Mount Boppy Gold Mine was a gold mine at Canbelego, New South Wales , Australia. The original Mount Boppy Gold Mine operated from 1901 to 1922. It was, at the time, regarded as being the largest gold producer in New South Wales.
103-676: The gold-bearing deposit that became the Mount Boppy Gold Mine was discovered, in September 1896. The discoverer of the gold-bearing lode, a prospector, Michael Delaney O'Grady, lived near the Boppy Mount railway station , on the Cobar railway line . It was while walking back to his home, in September 1896, that he recognised the lode, where it was exposed in a watercourse. He and his partner, Thomas Reid, had been trying to find
206-482: A baker, blacksmith, billiard saloon, cool drink shops, many boarding houses, a post office, and a court house under construction. There was also a local doctor. The first of its church buildings, the Presbyterian Church, built in 1901, was shared when necessary with other denominations, pending the other churches being built. All the houses in the town were neat houses of weatherboard construction, not
309-438: A consequence of the processing of phosphate rock for the production of phosphate fertilizers. In addition to being useless and abundant, phosphogypsum is radioactive due to the presence of naturally occurring uranium and thorium , and their daughter isotopes . Depending on the price achievable on the uranium market , extraction of the uranium content may be economically lucrative even absent other incentives, such as reducing
412-466: A day of quiet, with the mine not working on the day of rest and religious observance. Hard-rock mining was a dangerous occupation; the accident rate for Cobar district miners, in 1912, was 109.3 accidents per 1,000 workers. Over the years of its operation, up to 1922, at least ten men died as a result of accidents at the Mount Boppy mine. Tailings In mining , tailings or tails are
515-445: A ground known as Canbelego Park. There was also a football club, also playing at Canbelego Park. Initially, the football code played was Rugby Union but, by around 1916, it had changed to Rugby League . The Canbelego Town Band, performed at a second annual fancy dress and masquerade ball, in 1907. It competed in music competitions against other towns. A travelling cinema 'Phelan's electric biograph' visited and entertained
618-495: A huge gold-bearing lode, over 1,000 feet long to a depth of at least 200 feet; later mining would reach 300 feet deep, in 1902, 400 feet in 1904, 500 feet in 1909, and 800 feet, in 1911. The gold-bearing quartz reef varied in thickness, from 12 feet up to 37 feet. A 200 ton bulk sample, averaged slightly over 16 pennyweights (0.8 troy ounces ) to the ton. In 1900, the Mount Boppy Gold-Mining Company
721-575: A little drapery ", £2 12s 7¼d, and for fruit and vegetables 10s 10¼d. The distance from the coast and larger settlements, and rail freight cost, resulted in a premium on the price of food and household items at Canbelego, relative to Sydney prices. Evidence given in December 1905, showed that this premium was between 6% for clothing and 23% for eggs. Kerosene cost 33% to 50% more at Canbelego. Some fruits and vegetables were grown locally, at Cobar, in market gardens that were tended by ethnic Chinese, and
824-447: A pipeline then discharged so as to eventually descend into the depths. Practically, it is not an ideal method, as the close proximity to off-shelf depths is rare. When STD is used, the depth of discharge is often comparatively shallow, and extensive damage to the seafloor can result due to covering by the tailings product. If the density and temperature of the tailings product is not controlled, it may travel long distances, or even float to
927-416: A place that he called "Canbelego" but that was not the later site of the village; it was a location—on Bogan River , near to the modern-day locality of Grahweed —about 30 km from Nyngan . As Mitchell tried to use local language names whenever possible, it is likely that the name Canbelego is derived from the local aboriginal dialect. Grahweed and the later site of Canbelego lie at opposite ends of area of
1030-536: A skeptical reporter opined in early 1916 that, " Fires seem to be quite fashionable in Canbelego at present ". Arson was involved in some fires, but in others, including the destructive fire of February 1915, it was not possible to reach a conclusion on whether there had been arson or not. The fire risk at Canbelego, in general, was such that insurance cover had become harder to obtain by 1912. Canbelego did not have local government , before 1958, and lay within
1133-523: A small hospital, capable of basic care, but more serious injuries needed to be transferred to Cobar, typically by train. Even once at Cobar District Hospital, seriously injured miners usually died. The original Mount Boppy Gold Mine operated from 1901 to 1922, with an approximately twelve month interruption of mining, to sink a new shaft, during 1917. It was, at the time, regarded as being the largest gold producer in New South Wales. Over that period,
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#17327906449541236-582: A source of acid drainage , leading to the need for permanent monitoring and treatment of water passing through the tailings dam; the cost of mine cleanup has typically been 10 times that of mining industry estimates when acid drainage was involved. The greatest danger of tailings ponds is dam failure, with the most publicized failure in the U.S. being the failure of a coal slurry dam in the West Virginia Buffalo Creek Flood of 1972, which killed 125 people; other collapses include
