Citation
The Iron Cliff Mines including Thoresby’s Tunnel, Ferndene Reserve, Penguin, Tasmania: Peter MacFie, 1991. ( Department of Parks, Wildlife & Heritage.) ( 25 pp)
Abstract
A historical survey of the Iron Cliff Mines at Penguin. This area is now part of Ferndene Reserve. A re-formatted version is available for download as a pdf.
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Contents
Dial Range Mining History
The Iron Cliffs
Thoreby’s Tunnel
Lady Braddon Mine
The Badger Mine
Ferndene Reserve
Excerpt
A number of reports by visiting geologists cover the Penguin area, beginning with Montgomery’s 1895 reports on the Penguin and Dial Range District[1]. Unfortunately, this, and those of Smith (1899) and Twelvetrees (1903), do not provide detailed maps of the Lady Braddon and Badger Mines. Burns’ 1960 study makes a calculated “synthesis” (sic) of these earlier written works, and describes 7 adits from these earlier reports.[2]
First Workings
The outcrop of iron-bearing ore gave the name to the rugged hills below Mt Montgomery. J. C. Ellis and other syndicates, including Thoresby, explored for iron, gold, silver-lead and copper, but with limited success. The area retained the original name of Iron Cliff, as does the road leading to the Reserve.
In 1895, geologist Montgomery was the first to record the “immense outcrop of iron ore forming notable rugged outstanding rocks” was observed in 1895 in the area SW of Lings Farm and towards McBride’s Creek.[3]
The brown hematite ore (limonite) varied in formation, but Montgomery believed the outcrop to be part of a large lode.[4] He advised putting in tunnels north and south of McBride’s Creek, and believed that as the beach mine at Penguin had shown valuable silver deposits, and other mines showed traces of silver and gold “the lode under the cliffs may contain valuable ore”[5]. He considered the brown hematite ore only suitable as flux for silver-lead smelting.
By 1898, J.H. Smith reported that two mineral sections (No’s. 1785/93M and 1661/93M) had been taken up by the one syndicate but were later divided in two. In 1897 these section were registered in the name of A.C. Laman on behalf of J.C. Ellis of Penguin. Shortly after, they were transferred to S.F.H. Thoresby (Ellis’ mine-manager) before becoming void in April 1899. The leasees sought iron, copper and silver-bearing ores.[6] By 1900 the two sections were leased by separate parties and worked independently from then on, the northern section, (No.175/93M) becoming known as the Lady Braddon Mine and the southern ( No.1661/93M), the Badger Mine (after the name of the leasee, Walter Badger).
End of Excerpt
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Footnotes from Excerpt
[1] Mines Dept. Report No. 133
[2] Burns, 1960, P. 120
[3] Montgomery 1895
[4] Montgomery 1895, p9
[5] Montgomery 1895, p9
[6] Mining leases as above, Mines Department