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MAGENTA MINE SITE
BATTERY HILL ROAD AND OFF CHILTERN-BARNAWARTHA ROAD CHILTERN, INDIGO SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory
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Statement of Significance

Mining of the Magenta Reef commenced as an open cut operation in 1860. Earth, rock and quartz were excavated and carted out by horse and dray. As the open cut was extended, it was also widened. This bright lower yields, but increased production kept the mine profitable. The open cut was worked to a depth of 15metres. (It was later partially filled with mullock).

The following is taken from one of the self-guided drives produced by the National Parks Service, Victoria.

Two shafts were later sunk to wine mine ore. You can see one of these if you walk up the eastern side of the open cut. This shaft was sunk to a depth of 90m, but like hundreds of other shafts in the forest it has since been filled and sealed for safety reasons.

Follow the gravel track around the northern end of the open cut to the fenced open stope. The enlarged tunnel or drive was worked at a depth of 30m. The gold-bearing ore was removed by excavating the roof of the drive and mining upwards.

Walk along the track to the site of the mine's quartz crusher or stamping battery. You may see part of the concrete foundations.

About 50m further south is the site of place's quartz crusher - the timber foundations can still be seen. This crusher operated independently of the Magenta Mine.

The magenta mine closed some time after 1910, but there was a minor revival during the depression years. According to published figures, a total of 21,665 tons of material was crushed, which yielded 9,900 ounces of gold. However the records are incomplete and it is thought that a yield of 13,000 ounces of gold is more accurate.

In its heyday, Magenta was a significant residential area, and in late 1860 people thought it was only a matter of time before trams ran between Magenta and New Ballarat (now Chiltern).

The name "Magenta" may have come from the purplish colour of the rock, or from the battle of Magenta in Italy in 1859.

[Source: National Parks Service brochure.]

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    • History

      MAGENTA MINE SITE - History

      Contextual History:History of Place:

      Heritage Inventory History of Site:
      The Magenta mine was among the earliest quartz mines on the Chiltern field, and was worked uninterruptedly from its discovery in 1858 until 1901. In 1860, the first battery was installed on the reef, but was removed within months. A new battery was erected in 1861, and the Magenta was in that year the principal reef on the goldfield. The Magenta Co.'s mine, worked by open cutting, was one of the few Chiltern quartz mines to continue active into the 1870s; its battery was the only one on the field in 1872. The company commenced re-treating its accumulated tailings in 1885, using 'an improved process', probably roasting and chlorination. During the mine's heyday a residential area, known as Magenta, was situated nearby; as late as 1907, an unbroken chain of miners' dwellings extended from Chiltern to Magenta, via the Suffolk Lead.
      The Magenta mine finally shut down in 1901. Eight years later, a new Magenta Co. took up the lease, sinking a main shaft east of the old open cut and installing a steam winch. In 1912, tailings cyanidation commenced. Mining at the Magenta ceased in the mid-1920s, but was revived in a minor way during the Depression years.
      Published figures state that mine yielded a total of 9,900 oz of gold, at an average of just under 10 dwt to the ton, but the actual yield is thought to have been closer to 13,000 oz.
      Mining operations from 1909 onwards were centred on the shaft, east of the eastern portion of the open cut, large quantities of mullock being tipped into the open cut. When Baragwanath visited the mine in 1921, the western portion of the open cut measured 15 m deep x 4.5 m long x 18 m wide, and an open stope on the western side was 6 m wide x 38 m long x more than 30.5 m deep. According to a local authority, [the late?] Clarrie Moon, all that remains of the 20th-century mining operations at Magenta is a small heap of white quartz and blue slate alongside a cement-sealed shaft, over which stood the poppethead with engine house, with winding gear some metres north and blacksmith's forge a few metres to the east.
      Place's crushing mill, which forms part of the Magenta mine site today, is said (by Moon) to have originated on the Indigo quartz rush, c.1860.
      In 1968, the Mines Department released the Magenta mine site to the Shire of Chiltern for development as a tourism venue, and a safety fence was erected around the site. CNR now manages the site and has installed a carpark, walking track and interpretive materials. The Magenta mine site forms part of CNR's Chiltern Historic Drive.

      Interpretation of Site

      MAGENTA MINE SITE - Interpretation of Site

      Heritage Inventory Interpretation:

      Heritage Inventory Description

      MAGENTA MINE SITE - Heritage Inventory Description

      Features of the Magenta mine site are an open cut, stope, Magenta battery site, Place's battery site, two sealed shafts, slum pond, tailings dump, and dam. The site is served by a walking track, carpark, and picnic facilities.

      Heritatge Inventory Significance: The site has historical significance as the longest worked Chiltern quartz mine and scientific significance because of the range of relics

      Heritage Inventory Key Components: Open cut - North-west of the carpark is a substantial open cut (50 m x 30 m, 8 m deep) in which one adit is visible. The walking track enters the open cut via a 30m-long access cutting. Stope - On the west side of the open cut is an open stope, 20 m x 5 m and 40 m deep. A look-out has been constructed at one end of the stope. To the west of the look-out is a fenced, open shaft. Magenta battery site - 40 m south-west of the open cut is an excavated platform which bears traces of concrete stamper foundations and a possible stone boiler setting - remains of the second Magenta QMC's crushing plant . Place's battery site - 60 m south of the Magenta battery site is another excavated platform containing a partly buried arrangement of bedlogs for a 10-head mill. The bedlogs measure 1ยข ft thick and are covered by the collapsed wooden horses (foundations). Shafts - Nearby are two sealed shafts. Slum pond - Immediately below Place's battery is a quarried slum pond. The pond's 100m-long embankment is intact and bears traces of its wooden retaining posts and rails. Tailings dump - One of the tailings dumps is intact, the other has been largely quarried. Water dam - On the east side of the entrance track to the mine is a breached dam.

      Archeological Potential:

      Good.

Public contributions

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