1339-422: A typical fortnightly wage of £4 4s to £5 8s. The fortnightly wage of a miner was roughly equivalent to the price of an ounce of gold. In June 1911, the Mount Boppy company agreed to give preference to union members, when employing new workers, which had been an objective of the unionists. Wages for mine workers had increased to between 9s and 11s 6d, per shift, depending upon their classification and, for some,
1442-464: A wide range of methods for recovering economic value, containing or otherwise mitigating the impacts of tailings. However, internationally, these practices are poor, sometimes violating human rights. Tailings are also called mine dumps , culm dumps , slimes , refuse , leach residue , slickens , or terra-cone (terrikon) . The effluent from the tailings from the mining of sulfidic minerals has been described as "the largest environmental liability of
1545-433: Is HDPF – High Density Paste Fill. HDPF is a more expensive method of tailings disposal than pond storage, however it has many other benefits – not just environmental but it can significantly increase the stability of underground excavations by providing a means for ground stress to be transmitted across voids – rather than having to pass around them – which can cause mining induced seismic events like that suffered previously at
1648-567: Is a growing use of the practice of dewatering tailings using vacuum or pressure filters so the tailings can then be stacked. This saves water which potentially reduces the impacts on the environment in terms of a reduction in the potential seepage rates, space used, leaves the tailings in a dense and stable arrangement and eliminates the long-term liability that ponds leave after mining is finished. However although there are potential merits to dry stacked tailings these systems are often cost prohibitive due to increased capital cost to purchase and install
1751-708: Is a lower potential for seepage. However the cost of the thickening is generally higher than for conventional tailings and the pumping costs for the paste are also normally higher than for conventional tailings as positive displacement pumps are normally required to transport the tailings from the processing plant to the storage area. Paste tailings are used in several locations around the world including Sunrise Dam in Western Australia and Bulyanhulu Gold Mine in Tanzania. Tailings do not have to be stored in ponds or sent as slurries into oceans, rivers or streams. There
1854-551: Is a village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It is now virtually a ghost town but was once a much larger settlement associated with the Mount Boppy Gold Mine . The name (pronounced can-bell-ee-go) also refers to the surrounding rural locality identified for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2021 census, the population of Canbelego, including its surrounding area, was 54, up from 39 in 2016, but
1957-522: Is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process . It is composed of various oxide compounds, including the iron oxides which give its red colour. Over 97% of the alumina produced globally is through the Bayer process; for every tonne (2,200 lb) of alumina produced, approximately 1 to 1.5 tonnes (2,200 to 3,300 lb) of red mud are also produced;
2060-523: Is being invested in finding better methods for safe storage and dealing with it such as waste valorization in order to create useful materials for cement and concrete . Coal refuse (also described as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob ) is the material left over from coal mining, usually as tailings piles or spoil tips . For every tonne of hard coal generated by mining, 400 kg (880 lb) of waste material remains, which includes some lost coal that
2163-417: Is partially economically recoverable. Coal refuse is distinct from the byproducts of burning coal, such as fly ash . Piles of coal refuse can have significant negative environmental consequences, including the leaching of iron, manganese, and aluminum residues into waterways and acid mine drainage . The runoff can create both surface and groundwater contamination. The piles also create a fire hazard, with
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#17327906449542266-421: Is required to identify and address those that are most at risk from a tailings facility or its potential failure." Historically, tailings were disposed of in the most convenient manner, such as in downstream running water or down drains . Because of concerns about these sediments in the water and other issues, tailings ponds came into use. The sustainability challenge in the management of tailings and waste rock
2369-423: Is to dispose of material, such that it is inert or, if not, stable and contained, to minimise water and energy inputs and the surface footprint of wastes and to move toward finding alternate uses. Bounded by impoundments (an impoundment is a dam), these dams typically use "local materials" including the tailings themselves, and may be considered embankment dams . Traditionally, the only option for tailings storage
2472-768: The Beaconsfield Mine Disaster . Usually called RTD – Riverine Tailings Disposal. In most environments, not a particularly environmentally sound practice, it has seen significant utilisation in the past, leading to such spectacular environmental damage as done by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in Tasmania to the King River , or the poisoning from the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island , which led to large-scale civil unrest on
2575-596: The County of Canbelego , and it is likely that the village took its name from the county. After settler colonisation, the area of the village was partly within Robinson County (Parish of Cohn) and partly within Canbelego County (Parish of Florida). Settlers grazed sheep in the area from, at latest, the 1870s, but the productivity of wool-growing was dramatically impacted, when feral rabbits arrived in
