History
The Hodgkinson River area was declared a goldfield in 1876. While yields of gold were small compared to those being produced along the Palmer River, the area is also a geologically rich mineral field. The mineral known as wolfram (also known as wolframite) was discovered in 1894 in the headwaters of the Hodgkinson River scattered over the surface as bunches in quartzose boulders or in drifts interspersed with coarse gravels. In 1900, 91 pounds of molybdenite was also discovered. This was said to contain some of the finest specimens of molybdenite discovered anywhere in Australia. [1]
The Hodgkinson Mineral Area was a mining area near the Hodgkinson River about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Cairns in the present-day Shire of Mareeba in Queensland, Australia. It was the site of a gold rush in the 1870s.
The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873.
Wolframite, (Fe,Mn)WO4, is an iron manganese tungstate mineral that is the intermediate between ferberite (Fe2+ rich) and hübnerite (Mn2+ rich). Along with scheelite, the wolframite series are the most important tungsten ore minerals. Wolframite is found in quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives. Associated minerals include cassiterite, scheelite, bismuth, quartz, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite.
Wolfram is composed of a heavy gray-white metallic element, with pure wolfram being used mainly in electrical applications and is also the ore from which tungsten is refined. In 1899 wolfram was returning £38 per ton. Other than along the Hodgkinson, wolfram has been located in north Queensland at Bamford Hill approximately 85 kilometres (53 mi) west-south-west of Cairns in 1893, north-west of Cairns at Mount Carbine in the 1890s, on Moa Island in the Torres Strait during the 1940s, and also in the Herberton district. [1]
Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with symbol W and atomic number 74. The name tungsten comes from the former Swedish name for the tungstate mineral scheelite, tung sten or "heavy stone". Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively combined with other elements in chemical compounds rather than alone. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include wolframite and scheelite.
Cairns is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the east coast of Far North Queensland. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland and ranks 14th overall in Australia.
Mount Carbine is a town in Far North Queensland, Australia. It lies close to the Mount Carbine Tableland. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba. At the 2006 census, Mount Carbine had a population of 91.
A small town formed near the mineral deposits, and by 1900 there were 100 men working wolfram, molybdenite and bismuth at what became known as Wolfram Camp. The Irvinebank Mining Company invested there in 1900, appointing a manager, Alexander Gillan. [1]
Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a pentavalent post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens with chemical properties resembling its lighter homologs arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead. It is a brittle metal with a silvery white color when freshly produced, but surface oxidation can give it a pink tinge. Bismuth is marginally radioactive, and the most naturally diamagnetic element, and has one of the lowest values of thermal conductivity among metals.
Irvinebank is a town and locality in the western foothills of the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Australia. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba.
Demand for high grade wolfram, after the development of tungsten as a lamp filament in 1904, and for molybdenite for use in patent alloys, led to an early interest in rare metals by British firms, the most prominent being George G. Blackwell and Sons of Liverpool. Prices in 1904 for both metals were high - up to £200 per ton for molybdenite and £140 per ton for wolfram - and attracted many goldminers. Of the 1,136 people on the Hodgkinson by 1904, 700 were miners working at Wolfram Camp. By 1909 wolfram was returning £41,820 compared to the value of gold production at £7,089. But the rare metals industry was unstable - there was insecurity in the unknown overseas markets where demand fluctuated erratically and local miners were never sure of their returns. So a Wolfram Co-operative Association was formed to arrange advances and shipments through intermediaries such as the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency and W.J. Lempriere and Co, but generally the local industry was poorly organised. [1]
A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements. They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial commodities. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code.
The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company provided investments and loans for trade and commerce in New Zealand and Australia.
From 1904, 2,500 tons of wolfram valued at £250,000 were produced at Wolfram Camp, half of which went through John Moffat's Irvinebank Company mill. John Moffat, a large speculator and enterprising investor in north Queensland mining, was diversifying his interests through steady exports of rare metals. The Irvinebank Mining Company spent upwards of £1,000 on development work on the main mines the Weate, Tully, Weate United and Comerford in 1905. The Irvinebank Company set up the battery in 1906 on Bulluburrah Creek in the lower valley using the technology for separating molybdenite which was developed by local miners. W.A. Pepper was the battery manager. The battery comprised: a rockbreaker, Cornish rolls, a Krupp table, and a Frue vanner to remove the quartz. This battery was a stabilising influence on Wolfram Camp - treating ore from the Mulligan, United, Downfall, Nichol's, Forget-me-Not, Bonner, Tully, Weate, Larkin United, Murphy's and Leinster's claims. The mill was closed for long periods throughout 1909 because of strikes over the 44-hour week. It operated again from 1910 to 1912 and was closed in the rationalisation of the Irvinebank Mining Company's assets that year. [1]
John Moffat (1841–1918) was a Scottish-born entrepreneur who developed a mining and industrial empire around Loudoun Mill and Irvinebank in North Queensland which drove the development of north-eastern Australia. He was a devout Swedenborgian who was famous for both vision and enterprise. He was born in Newmilns, Ayrshire and spent most of his youth immersed in books. Extremely shy in temperament, he was known to hide whenever visitors approached. It was a habit he was to retain throughout his life.
