Prince Imperial Mine, Thames, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Prince Imperial Mine | - not defined - |
| Thames | Town |
| Thames-Coromandel District | District |
| Waikato Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
37° 7' 57'' South , 175° 32' 35'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Thames | 7,136 (2014) | 0.7km |
| Ngatea | 1,151 (2011) | 17.2km |
| Kerepehi | 537 (2011) | 18.6km |
| Paeroa | 3,994 (2011) | 28.2km |
| Whangamata | 4,253 (2011) | 29.6km |
Historic gold mine.
Walter Allen fell 570 metres down the main shaft in 1884. Hugh McCormack was killed from a fall of earth underground in 1885.
The Prince Imperial Gold Mining Company was formed to develop the mine in 1872. Little happens until 1882, when a bonanza of gold is found by the New Prince Imperial Gold Mining Company. Rich gold was found in quartz, 90 feet long along the lode, 3 feet wide, with specimen stone in a well defined band 2-9 inches wide along the Footwall, at the No. 4 level. It was mined out by 1884. A battery was purchased from the Alburnia Company also in 1884. So much gold was being found that 52 battery stamps were working 24 hours a day to keep up.
The ore in the mine shows abundant pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and other un-named sulphides, associated with the gold. Small pyrite veinlets extend into the wall rock. The country rock is highly propylitised andesite, with some harder darker bars of un-altered andesite. The vein system is faulted by a traverse clay filled fissure.
By 1885, the amount of gold won rapidly decreases. In 1889, the Saxon Company purchases the battery. The Victoria Gold Mining Company took over in 1891, and immediately removed all the buildings and machinery from the lease, and boarded up the shaft.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
5 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 DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| 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 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
- Taranaki ProvinceVolcanic Arc
New Zealand
- North IslandIsland
Pacific OceanOcean
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