2678-757: The Ok Tedi environmental disaster in New Guinea , which destroyed the fishery of the Ok Tedi River . On average, worldwide, there is one big accident involving a tailings dam each year. Other disasters caused by tailings dam failures are, the 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill and the Ajka alumina plant accident . In 2015, the iron ore tailings dam failure at the Germano mine complex in Minas Gerais, Brazil,
2781-507: The Unincorporated Western Division ; it was in many ways a company town. That had advantages; the mine employed a doctor, who was also allowed to have a private practice in the village; the company provided a small hospital, in 1908, and a library, in 1907; and the village's electricity supply originally came from the mine. The surface employees of the mine also fought fires in the village. However, not just
2884-453: The archaea , bacteria , and the gas released from tailings ponds showed that those were methanogens . As the depth increased, the moles of CH 4 released actually decreased. Siddique (2006, 2007) states that methanogens in the tailings pond live and reproduce by anaerobic degradation, which will lower the molecular weight from naphtha to aliphatic , aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and methane. Those archaea and bacteria can degrade
2987-509: The 'Bio-megaphone' was a Chronophone that had been improved by using a later model film projector, then rebranded, for marketing purposes, to compete with the more modern Chronomegaphone (both the 'Bio-megaphone' and Chronomegaphone began showing, on the same day, in two different Melbourne theatres). Phonoscènes were typically the duration of one gramophone record , including only one song, but longer sound-on-disc films were made of operas . The rapid growth in population soon exposed
3090-516: The 1930s, did the Mount Boppy mine lose its place as the most productive gold mine in New South Wales. Paradoxically, it had been the company's decision not to exercise an option that it held over the Occidental Mine, in mid 1922, which had left the Mount Boppy Gold-Mining Company, despite its attempts to identify others, without suitable future gold-mining prospects. In 2020, drilling revealed intersections of high-grade gold-bearing ore below
3193-501: The Cobar region, around 1890. The original Mount Boppy Gold Mine operated from 1901 to 1922. It was, at the time, regarded as being the largest gold producer in New South Wales. Over that period, the mine produced 13.5 tons (433,000 ounces) of gold. By the end of 1912, shareholders had received a return of 356% on their capital investment, rising to 500% over the entire 21 years of operation. After reef mining ceased in September 1921,
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3296-719: The Commercial Hotel, the Miner's Arms, the Federal Hotel, and the Royal Hotel. By 1908, there were four hotels, to slake the thirst of miners, but there were also other recreation choices. From around 1906, the village had its own horse racing course and race meetings were held there on New Year's Day until the racing club was wound up in 1912. A 'patriotic meeting' of the Canbelego Race Club
3399-619: The Elkview Mine in British Columbia. During extraction of the oil from oil sand, tailings consisting of water, silt, clays and other solvents are also created. This solid will become mature fine tailings by gravity. Foght et al (1985) estimated that there are 10 anaerobic heterotrophs and 10 sulfate-reducing prokaryotes per milliliter in the tailings pond, based on conventional most probable number methods. Foght set up an experiment with two tailings ponds and an analysis of
3502-614: The Good Shepherd) began in late 1908, and it was consecrated in mid 1909. Anglican church services were conducted by visiting priests of the Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd . By 1908, the village had a Catholic church (St Phillip's). In 1908, a second school, a Catholic Convent School, was opened, with four Sisters of St. Joseph and 70 pupils, and by 1916 it had 135. In 1910, the village's new Methodist church
3605-818: The Mount Boppy mine. South-east of the Mount Boppy mine was the Mount Boppy South mine, which was worked in conjunction with the main Mount Boppy Gold Mine. Other nearby mines included the Canbelego Copper Mining Co. (also known as 'the Burra', located 5 miles south of the village, which was operating as early as 1886), the North Mount Boppy Gold Mining Co., and the Restdown Copper Mining Co. (15 miles south-east of Canbelego). Nearer to
3708-553: The PET4K Processing Plant has been used in a variety of countries for the past 20 years to remediate contaminated tailings. The UN and business communities developed an international standard for tailings management in 2020 after the critical failure of the Brumadinho dam disaster . The program was convened by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and
3811-505: The Porgera Gold Mine is focusing on developing a method of combining tailings products with coarse waste rock and waste muds to create a product that can be stored on the surface in generic-looking waste dumps or stockpiles. This would allow the current use of riverine disposal to cease. Considerable work remains to be done. However, co-disposal has been successfully implemented by several designers including AMEC at, for example,
3914-402: The archaea and bacteria metabolize and release bubbles within the tailings, the pore water can go through the soil easily. Since they accelerate the densification of mature fine tailings, the tailings ponds are enabled to settle the solids more quickly so that the tailings can be reclaimed earlier. Moreover, the water released from the tailings can be used in the procedure of refining oil. Reducing
