“Closed due to unstable rocks”. That’s what the sign says here at the Morning Star Gold Mine. Yet, its story is far from closed. It echoes through time. It whispers of fortunes found and lost.
The Morning Star Gold Mine is more than just rocks and dirt. It is a testament to human ambition. It is a story etched in quartz and grit. This mine began its tale in 1861. That’s when the Morning Star dyke was first discovered. It sat on a spur near the Morning Star Creek’s junction with the Goulburn River. Imagine the excitement. Gold fever gripped the land.
The Morning Star Gold Mining Company started operations in 1861. They worked relentlessly until 1900. Then, in 1916, a new chapter began. The Morning Star Gold Mining Company was reborn. The government granted them 10000 pounds. That was a fortune then. A 400-foot shaft was sunk. The results were promising.
The Morning Star Gold Mine is part of the Woods Point Walhalla Synclinorium. This area features tightly folded Early Devonian Walhalla Group sandy turbidites. It’s a geologist’s dream. The Ross Creek Shear Zone controlled the intrusion of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm. This swarm acted as a conduit. It carried gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids. The Morning Star Gold Mine shows these characteristics.
The mine features narrow quartz vein deposits. These are hosted in a diorite dyke. This dyke stretches 700m long and 120m wide. The quartz veins are stacked. They reach up to 2m thick. Miners worked the dyke to a depth of 920m. But the dyke extends below 1000 vertical metres.
The Morning Star mine produced 883000oz of gold at 26.5g/t between 1862 and 1963. The old timers had a cut-off. If it ran at less than one ounce per tonne, they wouldn’t keep going. Today, one ounce per tonne would be happily taken.
There were areas where the old timers didn’t persevere. The reef thinned out in front of them. But a few metres later, it could widen again. These untouched areas in the upper parts of the mine are being explored.
White Rock’s first task was to grow the mineral inventory at the Morning Star mine ahead of the restart. They have been drilling in areas where there has been very little drilling. They identified at least 5 areas in the upper levels of the mine which had been missed by the old timers.
The processing plant has a nameplate of 80000tpa on a 24/7 basis. The company identified at least a year’s worth of mineral inventory. The company reported an incredible 0.4 metres at 621g/t gold hit in the Gap Zone. That’s 20 ounces per tonne of gold.
The potential to identify new high-grade quartz reef structures along the 600-metre strike length of the host dyke is high.
The Morning Star Gold Mine stands as a reminder. It reminds us of the relentless pursuit of dreams. It shows the earth’s hidden treasures. Though silent now, its legacy glitters. It shines in every speck of gold unearthed from its depths. The Morning Star’s story continues. It waits for those who listen closely to the whispers of the past.