Peak Hill, Western Australia

Peak Hill is the name of a goldfield,[2] locality and the site of a gold mining[3] ghost town in the Murchison Region of Western Australia. The gold mine covers 2,162 hectares and consists of four open-cut mines, titled Main, Jubilee, Fiveways and Harmony.[4]

Peak Hill
Western Australia
Peak Hill
Coordinates25°38′00″S 118°43′00″E
Population7 (2006 census)[1]
Established1897
Postcode(s)6642
Elevation608 m (1,995 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Meekatharra
State electorate(s)North West
Federal Division(s)Durack

In the adjacent region to the locality there are considerable non auriferous mineral deposits.[5] Adjacent fields included the Horseshoe field.[6]

Early exploration at the site occurred in the 1890s,[7][8] when gold was discovered by William John Wilson in 1892.[9] The townsite was gazetted in 1897,[9] and the field has had varied fortunes even in early years.[10][11] Before 1913, the mine produced some 270,000 ounces of gold.[4] Peak Hill was also included as a location in a regional newspaper network of more outlying mining communities in the 1920s and 1930s.[12]

The population of the town was 190 (180 males and 10 females) in 1898.[13]

A Walker was the proprietor of the Peak Hill General Store until 1954, when he retired to his Daughter's Farm (Nee Campbell) McCourt Farm, Peppermint Grove Beach, South of Capel. Mr Walker was the last full-time resident of Peak Hill.

In the 1970s it was reduced to a ghost town with a few remaining residents, however in the 1980s activity resumed,[14][15] producing around 650,000 ounces of gold.[4] The mine became dormant again the 2000s.

Montezuma Mining Company Ltd purchased the mine from Barrick Gold and Rio Tinto in August 2007 for $1 million cash and $600,000 of environmental bonds.[4] Montezuma negotiated an underwriting agreement with Cunningham Securities, a Perth broker, in January 2008 to raise money for further exploration. Montezuma is seeking up to $3 million to drill at four priority zones, hoping to recommence mining in an area that has historically produced over 900,000 ounces of gold.[16]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Peak Hill (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  2. Clarke, E. de C.(1913) Geological report on Mikhaburra (Holden's Find), Peak Hill goldfield. Bulletin (Geological Survey of Western Australia), No. 59, 1914, Report 37
  3. Heydon, P. R. (1991) Gold at Peak Hill Carlisle, W.A : Hesperian Press, ISBN 0-85905-153-6
  4. Wragg, Ralph (1 August 2007). "Montezuma to buy Peak Hill gold mine". Australian Business News.
  5. Montgomery, A. (1920) Report on the manganese deposits at Horseshoe Range, Peak Hill Goldfield Perth, W.A. Dept. of Mines, 1920 (Perth [W.A.]: Fred. Wm. Simpson, Government Printer
  6. Stewart, Duke (1897) The Peak Hill Goldfield. Stewart (cycling through the district compiling a goldfields directory) reports on gold specimens from the Horseshoe and Peak Hill districts. West Australian, 23 November 1897, p.6
  7. (1970) The biography of William John Wilson : discoverer of the Peak Hill Goldfields, Western Australia; and, Early history of Peak Hill / compiled by ... Freda and ... Arnold Armstrong and ... Laurence Wilson.Battye Library typescript
  8. Reed, Frank. (1897) The Peak Hill Goldfields. West Australian, 17 April 1897, p.10
  9. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – P". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  10. Peak Hill. Article in a series titled: Is the Murchison a failure? Murchison times and Day Dawn gazette, 18 Feb. 1899, p.2f-g
  11. Armstrong, Freda. (1940s) Early Murchison days : the discovery of Peak Hill : some rich returns Battye Library document - PR5868 originally in Geraldton Guardian.
  12. The manganese record, Peak Hill, Nullagine and Marble Bar Gazette. Meekatharra [W.A.] : Telegraph Printing and Publishing Company Ltd., 1928-1941. 22 Sept. 1928-11 July 1941. it was preceded by The Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette. Cue [W.A.] : Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette, 1894-1925. Distribution area: Cue; Day Dawn; Murchison; Peak Hill Goldfields.
  13. "POPULATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1898. p. 23. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  14. (1988) Mining activity to resume at old gold mining site.Daily news (Perth, W.A.), 1 July 1988, p.17
  15. (1988) Peak Hill Resources Gold Mine - description of mine opened July 1988 in Murchison Australia's mining monthly, Aug. 1988, p.19,
  16. "Montezuma to raise $3m for Peak Hill drilling". WA Business News. 16 January 2008.
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