Martha Gold and Silver Mine. Waihi. Bay of Plenty. New Zealand.
S 37° 23.220 E 175° 50.500
60H E 397458 N 5861565
Mining in Waihi has a history that spans three centuries. However the Martha open pit and Favona underground operation that exist today are very different to the underground mine which operated in the early days.
Waymark Code: WM6MNV
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 06/22/2009
Views: 17
Gold was first discovered on Pukewa (Martha Hill, Waihi) in 1878 by prospectors John McCombie and Robert Lee. The samples of rock they had sent to be assayed were not considered worthwhile, so they left the area. Their claim was taken over by William Nicholl in 1879. He pegged out five acres, named the claim 'Martha' after a family member, and later a few small claims amalgamated to form the Martha Company. By 1882 the first battery was in operation.
The Martha Mine became one of the most important gold and silver mines in the world. By 1952, when the mighty Martha Mine closed, around 5.6 million ounces (174,160kg) of gold and 38.4 million ounces (1,193,180kg) of silver had been produced from 11,932,000 tonnes of ore.
There is a Rim Walkway and a Lookout. The Mine Museum has an interesting display of information open to the Public.
Seven vertical shafts had been sunk for the underground Martha Mine; the deepest was 600 metres from the surface. Radiating from the shafts was a network of 175 kilometres of tunnels on 15 horizontal levels. A workforce averaging 600 men was employed over the seventy year life span of the mine. In 1909, when gold production peaked, a total of 1500 people were employed in the mine and at the Victoria Battery.
Mining did not end in 1952 because the Martha had run out of gold; the current operation is evidence of this. Rather, a series of factors led to a decline in production:
* the international gold price was fixed at $US35 an ounce, limiting the revenue the mine could make
* the machinery needed to be updated; although the technology was available to do this, the money was not
* there had been two World Wars and the Depression of the 1930s, depleting manpower and creating a difficult economic climate.
It was not possible, given these factors, to profitably mine the lower grade ore.
In the 1970s and early 1980s the gold price increased. Exploration and prospecting work identified the economic resource that is being worked today. The Martha Project was the first major hard rock mining operation to be commissioned following the resurgence of the gold mining industry in New Zealand in the late 1970s. The mining licence was granted for the open pit Martha Mine in 1987.
Mining at Martha is by open pit methods. Ore and waste rock are crushed at the surface facilities area prior to transportation along a 2.7 kilometre conveyor. On arrival at the processing plant gold and silver are extracted from the ore using conventional carbon-in-pulp treatment methods.
Today the mine produces up to 1,250,000 tonnes of ore annually, and the project employs some 234 men and women. In 1999 the value of the gold and silver produced ($59 million) made up 47% of Waihi’s estimated GDP. Waihi Gold has made significant contributions to the Waihi economy, community and the Hauraki region as a whole. Since the mine was re-opened in 1987, thousands of local people have benefited from the mine. In 1999, consents were granted allowing an extension to the mine life (the Extended Project) and this will result in a further seven years of economic benefits resulting from mining activity.
Mine Type: Working Mine
Mineral Collecting: Not Known
Material Mined: Precious Metal
Operation: Opencast Mine
Surface Features: Yes
KNOWN DANGERS:
None
Any associated website: [Web Link]
Any Other information:
The Martha Mine in Waihi, New Zealand, is an operating gold and silver mine, managed by the Waihi Gold Mining Company. The open pit lies within a residential area, while the Processing Plant, Water Treatment Plant and tailings storage facilities are nearly two kilometres away, beyond the town boundary, in a rural area.
The Martha Mine's open pit is unique in New Zealand in that it is situated in a residential area. Restraints and conditions have been placed on the operation that take into account the mine's proximity to the town of Waihi. These conditions include hours of work, permitted blasting times and permitted noise, dust and vibration levels.
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Visit Instructions:
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