Kidston Gold Mine

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Kidston Gold Mine
Location
Australia Queensland location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Kidston Gold Mine
Location Kidston, Einasleigh
State Queensland
CountryAustralia
Coordinates 18°52′36″S144°8′17″E / 18.87667°S 144.13806°E / -18.87667; 144.13806 Coordinates: 18°52′36″S144°8′17″E / 18.87667°S 144.13806°E / -18.87667; 144.13806
Production
Products Gold
History
Discovered1907
Opened1907 (1907)
Active1907–1947, 1985–2001
Closed2001 (2001)

Kidston Gold Mine is a former open cut gold mine in northern Queensland, Australia.

Gold was first discovered around 1907 at what was initially known as Oak's Rush and renamed to Kidston a few months later as a gold rush started. The gold was initially alluvial gold found in gullies leading to the Copperfield River. The township was established soon after. As the easily-won alluvial gold began to run out, miners started to pursue gold in the quartz reefs. The first stamper battery commenced operation in May 1909 and a second commenced in April 1910. [1]

Kidston Dam was built on Butcher's Creel in 1915 by the government to provide a reliable water supply to the town and mining operations. The government battery commenced operations in May 1922 using more modern equipment than the private batteries. It operated intermittently up until 1942, rarely at full capacity. It ceased operation for the remainder of World War II, and recommenced operation in 1947, but its last operation was in 1950 following the cessation of mining in the area. [1] Open cut mining had commenced from 1921. Kidston Gold Mines applied to restart modern open cut mining in 1979. [2] Mining continued from 1985 until it was again closed in 2001. [3]

What remains of the town is heritage-listed as the Kidston State Battery & Township. [1]

The Kidston Solar Project has been built on the flat surface on top of the tailings heap. [4]

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Kidston Solar Project is a photovoltaic solar power station built on top of the tailings heap of the former Kidston Gold Mine in northern Queensland, Australia. It is connected to the National Electricity Market. Its owners have a proposal to add a larger solar power station, along with a wind farm and pumped hydro storage using the Kidston Dam as the upper storage and the open cut mine as the lower one. The pipeline to connect them already exists as part of the remnant mine infrastructure.

Genex Power is an Australian electricity generation company. It owns the Kidston Solar Project which has been generating up to 50 MW of electricity since 2017. It is developing the associated Kidston Pumped Hydro storage using the abandoned Kidston Gold Mine. It later proposes to expand the solar farm and add a wind farm in the same area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kidston State Battery & Township". Queensland Heritage Register . Department of Environment and Science. 20 January 2016. 600506. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  2. "Kidston Gold Mine". Drive North West. 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. "History of Kidston Township". Genex Power . Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. "50MW Kidston Solar Project". Genex Power . Retrieved 18 April 2021.