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Wednesday 3 August 2016

THE TIN-MINING INDUSTRY IN NSW BY JE CARNE (1911)


The complete title of this book is “The Tin-Mining Industry and the Distribution of Tin Ores in New South Wales”. It is No. 14 in the Mineral Resources series, produced by the Geological Survey Branch of the NSW Department of Mines.
You can download a copy from DIGS (here). DIGS is an on-line collection of publications made available by the NSW Department of Industry (Resources and Energy). The reference number is R00050677. This book is an important resource for anyone interested in mining history and especially those wanting to locate and identify old mines and mineral deposits.
I have prepared a slide show using the numerous plates from this book (viewable on my YouTube site here).
I wish to acknowledge the source of these photographs now and thank the 
Geological Survey of NSW for making this resource available.
You will soon see if you look through the DIGS listings that there is a huge volume of literature on the subject of tin mining in NSW. Much was written before 1911 and a great deal more since. The New England region was at the heart of the industry. Locations such as Emmaville, Torrington, Tingha and Wilson’s Downfall stand out. Today, however, little mining is going on and it will take a substantial increase in the price of tin to get things moving again. The emphasis then will be on large scale mining and it looks as if the day of the solitary miner or small syndicate is over.

Here are the reference numbers for some other important documents relevant to the subject of tin mining.
The Mineral Resources of NSW (1901) by EF Pittman. DIGS reference number R00051137
The Mineral Industry of NSW by EC Andrews et al 1928. R00050818
Tin (Bulletin No 1) by EJ Kenny 1922. R00050981
Minerama book 1994 Cassiterite downloadable here.
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos.

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting!My Grandfather who passed before I was born George French was a tin miner at some stage in his life.Based in Tenterfield recorded as pioneer of Tenterfield. Im guessing he would have made his way to the Emmaville region in his tin scratching days. Worked on Mingoola Station married a Bentley settled on a farm out of Millmerran Qld. Ray Cullen raycullen@ecn.net.au

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    1. Both of my wife's grandfathers were tin miners, one at Emmaville and the other at Kookabookra. It was one of those things many men did during the Depression days.

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