4017-490: The area are ephemeral. Enormous amounts of water were needed for the gold processing operations. The mine drew its water from a vast 'tank'. Despite the mine tank's 12-million imperial gallon capacity—enough for eight months operation if full—and very careful water management at the mine, lack of water was a cause of interruptions to production and employment, during droughts. Paradoxically, infrequent but heavy rain could also interrupt mine operations, if water found its way into
4120-477: The bottom of the existing pit. Gold was again being mined there in 2021, and that was expected to continue, until 2022, together with limited mine site rehabilitation. In May 2024, Manuka Resources announced that it had raised $ 8 million in capital to commence production at the Mount Boppy mine. 31°33′30.1″S 146°18′57.8″E / 31.558361°S 146.316056°E / -31.558361; 146.316056 Boppy Mount railway station Canbelego
4223-524: The conditions where they were working. At the time, union members paid to their union 2s 9d, on joining, and 9d per fortnight for the union's working expenses. There were no rock-drilling machines at the Mount Boppy Mine, with all mining, including blast hole drilling, by hand, other than rock blasting . Manual work included the manhandling of mine trucks (or mine skips )—containing 8 to 9 cwt (around 400 to 460 kg) of rock—into and out of
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4326-525: The dams, causing environmental disasters , such as the Mount Polley disaster in British Columbia . Because of these and other environmental concerns such as groundwater leakage , toxic emissions and bird death, tailing piles and ponds have received more scrutiny, especially in developed countries, but the first UN-level standard for tailing management was only established 2020. There are
4429-416: The demand of water can also protect the environment from drought. As mining techniques and the price of minerals improve, it is not unusual for tailings to be reprocessed using new methods, or more thoroughly with old methods, to recover additional minerals. Extensive tailings dumps of Kalgoorlie / Boulder in Western Australia were re-processed profitably in the 1990s by KalTails Mining. A machine called
4532-491: The filter systems and the increase in operating costs (generally associated electricity consumption and consumables such as filter cloth) of such systems. While disposal into exhausted open pits is generally a straightforward operation, disposal into underground voids is more complex. A common modern approach is to mix a certain quantity of tailings with waste aggregate and cement, creating a product that can be used to backfill underground voids and stopes . A common term for this
4635-405: The future. Paste tailings is a modification to the conventional methods of disposal of tailings (pond storage). Conventional tailings slurries are composed of a low percent of solids and relatively high water content (normally ranging from 20% to 60% solids for most hard rock mining) and when deposited into the tailings pond the solids and liquids separate. In paste tailings the percent of solids in
4738-412: The global average is 1.23. Annual production of alumina in 2023 was over 142 million tonnes (310 billion pounds) resulting in the generation of approximately 170 million tonnes (370 billion pounds) of red mud. Due to this high level of production and the material's high alkalinity , if not stored properly, it can pose a significant environmental hazard. As a result, significant effort
4841-402: The harm the radioactive heavy metals do to the environment. Bauxite tailings is a waste product generated in the industrial production of aluminium . Making provision for the approximately 70 million tonnes (150 billion pounds) that is produced annually is one of the most significant problems for the aluminium mining industry. Red mud , now more frequently termed bauxite residue,
4944-405: The heyday of the band. With little water and no fire brigade, fire was a constant threat to a village built mainly of wood and corrugated iron sheets. There were serious fires that destroyed multiple commercial buildings, in 1904, 1906, January 1911, October 1911, November 1911, 1913, and 1915, as well as house fires that destroyed individual residences. In 1915, a fire at the hospital
5047-624: The island, and the eventual permanent closing of the mine. As of 2005, only three mines operated by international companies continued to use river disposal: The Ok Tedi mine , the Grasberg mine and the Porgera mine , all on New Guinea. This method is used in these cases due to seismic activity and landslide dangers which make other disposal methods impractical and dangerous. Commonly referred to as STD (Submarine Tailings Disposal) or DSTD (Deep Sea Tailings Disposal). Tailings can be conveyed using
5150-538: The large exposed surface area of the minerals. The fraction of tailings to ore can range from 90 to 98% for some copper ores to 20–50% of the other (less valuable) minerals. The rejected minerals and rocks liberated through mining and processing have the potential to damage the environment by releasing toxic metals (arsenic and mercury being two major culprits), by acid drainage (usually by microbial action on sulfide ores), or by damaging aquatic wildlife that rely on clear water (vs suspensions). Tailings ponds can also be
5253-550: The lift cage, with trucks arriving at the surface at a rate of around 40 per hour. The mine was relatively well ventilated and capacious; although the lode being mined could be as narrow as three feet, in other places, it could be 80 feet wide. Workers who were in proximity to the cyanide used in the gold recovery process or to tailings sand—the waste product of that process—complained of fumes and that they developed skin rashes, known as 'cyanide rash'. Miners working underground complained that there were no sanitation arrangements in
