Italian Creek Mine (Italian Gully), Reefton, Buller District, West Coast Region, South Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 42° 2' 52'' South , 171° 55' 3'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -42.04778,171.91769 |
| Köppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
Italian Creek is just north-west of the Reddale coal mine, off Blairs Road. Italian Creek (maps) or Italian Gully (Henderson) are old gold workings. Discovered by Francis Walker, a 5 head battery was erected at the junction of Italian and Raglan creeks (used for the Mindat map), with the first crushing in 1876.
With poor results, the lease and battery was sold in 1878 to the Golden Arch Company with no better results. By 1883 the mine was on tribute, then abandoned the year after.
It was prospected in 1894. In 1905 Knight and party (Buller United Syndicate) cleaned out the old workings, and erected another 5 head battery, near the mouth of the tunnel. They then sold it all again to the Golden Arch Gold Mining Company.
Some gold must have been found by the prior owners, as Golden Arch erected a 10 head battery and cyanide plant, but the ore shoot that had been found was too small to warrant the investment. For a time the mine was back on tribute, with some success, before the company was liquidated.
The ore shoot is 500 feet in length, averaging only 6-8 inches thick, although in one place had expanded to 3 feet, strikes north-south, dips east 70 degrees, and was worked on four levels, driven from the small creek.
Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
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
| Pleistocene - Pliocene 0.0117 - 5.333 Ma ID: 1312762 | Old Man Group Age: Cenozoic (0.0117 - 5.333 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Pakihi Supergroup; Old Man Group; Old Man Group Description: Weathered conglomerate with interbedded sandstone. Comments: Zealandia Megasequence Terrestrial and Shallow Marine Sedimentary Rocks (Neogene) Lithology: Conglomerate, sandstone 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] |
| Rupelian - Ypresian 28.1 - 56 Ma ID: 1366106 | Kaiata Formation (Rapahoe Group) Age: Paleogene (28.1 - 56 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Rapahoe Group; Kaiata Formation Description: Brown carbonaceous mudstone; locally containing conglomeratic debris-flow beds. Comments: Paleogene sedimentary rocks. Age based on Based on stratigraphic age range Lithology: Major:: {mudstone},Minor:: {conglomerate} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
