Big Ben Gold Mine, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Big Ben Gold Mine	Mine
Tennant Creek	Creek
Barkly Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The Big Ben gold mine is 1.69 kilometres west of Tennant Creek, and just north of the road to TC8/Chariot/Malbec West gold mines. All sources agree is it part of a gold bearing structural corridor running from Town Hill on the western outskirts of the Tennant Creek town site, through the historic Wheal Doria, Peter Pan, Big Ben, and Gibbet mines to the west. Little appears to remain for any of the mines.

Information on Big Ben was found for 1933, making it one of the earliest leases pegged. Frank William Johnson had a third interest, but the other two were not found. At this time the mine was optioned for 200 pounds to a company, with the ability to purchase the mine for 12 000 pounds, however the company never exercised the option. Johnson and Cobb (surname) re-pegged the lease, but the claim was jumped in 1934.

It is noted in 1935, Edward George Clerk held the lease, with G. Schwaller and B. Boag. Clerk is noted at the lease in 1936, and again re-applies for the lease in 1940 (GML 20E).

In 1944, Andrew Thomas Rodgers applied for the lease, and later sources mention development work by him at the lease (GML 117E). In the late 1940's, mercury was reported from the lease by Rogers, stating gold was being found as an amalgam with it. The source indicates a Queensland deposit having the species cinnabar, but remains unconfirmed, as no mention was found in the copious geology information on the deposit written later. Up to 1948 the mine had produced 139 tonnes of ore for 11.8 dwt.

Northern Mines Development NL explored the lease, with several others nearby in 1953. Peko Wallsend, Truscott, and Roebuck Resources/North Flinders Mines were some of the other explorers in later decades.

The sources agree all the mines are on a structural east-west corridor, although geology information progressively changes over time, with further investigations.

Owen (1940), states the corridor contains a lenticular vein of yellow to greenish-brown jasper, with much hematite stringers parallel to the strike, and cavities lined with chalcedony, or drusy quartz crystals. The ore shoots trend haphazardly in irregular masses of hematite-magnetite in talc schist with some serpentine.

Ryan (1959) states the mines are on ironstone bodies in slump breccia, however later sources fail to mention slumping. All agree on strong complex shearing up to 500 feet wide, at the southern contact with the Aerodrome Greywacke, with fine grained sedimentary rocks. The shearing provided conduits for the hydrothermal fluids.

Ryan states hematite-quartz is sparse, with limonite abundant. In places it is strongly manganiferous, and in these areas gold has leached away. In some places is bladed hematite, in a cellular boxwork structure, associated with earthy and botryoidal limonite. Big Ben contains trace copper, with malachite and chrysocolla seen by some of the sources.

The ironstone at Big Ben contains very little hematite-quartz, is sandy, limonite and earthy hematite rich, with minor cuprite. Gold mineralisation is found in two areas (1) limonite, rich quartz, hematite ironstones, or (2) pods of quartz-magnetite and Cu sulphides kaolinitic talcose silicified mylonite shears zones.

Truscott Mining (2008) states it is zones of massive to stringer or disseminated magnetite-hematite, hosted in talc-chlorite-carbonate, in a wider shear zone envelope. The corridor in general they say is Au rich at the eastern end, trending to Au-Cu-Co-Sb further west.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References