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#17327906449545356-413: The lode transitioned from an oxide zone to a sulphide zone . The surface plant needed to be capable of treating both kinds of ore, especially as the mining went deeper. The company was able to reuse some equipment obtained from other mines. The company's huge 60-head stamper battery was divided so that the oxide zone ore was pulverised by 20-heads and the sulpide zone ore by the remaining 40-heads. Water
5459-437: The management services of mining engineers, John Taylor & Sons, to further develop the mine. More rich ore was discovered, in early 1909, a new main shaft was sunk, and work commenced on extending the existing main shaft to the 600 foot level. For its time, the Mount Boppy Gold Mine was a sophisticated and well run operation, with its own assaying laboratory, and was an early adopter of the cyanide process . Below 240 feet,
5562-430: The materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction ( gangue ) of an ore . Tailings are different from overburden , which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed. The extraction of minerals from ore can be done two ways: placer mining , which uses water and gravity to concentrate
5665-423: The mine produced 13.5 tons (433,000 ounces) of gold. In the four years to 1909, the dividend paid to shareholders was 50%, falling to a still remarkably high 27% in 1910. By the end of 1912, shareholders had received a return of 356% on their capital investment, rising to 500% over the entire 21 years of operation. After reef mining ceased on 6 September 1921, the old company reprocessed tailings, until finally closing
5768-412: The mine, and of the risk of lung damage due to quartz rock dust ( silicosis ). The core of the mine's surface operations was its huge stamper battery , used to pulverise gold-bearing rock. It had 40 stamper heads—each weighing 950 pounds , and impacting 88 times per minute—in 1904, and 60 heads in 1905. Inside the building, the noise that it made was deafening. In the village, to the immediate east of
5871-488: The mine, as occurred twice in 1913. The village's water came from a separate 'Government Tank'. So critical was the mine to the village's economy that, if the mine's tank fell below eight feet in depth and subject to approval, water was transferred from the Government Tank to the mine's tank. From 1914, the mine began using groundwater, from the abandoned North Mount Boppy shaft, in its boilers. The quality of
5974-446: The mine, one observer opined that, " the clash of the huge batteries and the grinding of the great machinery create a noise like that of a sou'-easterly gale breaking on Bondi beach . " Running on two shifts, the last ending at midnight, around 260 to 290 days per year, its continuous roar was labelled " Canbelego's lullaby "; it was reported that, " Canbelegolites get so used to it they can't go to sleep without it ". Sundays were always
6077-457: The minimum weekly rental on a house suited to a family was 7s 6d per week, whereas a better house, with a bathroom, could cost 10s 6d. In nearby Cobar, miners contributed 9d each per week to retain a medical practitioner. Evidence given, in December 1905, was that wages for mine workers were typically between 7 and 9 shillings per eight-hour shift , and that workers mainly worked six shifts per week—although at least some were working seven—becoming
6180-471: The mining industry". These tailings contain large amounts of pyrite (FeS 2 ) and Iron(II) sulfide (FeS), which are rejected from the sought-after ores of copper and nickel, as well as coal. Although harmless underground, these minerals are reactive toward air in the presence of microorganisms, which if not properly managed lead to acid mine drainage . Between 100 million and 280 million tons of phosphogypsum waste are estimated to be produced annually as
6283-402: The most productive gold mine in New South Wales. In 2020, drilling revealed intersections of high-grade gold-bearing ore below the bottom of the existing pit. Gold was again being mined there in 2021, and that was expected to continue, until 2022, with limited mine site rehabilitation. In May 2024, Manuka Resources announced that it had raised $ 8 million in capital to commence production at
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#17327906449546386-439: The naphtha, which was considered as waste during the procedure of refining oil. Both of those degraded products are useful. Aliphatic, aromatic hydrocarbons and methane can be used as fuel in the humans' daily lives. In other words, these methanogens improve the coefficient of utilization. Moreover, these methanogens change the structure of the tailings pond and help the pore water efflux to be reused for processing oil sands. Because
6489-399: The natural topographical depression in the ground. Large earthen dams may be constructed and then filled with the tailings. Exhausted open pit mines may be refilled with tailings. In all instances, due consideration must be made to contamination of the underlying water table, amongst other issues. Dewatering is an important part of pond storage, as the tailings are added to the storage facility
6592-527: The old company reprocessed tailings and remnant ore stocks, until finally closing the site and selling off equipment, in 1923. Between 1929 and 1941, there was minor production of gold from remnant ore and attempts to process tailings. Around 500,000 tonnes of tailings —still containing an average of 3g of gold per tonne—were left on the surface. Starting in 1974, these tailings were reprocessed to recover more gold. Later mining operations included reprocessing of tailings sand that had been used to back fill
