Tarawera Silver Mine and Smelter, Preservation Inlet, New Zealand

Description: The Tarawera Silver Mine and Smelter was one of many failed ore extraction ventures in the Preservation area.
Failed attempts to mine Tarawera
The Tarawera Lode contained gold, silver, copper and lead. A company was formed to mine the reef, and in 1897 a drive was excavated eighty feet inland to a depth of fifty feet below sea level. In 1899 the shaft was enlarged, but blasting fractured the roof, causing it to fill with sea water. Although the company tried to make the mine operational by installing a pump, it was too great a task and the mine was abandoned.
In 1908 Donald McKenzie purchased the Tarawera mine, and a second attempt was made. The plan was to smelt the ore to extract precious metals additional to gold, in the hope this would make the venture more viable. Thirty five tons of ore was smelted, only to produce no returns. The venture had failed again, the company was liquidated in 1912, and the site abandoned.
(from www.doc.govt.nz)

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Keywords: Breaksea Girl, Fiordland, New Zealand, Preservation Inlet, Tarawera, smelter, mine, Isthmus Sound, gold, silver, water, Southland, national park, cruise, World Heritage site, Te Wahipounamu, landscape, people, Murihiku

Exif: Exposure: 1/80, Aperture: 3.2, ISO: 200

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