Exploration Potential, page-60

The South Star Gold Mining Company acquired the Wythes and party mine in the middle of 1871. By September, 1872, two shafts had been sunk to depths of 21.4 and 51.8 m on the underlay. Later reports indicated that the vein averaged 10 cm in width down to 51 m then widened where it passed into slate, reaching 38 to 46 cm at 53 m. Gold was found in the quartz all the way down from the surface.

Grades of 153 to 184 g/t were reported above 51 m, while one sample from 51 m assayed 540 g/t. Two crushings in October, 1872 yielded 570 g gold from 274tquartz and 516 g from 12.2t. (The first of these had been picked over by numerous people seeking gold specimens and was probably not representative). In February, 1873, a crushing of 7.6 t yielded 422 g, and one of 3.6 t from the shaft yielded 48 g.

A pump attached to a whim, installed at the South Star mine in August, 1873, easily kept the workings free of water, The shaft was then down to 69 m. The stone was reported to be at least as good as that from 51 m, which assayed up to 540 g/t. Two veins 7 cm apart were being worked.

By January, 1874, the shaft was down to 74 m, the main vein was thicker and was only 5 cm from the other vein. The mining warden reported in 1877 that the deepest shaft on the line was 82 m deep. He was almost certainly referring to the South Star shaft. Tributors were working at the 18.3 and 27.4 m levels, but gold was not present in payable quantities.

The Clan Campbell mine, to the south of the South Star, was worked by underlay shafts and surface stopes. In September, 1872, a second vein about 0,6 m west from the main vein was discovered at a depth of 18.3 m. The mmain vein had considerably diminishes in thickess at this level.

In October, 1872, the company had 173 t stone at grass, and the vein was reputedly becoming thicker with increasing depth.

The mining warden reported in 1877 that Goddard and party, tributors, had sunk two of the shafts to 33,5 m and about 30 m. Two crushings from the reef had yielded 153 g/t from 5.1 t and 107 g/t from 11.2 t. According to W.J. Marshall (pers. comm.) the southernmost Clan Campbell shaft was sunk to about 40 m on the underlay; almost all of the vein above this level between this shaft and the main South Star shaft was stoped out to the surface, The South Star No. 3 mine was originally worked by an underlay shaft on the main vein to a depth of 24,4 m. In March, 1872, the South Star No. 3 Gold Mining Company Ltd was formed to take over the mine from the original Owners.

The company sunk a vertical shaft to a depth of 39.6 m and put in a westerly cross cut to the reef at 36.6 m (then the water level). (The reef was exposed in the shaft from 21.3 to 27.4 m but this was not discovered until the shaft reached its present depth.) W. J. Marshall (pers. comm.) stated that the north drive along the vein extends for 9 m to the old lease boundary; while to the south the vein was underhand stoped for a distance of about 36 m.

The South Star No. 3 was let to tributors in December, 1874. The mining warden reported in 1877 that these tributors were driving north along the vein at the 24.4 m level, in order to cut the shoot of gold then being worked on tribute by Goddard and party in the Clan Campbell mine. He also reported that stone yielding 107 g/t had been taken from the shaft.

Two crushings from the South Star line in November, 1874 yielded 1037 g from 9 t (Willow and Spatta - location unknown), and 51 g from 21.3 t from Hancocks. A Mr. Hancock was manager of the South Star in late 1872, so the second crushing may have ccme from this mine.

The Amalgamated Araluen Star Quartz Mining Company was reported to be working north from the South Star in September, 1872. In 1877 Hall and party had a lease about 300 m from the northern boundary of the South Star and were reputed to have obtained good specimens during sinking on the veins. Workings about 300 m north of the South Star main shaft are referred to as the Robinson Crusoe mine on Departmental lease plans.

A shaft at the Lord Ashley was down 28 m in September, 1872, in a 4 ha lease to the south of the South Star No. 3. The Lord Ashley workings were on a vein to the west of the main South Star veins. This vein has been stoped over a short distance at the 9 m level in the South Star No. 3 vertical shaft.