6695-483: The old underground workings. In recent years, the mine was reopened as an open-cut operation, but later placed under care and maintenance. It is estimated that over its entire life, from hard-rock mining and tailings reprocessing, the mine has produced 500,000 ounces of gold. Only with the opening of the New Occidental mine at Wrightville , near Cobar, in the 1930s, did the Mount Boppy mine lose its place as
6798-413: The old underground workings. The operation used the carbon-in-pulp process. In recent years, the mine was reopened as an open-cut operation, but later placed under care and maintenance. It is estimated that over its entire life, from hard-rock mining and tailings reprocessing, the mine has produced 500,000 ounces of gold. Only with the opening of the New Occidental mine at Wrightville , near Cobar, in
6901-513: The plant's roots can prevent water erosion, immobilise metals by adsorption or accumulation, and provide a zone around the roots where the metals can precipitate and stabilise. Pollutants become less bioavailable and livestock, wildlife, and human exposure is reduced. This approach can be especially useful in dry environments, which are subject to wind and water dispersion. Considerable effort and research continues to be made into discovering and refining better methods of tailings disposal. Research at
7004-544: The population was 184. By the end of 1902, there was already a population of 300 to 400, and two hotels. By mid 1904, the rapidly growing population had reached around 900, with 180 employed at the Mt Boppy Mine. The post office opened in 1901. The public school was established in 1901, initially with around 35 children; by mid 1904, it had an enrollment of 158, and an average attendance of 120. The main street, Edward Street, had three hotels, six stores, two butchers,
7107-442: The potential to spontaneously ignite. Because most coal refuse harbors toxic components, it is not easily reclaimed by replanting with plants like beach grasses. Early mining operations often did not take adequate steps to make tailings areas environmentally safe after closure. Modern mines, particularly those in jurisdictions with well-developed mining regulations and those operated by responsible mining companies, often include
7210-400: The produce was sold in Canbelego. Livestock was raised in the Cobar region, but reportedly local butchers sometimes had difficulty accessing enough animals to slaughter. A miner told how his (presumably single) board and accommodation at Canbelego was 17s 6d, per week, much higher than the 12s 6d that he had paid while working near the coast at Pambula . A local agent gave evidence that
7313-585: The railway station at Boppy Mountain was the Boppy Boulder Gold Mine. The deposit that was formerly associated with the Canbelego Copper Mining Co. and later Canbelego Copper Mines Limited —mined between 1906 and 1914 —was once again, in 2022, the focus of exploration as a copper resource. The village of Canbelego was proclaimed in December 1902, although the emerging settlement— at first informally known as Mount Boppy Mines—had been surveyed and named Canbelego, by late 1900. In May 1901,
7416-542: The rehabilitation and proper closure of tailings areas in their costs and activities. For example, the Province of Quebec , Canada, requires not only the submission of a closure plan before the start of mining activity, but also the deposit of a financial guarantee equal to 100% of the estimated rehabilitation costs. Tailings dams are often the most significant environmental liability for a mining project. Mine tailings may have economic value in carbon sequestration due to
7519-453: The site and selling off its equipment and buildings in 1923. Between 1929 and 1941, there was minor production of gold from remnant ore and attempts to process tailings. Around 500,000 tonnes of tailings —still containing an average of 3g of gold per tonne—were left on the surface. Starting in 1974, these tailings were reprocessed to recover more gold. Later mining operations included reprocessing of tailings sand that had been used to back fill
7622-460: The size of a grain of sand to a few micrometres. Mine tailings are usually produced from the mill in slurry form, which is a mixture of fine mineral particles and water. Tailings are likely to be dangerous sources of toxic chemicals such as heavy metals , sulfides and radioactive content. These chemicals are especially dangerous when stored in water in ponds behind tailings dams . These ponds are also vulnerable to major breaches or leaks from
7725-399: The slurry produced from tar sands mining. Tailings are sometimes mixed with other materials such as bentonite to form a thicker slurry that slows the release of impacted water to the environment. There are many different subsets of this method, including valley impoundments, ring dikes, in-pit impoundments, and specially dug pits. The most common is the valley pond, which takes advantage of
7828-621: The source of a 'floater' rock that had been found on the Nyngan-Cobar road. After a sample was dollyed by Reid, it was found to be rich in gold. The lode initially was worked by O'Grady and Reid, under a mining claim known as 'Hidden Treasure'. In November 1897, the claim, and another 10 acres of mining claim land owned by other prospectors, were sold to the Anglo-Australian Exploration Company, for £1,000. The new owners sank four shafts, and identified
7931-441: The surface. This method is used by the gold mine on Lihir Island ; its waste disposal has been viewed by environmentalists as highly damaging, while the owners claim that it is not harmful. Phytostabilisation is a form of phytoremediation that uses hyperaccumulator plants for long-term stabilisation and containment of tailings, by sequestering pollutants in soil near the roots. The plant's presence can reduce wind erosion, or
