Great Victoria Gold Mine, Marvel Loch, Yilgarn Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Great Victoria Gold Mine	Mine
Marvel Loch	Loch
Yilgarn Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

A gold property started 1984.


VHMS style deposit.
Brothers C and H Burbidge discovered gold here in 1902, and caused great excitment at the time, being described as the largest lode formation discovered up to that point in Western Australia. In truth no-one knew and early mining was the near surface oxide zone. It turned out to be a complex, low grade, and very large gold deposit. The Burbidge brothers developed the mine in its early years. Its large size drew interest, and its low grade put companies off committing to mining.

An option was taken over the mine in 1908 by the Sunnyside Syndicate of Melbourne. The Great Boulder Proprietary Company from Kalgoorlie held an extended option over the mine in 1912 but declined to purchase it. A Kalgoorlie syndicate took over the mine in 1922. By 1926 it is noted the near surface laterite material is still being mined with no exploration at depth. The mine had a 10 head battery, but a lack of water hampered the development of the mine in its early years. Another problem was the treatment of the ore caused by gibbsite reacting with water and other minerals to release sulphuric acid. One source states C Burbidge was still at the mine in 1930, re-treating residues with two other men also employed.

Drilling at the deposit took place in 1933 by the Anglo-Australian Development Company. In 1935 the Great Victoria United NL was floated to resurrect the mine indicating it had been in decline or ceased operations for a time. The float was open for five minutes and was over-subscribed They re-treated the mullock piles. By 1937 they were applying for exemptions in the Warden's Court, usually a sign of problems at a mine.

In 1939 an Adelaide company called the Marvel Loch Development NL owned the mine, with A.E. Paul as Mine Manager. No record of mining could be found from this point till 1984 when the mine was re-opened using modern processing techniques. At present (2013) the mine is abandoned and the ground rehabilitated.

The deposit is on the western limb of a north pitching anticline in sediments overlying older mafic greenstone. The host sequence is iron quartzite, micaceous schist, and banded iron formation. The deposit is located in a large, steep, north pitching drag fold in iron quartzite and sandstone. The ore forms two main lines of lode named Great Victoria and Prince Regent. The mineralisation is in highly brecciated lenticular lodes of laminated hematite/quartz, with additional quartz veining.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References