Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	41° 19' 24'' South , 173° 51' 11'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	-41.32358,173.85327
GeoHash:	G#: rbesujk0d
Locality type:	Mine
Köppen climate type:	Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate

Abandoned gold mine.

The King Solomon claim was one of the original leases pegged in 1888. Most of the claims were by small parties of miners, with shallow alluvial diggings, and were abandoned after a couple of years. The King Solomon Mine was more substantial, sinking three shafts to 117, 89, and 76 feet deep, connected underground, with much machinery erected above ground.

Gold was found as waterworn flakes, the size roughly of a pea, in hard cemented conglomerate.

The first few years saw much gold recovered, but returns gradually decreased, so by the late 1890's the mine site was in a state of disrepair. In 1902, a new syndicate took over for a few years.

Fred Coombe is noted as an early mine manager. The mine manager in 1898 was Alexander Campbell, who before this was on the Wairapa Claim on the field, and with three others obtained 10 000 pounds worth of gold over two years. Edward Knutson from Sweden was mine manager and part owner in 1902. In 1905, mine manager and part owner Charles P. Neilsen was killed when he became entangled in the water wheel.

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

Jurassic - Late Paleozoic 145 - 358.9 Ma ID: 3185633	Paleozoic-Mesozoic crystalline metamorphic rocks Age: Phanerozoic (145 - 358.9 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Haast Schist Lithology: Pelitic and semipelitic schist; greenschist grade metasedimentary/metavolcanic schist Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154]
Triassic 201.3 - 251.902 Ma ID: 1312217	Caples Group TZIII-IV schist Age: Triassic (201.3 - 251.902 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Caples Group Description: Schistose (TZIII-IV) volcaniclastic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and conglomerate with included volcanics and limestone; minor quartzite, metachert and serpentinite. Comments: Eastern Province (Caples Terrane) Rocks Lithology: Limestone, quartzite, chert, serpentinite 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]
Anisian - Artinskian 242 - 290.1 Ma ID: 1318230	Undifferentiated Caples Terrane TZIV schist Age: Phanerozoic (242 - 290.1 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Caples Group Description: TZIIIB-IV; strongly foliated; well developed segregation laminae. Comments: Basement (Eastern Province) metamorphic rocks. Age based on biostratigraphy, contact relationships Lithology: Major:: {sandstone},Minor:: {siltstone, 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

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