8034-514: The surrounding environment. The removal of water not only can create a better storage system in some cases (e.g. dry stacking, see below) but can also assist in water recovery which is a major issue as many mines are in arid regions. In a 1994 description of tailings impoundments, however, the U.S. EPA stated that dewatering methods may be prohibitively expensive except in special circumstances. Subaqueous storage of tailings has also been used. Tailing ponds are areas of refused mining tailings where
8137-425: The tailings slurry is increased through the use of paste thickeners to produce a product where the minimal separation of water and solids occurs and the material is deposited into a storage area as a paste (with a consistency somewhat like toothpaste). Paste tailings has the advantage that more water is recycled in the processing plant and therefore the process is more water efficient than conventional tailings and there
8240-438: The temporary structures common in mining towns of that time. On the outskirts of the village, a sawmill was busy cutting timber for building work in the growing village. In 1905, the population reached around 1,500, with around 300 of these being employees of the mine. By 1907, the population had reached around 2,000. A fourth hotel, the Federal Hotel had opened by late 1908. Construction of an Anglican church (The Church of
8343-415: The toxic chemicals could be potentially hazardous to human health; however, it is also harmful to the environment. Tailing ponds are often somewhat dangerous because they attract wildlife such as waterfowl or caribou as they appear to be a natural pond, but they can be highly toxic and harmful to the health of these animals. Tailings ponds are used to store the waste made from separating minerals from rocks, or
8446-433: The valuable minerals, or hard rock mining , which pulverizes the rock containing the ore and then relies on chemical reactions to concentrate the sought-after material. In the latter, the extraction of minerals from ore requires comminution , i.e., grinding the ore into fine particles to facilitate extraction of the target element(s). Because of this comminution, tailings consist of a slurry of fine particles, ranging from
8549-598: The village itself had only four residents in early 2020. Between 1907 and 1917, the population was around 2,000. It is located approximately 640 km north-west of Sydney, 50 km east of Cobar and 5 km south of the nearest point on the Barrier Highway . The area now known as Canbelego is part of the traditional lands of Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of Ngiyampaa people. The Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell and his expedition had camped and obtained water, in early 1845, at
8652-527: The village over two nights in August 1907. The village had its own venue for motion pictures, Levy and Wall's Picture Show, where a motion picture cinema was established and operated, by a local businessman, Charles Wall, from 1914 to around 1921. On 27 October 1911, the village was entertained by a touring 'Bio-megaphone', an early form of talking motion picture show. It was powered by " huge electric generator imported from America expressly for this tour ", and
8755-476: The village to assist his brother in a general store. He later set up a bakery, then a sweets and cool drinks shop, finally establishing a permanent motion picture show in 1914. He sold up and left the village in 1921. His partner in the cinema venture was Maurice Levy, who also had business interests in Nymagee , another mining village 61 km due south of Canbelego. The main business of the village were its hotels:
8858-410: The village's economy was dependent upon the mine, but most services too. Another disadvantage was that, without local government, the village could only rely on its Progress Committee, or the management of the mine, for advocacy to the New South Wales state government and its departments. A typical miner's family bills per fortnightly pay period, in 1906, was 12 shillings for meat, for " groceries and
8961-469: The village's water supply was poor; on at least one occasion, the water from the 'Government Tank' was declared unsafe to drink, by the Government Analyst. It often contained silt, and water needed to be boiled to be safe to drink. Distribution of water to the town depended upon there being enough wind to operate the windmill-driven pump feeding a distribution tank. Keeping livestock away from
9064-437: The village's water supply, particularly goats that thrived in the semi-arid climate, was a constant problem. Some houses and commercial premises had rainwater tanks, but these could not be relied upon in Canbelego's climate. Groundwater from the mine workings was clean, but brackish and unfit for human consumption. In times of drought, residents sometimes needed to buy water that had to be brought in by rail. In 1911, water
9167-422: The vulnerable water supply—a continuing problem in a semi-arid area—overcrowding at the school, and inadequate postal and telegraph arrangements. The village would suffer an extraordinary number of building fires. Water was critical, in the semi-arid environment. Canbelego's mean annual rainfall is just under 400mm, but it can vary greatly from year to year, with drought an ever present risk. All watercourses in
9270-400: The water is removed – usually by draining into decant tower structures. The water removed can thus be reused in the processing cycle. Once a storage facility is filled and completed, the surface can be covered with topsoil and revegetation commenced. However, unless a non-permeable capping method is used, water that infiltrates into the storage facility will have to be continually pumped out into
