KARANGAHAKE GORGE - EARLY DAYS

GOLD MINING HISTORY


The goldfields of Coromandel and Thames opened in 1852 and 1867 respectively, but it was not until March 1875 that gold was mined from the Karangahake area.
The underground quartz lodes had to be mined, crushed and treated before the gold could be extracted.  However, transport difficulties and lack of capital and gold in payable quantities led to the collapse of many early companies.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1889 with the introduction of the McArthur - Forrest cyanide process for extracting gold from quartz, which enabled a dramatic increase in gold recovery.
Three large batteries were built at Karangahake in the 1890s - the Crown, Talisman and Woodstock - for the treatment of ore taken from extensive mine networks inside Karangahake Mountain.  The Victoria Battery was built at Waikino in 1897 to crush ore from the Waihi Martha mine.  By 1903 it was the largest battery in New Zealand, with 200 stampers used to crush the gold-bearing quartz.
Output from the Karangahake quartz mines in 1909 made up 60% of the total gold produced in New Zealand.  Between 1910 and 1920, however, many of the mines declined as costs of gold recovery began to outweigh profits.  The main batteries at Karangahake closed down and were demolished.  Only the Waihioperations carried on until 1952 when they too closed, and the Victoria Battery was gradually demolished.