The wolfram mining industry passed through a depression for several years from 1910 chiefly because of the exhaustion of the residual surface accumulations of ore, thus ending the days of the gougers. The Irvinebank Company had been the chief producer but its operations were not a financial success. High cartage costs to the mill and water supply were problems, as was the old and troublesome ball mill, whereas the company's molybdenite plant, erected for the separation of quartz and molybdenite with aid of oily water, was a model of simplicity. Lionel Ball, government geologist, noted that: "The Irvinebank Mining Company's enterprise ... in the hazardous undertaking of wolfram mining demands recognition. Its mines are the deepest and by far the most extensive at Wolfram; and had it not erected a battery, the yield for some years past would have been insignificant, while Wolfram as a town would probably have ceased to exist". [1]
Many of the mines were closed during World War I. In 1915 new rolls were added by the Irvinebank Company to the dry crusher and a roasting furnace was built to treat increased quantities of pyrites. A government subsidy was also used for a road deviation to assist Wolfram miners. In 1916 the Irvinebank Mining Company replaced the ball mill with stamps and installed a dynamo for lighting and a magnetic machine to separate wolfram from bismuth and the impurities from the concentrates. A 66 hp suction gas engine and belt-driven air compressor were erected at Leisner's Wolfram Block mine. [1]
The advent of the Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation of Britain sustained the Wolfram district through the war years with the government paying fixed prices. Mr F.C. Cann was General Manager and consulting engineer. Unfortunately the completion of the company's new and extensive reduction and concentrating works was delayed until 1918 when the first unit of 20 stamps and the concentrating plant became operational. [1]
The Corporation's mill was located adjacent to the Irvinebank Mining Company's battery. The new company bought the Irvinebank Company's and other mines, built a new dam, and planned a new gravity treatment plant. The Corporation lost some of its machinery in transit during the war. Twenty head of stamps and an aerial ropeway were erected to treat the wolfram ore in 1918. The mines were formed into groups with common haulage systems. The central collection point for the mines (Liesner's Wolfram Block, Murphy and Geany, Larkin and Wade, Hillside, Hughes, Tully and Mulligan) was the Forget-me-Not mine, and the buckets were transported electrically to the mill. [1]
The Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation failed to survive the slump in metal prices after the return to free market forces in March 1920. Within weeks Wolfram Camp was almost deserted. It is presumed that the mill ceased to operate from this time and was dismantled as the next wolfram mining revival in 1926 saw the Queensland Rare Metal Company erecting a new battery on the site of the Irvinebank Mining Company's previous 10 head battery. [1]
Heritage listing
Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation Mill was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 April 2004 having satisfied the following criteria. [1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation Mill at Wolfram is important in demonstrating the evolution of rare mineral mining and processing practices in Queensland in the early 20th century. The mill provides physical evidence of an important shift in mining practices and employment in the Hodgkinson River area, from gold to rare mineral mining and processing. [1]
The Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation Mill is significant in Queensland's history as an example of overseas (British) capital funding a state-of-the-art ore processing works, which was short-lived (18 months) due to foreign market influences and an inability to diversify. [1]
The mill and associated remains, especially the scale of the mill foundations, demonstrate the scale and economic importance of wolfram mining in north Queensland in the years prior to, and during, World War One. [1]
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
The mill is representative of an uncommon mining practice in north Queensland, that of rare mineral mining of molybdenite and bismuth. [1]
The Thermo Electro Co. office, a 1918 form-cast concrete building, is unique in relation to early twentieth century mining in north Queensland. The heavy stone retaining walls with concrete machinery mounts rise up the steep slope in eight terraced benches and are the largest and most massive mill foundations recorded in north Queensland. [1]
The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.
The mill is significant due to its association with John Moffat, who between 1872 and 1918, played an important role in the development of the base metal mining industry in north Queensland. The mill is representative of Moffat's efforts to diversify his mining activities in the north, particularly his activities involving the extraction, processing and export of rare metals. [1]
