brief history of morning star mine

1930 some work done on north end of dyke
1932 New Morning Star Company formed
1934 Gold Mines of Australia becomes involved - exploratory drilling
1934 new company formed - Morning Star (GMA) Mines NL
1935 mining start-up
1935 to 1939 refurbished plant, powerhouse built, dewatering, steam power, mercury amalgamation tables
1938 all underground workings "mapped" - 150 employees on site
note: drilling was pneumatic jackhammer or bar mounted drill heads, explosives was ammonium nitrate and 60% gelignite
c1939 exploratory deep drilling down to 1000 feet - discovered AchillesFloor - mainshaft to 11 level
1939 bushfires destroyed nearly all infrastructure
1939 operations resumed September
1940s plenty of shaft sinking - additional crushing capacity
1946 bushfires again - power, winder and boiler houses destroyed
1946 shaft down to 1,600 feet - electricity by motor-generator
1949 leading producer in Victoria
1950s labour shortages - work force of 16 - pegged price of gold
1953 connection to electricity grid
1954 costs escalating while gold price pegged - shafts down to 19 level
1950s averaging about 12,000 ounces per year
1959 government subsidisation of the mine
1959 mining operations ceased
c1960 Gold Mines of Australia quit - Grant and Falk become legal managers
1960 to 1963 capital raisings to cover borrowings - some mining and exploration
1963 deputations to Bolte government for financial assistance - rejected
1963 mine closed