Red Terror Gold Mine, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Red Terror Gold Mine	Mine
Tennant Creek	Creek
Barkly Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

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Like many small gold mines, the first crushing is very rich, of specimen stone in the oxidised zone. The Red Terror mine achieved 25 tonnes of ore for 293 ounces of gold in its first crushing.

This happened in 1936, by brothers Mat and Denny Staunton. They restarted mining after the war, but were already advanced in age, with Mat at 65 and Denny 72 in 1947. A younger man was brought in, Jimmy Herreen, former jockey, ex-army, small wiry but strong. With little money, they had no option but sink the shaft 150 feet by hand. A crushing of 36 tonnes yielded 189 ounces of gold.

The mine was operated from 1947 to 1952 by the Red Terror Gold Mines NL, one of the subsidiary companies for R.M. Williams, later cattle baron and major clothing retailer. His Nobles Nob mine was incredibly rich, however he had mixed success elsewhere on the goldfield. In 1950, the mine's caretaker, Tasmanian Robert Hawkins, was walking back to the mine from Tennant Creek in temperatures over 100 degrees. His body was found four days later next to the road, having expired from the heat.

Normandy Tennant Creek Pty Ltd controlled the lease between 1974 to 1994, at which time it is noted the mine had produced 605 tonnes of ore at 68 g/t Au.

Country rock is siltstone, hematitic shale, greywacke, and sandstone of the Warramunga Formation, forming steep sided hills. Several interesting rock formations are found in the vicinity of the mine. A pebbly sandstone bed 15 feet thick is immediately west of the mine. Nodules with worm tube like holes, the result of slumping are sometimes found. 250 metres north-west of the mine is shale containing limonite cubes pseudomorphing pyrite. Quartz-dolerite dykes under one metre thick, trending north north-west to north-south, dipping sub-vertically, outcrop near the mine. Quartz veins under 0.5 metres thick, trending north-south are common. Quartz porphyry is found in flat sheet wash areas south and south-west of the mine. There are several isolated sand volcano beds in the area.

The mine is found in a mineralised Fe impregnated shear zone, with gold in quartz rather than ironstone, unusual for the district. Ironstone is in fact uncommon at the location. The mine is on the south limb of an anticline, plunging shallowly east. The area is a series of flat topped steep sided hills, with the Red terror mine being sited on one of these.

The mine is near the north side of the Gosse River Road, which heads east of the Nobles Nob mine, the Red Terror mine about 19 kilometres south-east of Tennant Creek. The state of the workings is unclear, with the side of the hill bulldozed.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

Mineral List

8 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded