Remains of the Waiuta Prohibition Mine Roasting Plant site. The Waiuta region had a number of gold mines.
Remains of the Waiuta Prohibition Mine Roasting Plant site. The Waiuta region had a number of gold mines. The prohibition Mine was sited above the town, about a half an hours walk away. The mine opened in 1938 and closed in 1951. At one time it had New Zealands deepest mine shaft, some 879 metres straight down and some 300metres below sea level. At the roasting plant the one was roasted to release the gold. However it contained high levels of arsenic and the residue of this meant that the site was heavilly polluted. DOC took over the site and initially cordoned it off. Remediation experts were called in in 2016 and 96 barrels of highly dangerous and poluted waste were removed. Work finished in later the same year leaving the site safe for visitors.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Prohibition Mine Waiuta West Coast South Island New Zealand
Photo credit: © Brian Hartshorn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1938-51, area, arsenic, buller, clean, cleanup, coast, conservation, contamination, department, doc, ghost, gold, industrial, insustry, island, mining, ore, plant, pollution, prohibition, reefton, relics, remains, remediation, roasting, site, south, town, waiuta, west, zealand
