Sundown Tin and Copper Mine facts for kids

The Sundown Tin and Copper Mine is an old mining site in Queensland, Australia. It is located near Little Sundown Creek, close to Stanthorpe. This mine operated from around 1897 into the 1920s. It is now protected as a heritage site, added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2000.

History of the Sundown Mine

Mining for valuable metals has a long history in Queensland. The Sundown Mine is a great example of how mining changed over time.

Early Discoveries and Challenges

Tin was first found at Sundown in 1893. A special mining claim was given for 40 acres of land. However, there wasn't enough machinery to dig out the tin. Mining stopped in 1894 because of this problem. Also, the price of copper was very low at that time.

The deposits of copper and tin were on different sides of Little Sundown Creek. This meant they had to be mined from separate tunnels and shafts.

Mining Begins Again

By 1897, the prices for metals started to go up. This made the mine active again. A lot of development work happened in 1898. By 1899, a smelter was built. A smelter is a special furnace that heats ore to separate the metal. They processed 470 tons of ore, producing 53 tons of "matte." Matte is a mix of copper and other metals. About 20 people worked at the mine then.

More ore was dug in 1900. But the mine closed again from 1901 to 1903. This was another time when copper prices were very low.

Changes and New Equipment

In 1904, the mine had an "open-cut" area for tin. This means they dug the tin from the surface. For copper, a small railway track ran from the mine to a special furnace called a "reverberatory furnace." This furnace was the only building besides the office where they tested the ore. Firewood was sent across the creek using wire ropes.

The copper mine had a tunnel, called an "adit," that went 270 feet into the ground. It also had shafts connecting to the surface. The mine produced 25 tons of copper matte from 150 tons of ore. Mining started again in 1904 but stopped in 1907. This time, it was because tin and copper prices dropped a lot.

New Owners and More Machinery

In 1914, a new company, the Sundown Tin and Copper Mining Company, took over. They built a "10-head battery." This was a machine with 10 heavy hammers that crushed the ore. It was powered by a "suction-gas plant." They also built two dams to hold water for the mining process.

In 1915, more equipment was added. This included a "calciner," which is a furnace that heats ore to remove impurities. They also added a "Wilfley concentrating table" and a "Berdan crushing pan" to help separate the metals. A new shaft was dug for the tin deposit. By 1916, "poppet legs" were put over the new tin shaft. These are tall frames used to lift things out of the mine. A powerful "winding engine" was also installed to pull things up and down the shaft. That year, they produced a good amount of tin and copper.

Arsenic Production and Expansion

From 1916 to 1917, the mine expanded even more. They built special "flues" (tunnels) to collect arsenic. Arsenic became very important because it was used to make poison for prickly pear. Prickly pear was a plant that was taking over farmland in Queensland. The mines and mill were even lit with electricity! A new concrete dam was built, and a cableway was added to move ore from the tin shaft to the mill.

In 1917, a "Merton calciner" was built for roasting arsenic. This likely replaced the older furnaces. New shafts were dug for both tin and copper. In 1918, a lack of water reduced how much they could produce. But they kept working on the new shafts. A new copper shaft had poppet legs and ore bins. A new "reverberatory furnace" was built for smelting copper. A water pipeline was also laid to the Severn River.

Final Years of Operation

Production continued in 1919 and 1920, though not as much. In 1921, the smelter processed 100 tons of ore, yielding 20 tons of copper matte. Air compressors and rock drills were brought in to help with digging. The calciner and reverberatory furnace were still working.

In 1922, 30 tons of arsenic and 5.4 tons of copper were produced. In 1923, they produced 200 tons of arsenic. In 1924, a company called O.C. Roberts Limited leased the furnace and part of the mill. They changed the furnace to process high-grade ore. This was because they had a contract to supply "Roberts Improved Pear Poison" for the prickly pear problem. The ore for this came from a nearby mine called Beecroft Mine.

The arsenic works stopped in 1925. It seems tin was not mined after 1923, and copper mining also ended around that time.

What Remains at the Mine Site

Today, you can still see many parts of the old Sundown Tin and Copper Mine. These remains help us understand how mining was done in the past.

The Tin Mine Area

The tin mine area has an "open cut," which is a large hole dug into the ground. There's a shaft with a metal grid in its floor. You can also see a collapsed "adit," which is a horizontal tunnel, at the bottom of the digging area.

Above the open cut is the main shaft. It's on a flat area cut into the hillside. There's a pile of waste rock called a "mullock tip." You can also see a steel "tripod poppet head" and older wooden structures over the shaft. These were used to lift things. One of the concrete bases for the poppet legs has names carved into it. Next to the shaft is a small dug-out area that might have been a storage room. On the other side, there's a "Herman" winding engine, which was used to pull things up and down the shaft.

The Mill Area

The mill area has two sets of concrete floors that step down the hillside. These were called the "New Works" and the "Old Works." These concrete floors have bases where machinery once stood. There are also concrete troughs and bases of old wooden tanks. The "Old Works" has the foundations for a "stamper battery," which was used to crush ore.

The Furnace and Flue

Above the "New Works" area are the ruins of a large brick furnace. This is believed to be the "Merton Furnace" used for roasting arsenic. It was built with special "Campbell" fire bricks. A horseshoe-shaped flue, which is a tunnel for gases, leads from the furnace. This flue was about 1.8 meters wide and around 200 feet long. At the end of the flue, there's a large pile of bricks and rubble from a fallen chimney.

There's also a large pile of "slag" near the furnace. Slag is the waste material left over after metal has been separated from ore. This suggests another furnace, perhaps the second reverberatory furnace, was located here. The shape of the slag shows it was poured into sand molds.

East of the furnace, you can find old railway sleepers and wire cables. This might be where a "flying fox" (a type of cableway) was used to bring ore to the mill. However, this area has been changed by recent earthmoving.

Dams and Copper Mines

Below the "Old Works" site are two earthen dams. They are broken now. A lot of sandy waste material, called "tailings," lines the creek above the dams. This sand has a strong sulfur smell from the mining process.

The copper mines are about 140 meters east of the furnace. They include an adit (tunnel) near the creek and a series of three shafts along the line where the copper was found. There's also waste rock around the shafts. The main copper shaft has three sections. You can see a collapsed ore bin and chute, and some concrete pads where machinery once stood.

Why the Mine is a Heritage Site

The Sundown Tin and Copper Mine was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2000 for several reasons:

• It shows how Queensland's history developed. The mine is important because it produced tin, copper, and arsenic. What they mined most changed depending on market prices. This shows how mining in southern Queensland was influenced by outside forces. The mine is also linked to the program to get rid of prickly pear plants.
• It shows rare or uncommon parts of Queensland's history. The remains of the Merton Furnace and its flue are rare examples of how arsenic was extracted in Queensland. The arsenic mill and furnace, along with nearby mines, show a unique part of Queensland's mining history. Because it dealt with toxic materials, the site is at risk, making its preservation even more important.
• It can help us learn more about Queensland's history. The site can teach us about the unpredictable world of base metal mining. Since the mine produced a mix of metals, it has the potential to provide valuable information for research.