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Golden Key Gold Mine, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Golden Key Gold Mine | Mine |
| Tennant Creek | Creek |
| Barkly Region | Region |
| Northern Territory | Territory |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
19° 36' 4'' South , 134° 17' 31'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tennant Creek | 3,889 (2012) | 11.8km |
The winter of 1932, a group of Broken Hill prospectors led by James Cole, decided to enter the wilds surrounding the Tennant Creek telegraph station to search for gold. It was called the Barrier Gold Prospecting Syndicate. June 1932, they found gold in quartz veins, naming the site Golden Key. The leases covered 60 acres.
Two shafts were sunk. The number one shaft was sunk to 56 feet, showing dark green-black slate, with gold in quartz veins. The number 2 shaft down to 19 feet was in hard black laminated slate, or in another source various coloured slate, with quartz carrying fine gold. Barrier Gold No. 2 block shaft was down to 7 feet in green laminated slate, and again this was claimed to be well mineralised. This was one of the early mines on the field, before it was realised gold occurred in ironstone on the goldfield.
July 1932, the Orinda Gold Mining Co. NL of Adelaide was given a one month free sampling option with the right to purchase. J.W. Bestwick was appointed mining engineer. Unimpressed, one month later they advised gold was found but not in payable quantities, and abandoned any further work.
A group of prospectors re-pegged the lease in 1935, but no more was found. Tennant Creek lacked a local newspaper, so historic information is in short supply. Nothing could be seen on satellite images at the mine location, so any activity after 1935 was minor.
The mine is about 15 kilometres east of Tennant Creek. It can be reached by taking a rough track east of the Tennant Creek repeater station. This track winds through low hills, and at one point hits a north-west to south-east trending ridge. Just past this is a faint track to the Mint Gold Mine Mindat locality, and maps place Golden Key a few hundred metres north north-west of this on the eastern side of the ridge.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
2 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramGallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Gold | Au |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- North Australian ElementCraton
- Northern Territory
- Kalkarindji Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- Warramunga ProvinceGeologic Province
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- North Australian Craton
- Tennant Creek TerraneShield
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