Mongarlowe Project Map
The Mongarlowe Project is located 80km east of Canberra, and tenure is secured by two exploration titles. The project covers an almost continuous area of historic goldmining, 60km in length, from 8km south of Mongarlowe to 15km north of Nerriga. Within this area recorded alluvial production far exceeds the recorded reef production, indicating much of the source of the alluvial gold remains to be discovered.
At the southern end of the project are many old goldmining workings around the town of Mongarlowe, many in bedrock. The area is however subject to Mining Reserve No 3177. It is reported that the reef workings were hampered by heavy inflows of water. The reefs are described as being narrow and high grade, but stockwork systems are also recorded. Total recorded reef production was 220kg Au, at very high grades, however these records are almost certainly incomplete. The most substantial operation was the Day Dawn Mine, which operated from 1880 to 1908. It is reported to have been mined to the 122m level, with a shaft to 147m. Gold production was "estimated at 40,000oz" and it "ceased working because of depth of water in it" (Russell, 1989). The main line of reef was worked in a number of separate mines, but appears to be continuous over a length of 3.5 km, but there is no record of modern drill testing.
Alluvial gold is recorded to cover an estimated area of 7700ha. Alluvials include both current and former river gravels, and in addition to the Mongarlowe area, these include the historic Oallen, Spring Creek Jacqua, Nerriga and Corang goldmining areas, historically referred to as the Nerriga Gold Field. This field has a mainly alluvial production history, recorded as 14,177oz from 1878-1901. Historic alluvial goldmining was restricted by lack of water. High level Tertiary alluvials represent a potentially economic target, but the as yet unidentified hard rock source of the the alluvials is the prime focus of Commissioners Gold Ltd.
Bedrock is dominantly outcropping Ordovician metasediments. Southwest of the project area, these metasediments are intruded by the Braidwood Granodiorite, a well known gold source. Within the project area, the Rise and Shine mine south of Mongarlowe may be a distal Intrusion Related Gold deposit, related to the Braidwood Granodiorite. This prospect will be explored for previously unrecognized styles of mineralization.
Modern exploration of reefs and alluvials is almost non-existent. Only a handful of holes have been drilled. No previous modern explorer has controlled the entire Mongarlowe gold mining field; Commissioners Gold Ltd has the first opportunity for integrated modern assessment of this exciting field.
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