Redcastle Sands
The project consists of gold-bearing mineralisation in a previously mined stockpile of Battery Sands (Rehabilitated) on the boundary of the old Redcastle town site. Previous workings present on the area include, grab samples and anecdotal data have given Core Prospecting the confidence to commence a program of combined surface exploration, trial bulk sampling and then complete removal and of the sand to an offsite facility for processing and rehabilitation of the site area. The project has been named the Redcastle Sands in accordance with the locality, although the site is also referred to as Redcastle Cyanide works or Clarks Steam Stamp Battery Site.
The project will be developed through a process of auger samples on a grid pattern over the stockpile of possible gold bearing mineralisation to determine the volume and grade of possible treatable tailings.
The material is from quartz mining in the Redcastle district in the mid to late 1800’s. Originally there were three processing sites in the field, two of which were situated on other properties.
In 1895, most of the Redcastle field was consolidated into one syndicate and the tails sand was mustered to the site of Clarks Battery for the reprocessing by cyanide. The cyanide plant was set up in 1898 but with some poor results the work was halted. In 1899 the government metallurgist upon request mad a visit to the plant and conducted test work and sampling to assist in the recovery of the gold held in the tails.
The final report was released in 1901, it recommended some modifications to the machinery and to the method of leach recover to optimise the recovery.
The work commenced in 1901 and continued into 1903.
Literature on the project has been vague for the time after this. The remaining infrastructure on the site include some corrugated galvanised iron vats and some concrete footings, it is the opinion of a consultant heritage archaeologist that this is from work conducted in the 1930’s to 1940’s.
The Project is held under PL006330 and is on private land, the project has an approved Code of Practice for Low Risk Mines, Earth Resources, granted on the 04/05/2018.
