Plaque marking the entrance to the Birthday Quartz Reef. This discovery gave rise to gold mining in the region and the town of Waiuta.
Plaque and fence marking the entrance to the Birthday Quartz Reef. This gave rise to gold mining in the region and the town of Waiuta. Four prospectors discovered the reef on 9th November 1905, the birthday of King Edward VII, hence the reefs patriotic name. The main shafts in the area were the Blackwater and Prohibition shares. Over 45 years 732 907 ounces of gold were yielded, the secon most productive mine in New Zealand. The Prohibition Shaft produced a third of the gold extracted from the Reeftn Gold Field. The original prospectors sold the lease for GBP2000. Mining ceased in 1951. Today Waiuta is a Ghost Town under the care of the Department od Conservation. In 2013 an Australian company, Oceana Gold, carried out assessment and surveys of the Birthday Reef. The resuling report gave positive vibes as to the commercial viability of mining in the area.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Waiuta near Reefton West Coast South Island New Zealand
Photo credit: © Brian Hartshorn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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