NRS-15079 | Mine records (MR)

Full description

Mine Records detail the operations of individual mines throughout New South Wales. The files may contain a history of the mine, including the type(s) of minerals extracted from the mine; a summary of operations; authority to enter the mining lease; copies of director’s reports for company annual meetings; prospectus for mining ventures; applications for government aid; assay certificates; extracts from company’s annual reports; and newspaper clippings of items relating to the mine or company.

The records may also contain figures for the mine’s output, information about the topography and geology (type of minerals and deposits) of the mining area; maps and plans, including plans or tracings of land portions; sketches of mine workings; extracts from, and copies of Geological Survey reports (GS); correspondence; exploration and metallurgical data such as geological logs of exploratory drilling. Early records contain hand-written reports by the Inspector of Mines and hand-coloured maps and plans. The records may have a Government Department stamp with the record number.

The files usually have a form completed by the mine’s operators titled a "Mine Record" and a file may contain more than one form. The form records the following detail: mine name; mining division; post town; name of mine owner and manager; mine portion number; Parish and County; distance and direction from nearest settlement; if the mine is on private or Crown Land; total area of the lease; name of discoverer and date of discovery; the type of mineral(s) being mined; nature of the country rock (if this was in doubt, samples were to be submitted to the relevant Government agency for analysis).

Also included is information about the mineral deposit such as vein thickness, strike and dip of the lode; method of working (by hand or other) and haulage (for example by hand or steam), gross output, yield and value, method of treatment and the percentage of recovery; average number of men employed per month. If the mine was owned by a company the following would be recorded: capital value, number and value of shares; and any other relevant information especially if it was contained in published reports, plans or workings. Some reports may contain a notice inserted into the reports to acknowledge a missing document.

Mine Reports are part of the Geological Survey collection, a unique collection of unpublished reports on the results of exploration submitted to the then Department of Mineral Resources by companies and individuals as a consequence of exploration and mining licences being granted. The exploration reports are essential sources of information for explorers, and also add to the understanding of the State's geology, mineral, coal and petroleum resources. If the company is still engaged in mining activity or if mining licences are still active then reports may be confidential and unavailable.

Due to the high access rates for the Geological Survey Reports, the then Department of Mineral Resources undertook a copying program making digitised copies available on the Geological Survey (DIGS). Interested parties can view published and unpublished exploration, mining and Departmental reports on-screen and these can be downloaded. The images have been slightly downgraded to minimise download times, however, higher quality images can be ordered from DIGS.


Custody History
The original reports comprising the Geological Survey collection were transferred from the Department of Mineral Resources to the State Records Authority between 1999 and 2001.

A note concerning access to Mine records
The original reports will not be issued to the public so those interested in accessing them should refer to the Geological Survey (DIGS) web site where copies of non-confidential reports are available. The reports are indexed and can be searched by title, author, subject terms, tenement, location, map reference, report number, and report year. In addition to the reports being indexed, the various documents making up the report, such as contents page, text, maps, and photographs, are also indexed and therefore retrievable.