By
phrunt
I went for a hike yesterday in the mountains with the family not too far from home and while walking a track a found a little bit of something with my eyes, looks like possibly some form of jewellery of some type or something off some clothes or something, I have no idea, it's not magnetic.
As you can see it says Park Avenue NY on it, so hoping someone in the US might know what it could possibly be. It's very small and could possibly be off an ear ring?
Now I'll take you for a bit of a visual tour of where I was. I did not know there was gold in the area but I've since been advised otherwise, here is the information I have about the gold in the area. I think finding the gold mine area would be a bit remote without using a helicopter to get there though 😞
Abandoned gold mine.
The mine site is within a gorge on the Wilson River, 4 kilometers from Preservation Inlet, and accessed by walking along the old tramway. The Department of Conservation (DOC) keeps the site accessible by clearing vegetation, which is thick temperate rain-forest and tree ferns.
The auriferous quartz reef was discovered in 1892 by James Smith, one of a party of alluvial miners. He had felled a tree, in the process this knocked down another tree, exposing the reef.
Due to the site's remote location, little subsequently happened for a time. The prospectors sold a fourth share in the claim to raise money for equipment, and the Golden Site Mining Company was formed. Meanwhile the government began a slow process in constructing a tramway through the thick rain-forest to the location. Inclement weather, a lack of supplies, and a disgruntled poorly paid workforce all inhibited the development of the mine.
The mine opened with a ten head battery in 1894, and over the subsequent thirteen month period it produced 640 tonnes of ore for 666 ounces of gold. By the end of 1895, 1,155 tonnes of ore had been extracted for 875 ounces of gold. Gold values in the reef then decreased.
The company was reconstructed in 1897 as the New Golden Site Extended Company, and by 1899 the main shaft was down to 210 feet with two levels. Poor returns continued and the mine closed in 1901, and the battery was sold. The mine was taken over by Webster (surname) of Invercargill in 1907, but it never re-opened.
When the mine closed, most of the equipment remained, as it was too expensive to remove due to the remote location. The ten head stamp battery, main winch, pelton wheel, berdans all remain.
I doubt it'd be worth going back with a detector sometime... but I guess that's how gold is found in the first place, exploring random areas.
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