Page 52 SOUVENIR-CHARTERS TOWERS, 1872 TO JUILY, 1950 Present Day Mining Black Jack Gold Mining Co. N.L. EXECUTIVE STAFF Manager: Mr. L. H. DRAKE. Underground Manager: Mr. A. JOCHHEIM. Mill Manager: Mr. A. C. POOLE. Cyanide Manager: Mr. J. W. MACKIE. THE major gold producing mine on the field to-day is the Black Jack Mine. It i's situated 6½ miles from Char­ters Towers on the Clermont Highway. First discovered and worked in 1875. Worked intermittently until 1886 when rich stone was obtained in the Black Jack P .C. Mine it boomed for three years Then the area was worked inter­mittently until 1912. In 1933, due to the efforts of the late Mr. W. Clark, the Black Jack South Block Shaft was cleaned out and has been worked ever since. Mining Practice.-Overhead cut and fill stoping is the mining method used. Quartz is handled through chutes to the various levels and transported to the surface where it is deposited into the Ore Bin. The ore is fed through a Jaw Crackelr and elevated to the Mill Storage .Bin. From the Mill Storage Bin it is fed by challenge feeders into two sets of five head stamper batteries. The crushed pulp is then run over amalgam tables which collect the free gold in the ore on the mercury covered copper plates. After passing over the amalgam tables the ore is fed on to a Wilfley concen­trating table which separates the min­eral from the ore and passes the sands containing approximately 5 dwts. gold portion into a sand pump which trans­ports it to the Settling Pits. The con­centrate mineral product average over 100zs. gold per ton from the table, is dried and bagged and sent to Port Kembla for treatment. The gold amal­gam from the amalgam tables is col­lected and retorted, which process re­moves the mercury from the amalgam and leaves the gold which is smelted into a har to he deposited into the hank for sale to the mint. The sand pumped into the settling' pits is prepared for' cyanide treatment. This is done hy drying the sands and then depositing' them into 18-ton capacity treatment vats where cyanide solution is pumped on. The cyanide solutions dissolves the gold in the sand and this solution is then run off and passed over zinc shavings ill a series of precipitate boxes. The zinc de­posits the gold out of solution and the sludge found is dried and roasted to from the precipitate. This precipitate is : then fluxed and smelted in which pro­cess the gold is deposited to the bottom: of the mould and the slag to the top. TThis bottom is then smelted again and poured into a har of precipitate bullion which is deposited in the bank for sale to the mint. At the present time 52 men are em­ployed at this mine and the fortnightly paysheet amounts to slightly over £800. This means a lot to the town. This is in direct wages only. If indirect amounts paid to firewood contractors and so on were added, the benefit to the town would be much greater. Some interesting figures of mInes operations are as follows this Proceeds of 'Gold Won 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 £4608 5354 7548 11047 9166 £6087 7679 11264 17386 12760 £3504 4722 7203 15785 9110 £14199 17755 26015 44218 33638 Wages Paid. For Above Period It is important to note that the whole of these wages would be spent in or around Charters Towers. 1945 £8245 1946 10763 1947. 16719 1948 19001 . 1949 23407 Another promising mine just com­ing. into production is the "Ladybird