Black Diamond Mine (Tinkers), Nightcaps, Southland District, Southland Region, South Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 45° 57' 5'' South , 168° 1' 21'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -45.95156,168.02256 |
| Köppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
The Black Diamond coal mine is 1.5 kilometres north north-west of the Nightcaps town site.
The mine was developed in 1916 on the farm of William Tinker and his five sons. In the early days the mine was sometimes called 'Tinkers' as a result, and the small village that developed next to the mine called Tinkertown. The road out to the mine is still by this name. Little remains of the town. Photographs were found of coal screens at the location, but 2017 developments at the mine may have placed these in peril.
Little information was found, but an occasional mention in the local paper covering the 1920's to at least 1945, usually involving strikes. Robert Duncan and J. Nutter died in 1932 from a fall of coal.
The site reverted to a bucolic forestry plantation surrounding a couple of small lakes created from the pits. This changed in 2017 when Bathurst Resources Limited decided to re-develop the site as an open pit. The expected life of the mine is six years, after which the intention is to re-establish the lakes. It is expected 1.3 million tonnes of coal will be extracted.
Mineral List
Rock Types Recorded
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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
| Early Oligocene - Eocene 28.1 - 56 Ma ID: 1308755 | Nightcaps Group coal measures and Hogburn Formation Age: Paleogene (28.1 - 56 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Nightcaps Group Description: Sandstone, conglomerate, carbonaceous mudstone and claystone with coal. Comments: Zealandia Megasequence Terrestrial and Shallow Marine Sedimentary Rocks (Paleogene to Cretaceous) Lithology: Sandstone, conglomerate, mudstone, claystone, coal 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] |
| Priabonian - Bartonian 33.9 - 41.3 Ma ID: 1321550 | Beaumont Formation (Nightcaps Group) Age: Eocene (33.9 - 41.3 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Beaumont Coal Measures Description: Sandstone with minor conglomerate; mudstone; coal and oil shale. Comments: Paleogene sedimentary rocks. Age based on palynology Lithology: Major:: {sandstone},Minor:: {mudstone, coal, oil shale} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
| Permian 252.17 - 298.9 Ma ID: 3187980 | Paleozoic volcanic rocks Age: Permian (252.17 - 298.9 Ma) Lithology: Volcanic rocks 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] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
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