off the ground, the promoters taking off with the money, or in the case of Northumberland developed with good intentions on a piece of land with little gold. Northumberland company shareholder John McGaffin is noted as going bankrupt in 1891, and is probably an indication the mine had ceased operations around this time.
No minerals currently recorded for this locality.
Regional 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
| Rhuddanian - Jiangshanian 440.8 - 494 Ma ID: 1350266 | Greenland Group metasediment Age: Paleozoic (440.8 - 494 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Buller Terrane; Greenland Group Description: Undifferentiated greenish-grey quartzose greywacke and argillite; locally hornfelsed close to granitoid plutons. Comments: Basement (Western Province) metamorphic rocks. Age based on Based on stratigraphic age range Lithology: Major:: {sandstone},Minor:: {mudstone} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
| Ordovician - Late Cambrian 443.8 - 501 Ma ID: 1312947 | Greenland Group metasedimentary rocks Age: Paleozoic (443.8 - 501 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Greenland Group; Greenland Group metasedimentary rocks Description: Quartzose metasandstone and metamudstone, hornfelsed near plutons and locally schistose. Comments: Western Province (Buller Terrane) Rocks Lithology: Sandstone, mudstone, schist 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] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