9373-449: The waterborne refuse material is pumped into a pond to allow the sedimentation (meaning separation) of solids from the water. The pond is generally impounded with a dam, and known as tailings impoundments or tailings dams. It was estimated in 2000 that there were about 3,500 active tailings impoundments in the world. The ponded water is of some benefit as it minimizes fine tailings from being transported by wind into populated areas where
9476-657: Was S.W Vale, formerly of the Gibraltar Mine , followed by Thomas White. From 1904 to 1908, the Superintendent, was Thomas Pascoe, who was succeeded by the longest-serving of the Superintendents, James Negus. The Superintendent was the de facto mayor of the mining village, essentially a company town, which would not have local government until 1958. When James Negus arrived, from London, the mine had only about two years of ore in sight. He brought with him
9579-430: Was brought in by rail, but there was only enough to supply the village, and the mine shutdown temporarily. Drought even caused difficulty for the musicians of the town's band. During dust storms , they could not play, with their instruments needing to be carefully packed away to avoid damage. After the long drought of 1911 interrupted production at the Mount Boppy mine, ten of the 28 bandsmen left town, bringing to an end
9682-624: Was burned down, in 1911, but he bought the premises of another business and re-established his store there, January 1912. Wong Sing Wah, who operated a market garden , on the Nyngan Road, just outside Cobar, had a fruiterer and greengrocer's shop, in Edward Street. Also in Edward St, a Syrian, Joseph Shalala, operated a shop selling drapery, clothing, boots and ironmongery , for around six years before 1914. Charles Wall came to
9785-478: Was extinguished before it could destroy the building. The most destructive fire was the fire of February 1915; it destroyed two of the village's hotels and seven shops, all in Edward Street. Only with great effort, by surface staff from the mine, was the fire prevented from spreading to the other side of the street. The fire of November 1911 had been nearly as destructive; it consumed eight buildings, mostly shops. After more fires affecting hotels and businesses,
9888-528: Was fitted with " Fire-proof guards to prevent any danger of conflagration ". Probably, it was either a Chronophone or a Chonomegaphone (an enhanced version of the Chronophone ). Both electrically powered devices were made by Lèon Gaumont , played Phonoscènes , and amplified the sound using compressed air; both kinds of device had been in use elsewhere in Australia by 1911. Most likely,
9991-524: Was formed, in London, to exploit the newly-proven, large, rich deposit. By July 1900, work on establishing the mine was well under way. The mining village of Canbelego grew to the east of the mine's site. In 1905, the population had been around 1,500, with around 300 of these being employees of the mine. Between 1907 and 1917, the population was around 2,000. In charge of operations was the mine's Superintendent. The first Superintendent, until his death in 1902,
10094-472: Was held at a new race course at Canbelego, in May 1916, and the tradition of races on New Year's Day revived for 1917, with an Easter Monday race meeting in 1918. The village had a cricket club, from September 1904, playing games against Cobar and Wrightville . The games were typically limited to one innings for each side, to allow visiting sides to catch the afternoon train home. Home games were played on
10197-525: Was opened. The new building was necessary because the Methodists could no longer use the building of 'a sister church' (probably the Presbyterian church) for their services. In 1908, Michael Lane, a storekeeper from Nymagee , bought land in Edward Street, for a general store that was to be a part of Canbelego until the early 1920s. His first store, located directly opposite the Commercial Hotel,
10300-418: Was precious in the semi-arid environment, with enormous amounts being needed for the processing operations. The mine had a 13 million gallon dam (known as a 'tank'), condensed the exhaust steam from its steam engines for return to the boilers, and distilled brackish mine water. So critical was the mine to the village's economy that, if the mine's tank fell below eight feet in depth and subject to approval, water
10403-591: Was the country's biggest environmental disaster. The dam breach caused the death of 19 people due to flooding of tailings slime downstream and affected some 400 km of the Doce river system with toxic effluence and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Tailings deposits tend to be located in rural areas or near marginalized communities, such as indigenous communities . The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management recommends that "a human rights due diligence process
10506-525: Was to contain the tailings slurry with locally available earthen materials. This slurry is a dilute stream of the tailings solids within water that was sent to the tailings storage area. The modern tailings designer has a range of tailings products to choose from depending upon how much water is removed from the slurry prior to discharge. It is increasingly common for tailings storage facilities to require special barriers like Bituminous Geomembranes (BGMs) to contain liquid tailings slurries and prevent impact to
10609-660: Was transferred from the Government Tank—the village's water supply—to the mine's tank. From 1914, the mine began using groundwater, from the abandoned North Mount Boppy shaft, in its boilers. In the early 1920s, the area was subject to a long drought, which affected mining operations at the Mt Boppy mine. Although not unusually so for the time, working conditions at the mine were difficult —by modern standards, physically demanding and unsafe—and there were many accidents and fatalities . The mining company provided Canbelego with
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