Peak Hill Western Australia | |
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Coordinates | 25°38′00″S118°43′00″E / 25.63333°S 118.71667°E |
Population | 121 (SAL 2021) [1] |
Established | 1897 |
Postcode(s) | 6642 |
Elevation | 608 m (1,995 ft) |
Area | 26,524.1 km2 (10,241.0 sq mi) |
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Meekatharra |
State electorate(s) | North West |
Federal division(s) | Durack |
Peak Hill is the name of a goldfield, [2] locality and the site of a gold mining [3] ghost town in the Murchison Region of Western Australia. The gold mine covers 2,162 hectares and consists of four open-cut mines, titled: Main, Jubilee, Fiveways and Harmony. [4]
In the adjacent region to the locality, there are considerable non-auriferous mineral deposits. [5] Adjacent fields included the Horseshoe field. [6]
Early exploration at the site occurred in the 1890s, [7] [8] when gold was discovered by William John Wilson in 1892. [9] The townsite was gazetted in 1897, [9] and the field has had varied fortunes even in early years. [10] [11] Before 1913, the mine produced some 270,000 ounces (7.7 metric tons) of gold. [4] Peak Hill was also included as a location in a regional newspaper network of more outlying mining communities in the 1920s and 1930s. [12]
The population of the town was 190 (180 males and 10 females) in 1898. [13]
A Walker was the proprietor of the Peak Hill General Store until 1954, when he retired to his Daughter's Farm (Née Campbell) McCourt Farm, Peppermint Grove Beach, South of Capel. Mr. Walker was the last full-time resident of Peak Hill.
In the 1970s, it was reduced to a ghost town with a few remaining residents, however in the 1980s activity resumed, [14] [15] producing around 650,000 ounces (18.4 metric tons) of gold. [4] The mine became dormant again in the 2000s.
Montezuma Mining Company Ltd. purchased the mine from Barrick Gold and Rio Tinto in August 2007, for $1 million cash and $600,000 of environmental bonds. [4] Montezuma negotiated an underwriting agreement with Cunningham Securities, a Perth broker, in January 2008 to raise money for further exploration. Montezuma is seeking up to $3 million to drill at four priority zones, hoping to recommence mining in an area that has, historically, produced over 900,000 ounces (25.5 metric tons) of gold. [16]
Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, 726 kilometres (451 mi) east of Perth and 278 metres (912 ft) above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway, and the last major town in Western Australia before the South Australian border 720 kilometres (447 mi) to the east. At the 2021 census, Norseman had a population of 562, of which 17% were Australian Aboriginal.
Cue is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 620 km north-east of Perth. At the 2016 census, Cue had a population of 178. Cue is administered through the Cue Shire Council, which has its chambers in the historic Gentlemans Club building. The current president is Ross Pigdon. The Cue Parliament is held twice yearly in May and November.
Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Meekatharra is a Yamatji word meaning "place of little water". At the 2016 census, Meekatharra had a population of 708, with 34.0% being of Aboriginal descent.
Coolgardie is a small town in Western Australia, 558 kilometres (347 mi) east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 850 people.
Nannine is a ghost town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is located on the northern bank of Lake Anneen, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwest of Meekatharra, and 735 kilometres (457 mi) north-northeast of Perth.
Kambalda is a small mining town about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the mining city of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, within the Goldfields. It is split into two townsites 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) apart, Kambalda East and Kambalda West; and is located on the western edge of a giant salt lake, Lake Lefroy. At the last census, Kambalda had a combined population of 2,468.
Pilbara newspapers is a selection of newspapers published in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Day Dawn is a ghost town in the Mid West/upper Murchison region of Western Australia. It was a significant mining town and mine in the late nineteenth century. Located a short distance south-west of Cue, rich gold deposits were discovered there in 1891 by Ned Heffernan, who pegged out what became known as the 'Day Dawn Reef'.
The Goldfields region of Western Australia has an extensive array of active and historical mining operations and towns.
Abbotts is an abandoned town in Western Australia located in the Murchison Goldfields region of Western Australia and 31 km (19 mi) north-west of Meekatharra on the Meekatharra – Mount Clere Road.
Gold mining in Western Australia is the third largest commodity sector in Western Australia (WA), behind iron ore and LNG, with a value of A$17 billion in 2021–22. The 6.9 million troy ounces sold during this time period was the highest amount in 20 years and accounted for almost 70 percent of all gold sold in Australia.
Gabanintha is a ghost town located in the Mid West region of Western Australia approximately 40 km south east of Meekatharra on the Meekatharra-Sandstone road. The town is situated within the Murchison goldfields.
Mount Morgans, known as Mount Morgan until 1899, is an abandoned town in Western Australia 900 kilometres (559 mi) northeast of Perth and 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Laverton on the original Malcolm-Laverton Road, in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
Widgiemooltha is an abandoned town in Western Australia 631 kilometres (392 mi) east of Perth, Western Australia between Kambalda and Norseman in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is found on the southern shoreline of Lake Lefroy.
Beria is an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of Laverton on the Laverton-Leonora Road.
Dunnsville is an abandoned town in Western Australia located 46 km north-west of Coolgardie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
Horseshoe is an abandoned town in Western Australia located in the Murchison goldfields within the Mid West region of Western Australia situated between Meekatharra and Newman. The town is adjacent to the Peak Hill goldfields.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, discoveries of gold at a number of locations in Western Australia caused large influxes of prospectors from overseas and interstate, and classic gold rushes. Significant finds included:
Callion is an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia. It is between Coolgardie and Leonora, in the Shire of Menzies.
State Batteries in Western Australia were government owned and run ore-crushing facilities for the gold mining industry. Western Australia was the only Australian state to provide batteries to assist gold prospectors and small mines. They existed in almost all of the mineral fields of Western Australia.