MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINE
7 BIDDY MACS ROAD LEXTON, PYRENEES SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINE - History
While there is no specific documentary evidence about Muscat Prospector Mine, it is reasonable to conclude that it was for extracting gold from the quartz. Several large gold mining companies operated in the area including the Northern Hope Company, The Sons of Freedom groups of companies and an English company called The Carter's Deep Leads. The site, as it is not a commercial venture, nor is it particularly extensive, is most likely the result of a property owner attempting small scale ad hoc prospecting in the late nineteenth century or more likely the early twentieth century.
MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINE - Archaeological Significance
The larger pit is sub-oval in shape measuring 5m in length northwest - southeast,1.5m in width northeast - southwest with a maximum depth of 0.8m. The pit is concave in profile with a flat base. Remnants of a vertical wooden retaining wall (plank n= 6; wall 100 x 60 x 10cm) line the inner north end of the pit. A fragment of a wooden ladder on the base may suggest that a backfilled shaft may also be present. The pit is flanked on the east and west sides by irregular banks of upcast material (broken and crushed quartz in a matrix of clayey silt), on average 2-3m in width and 0.6m in height. Three smaller sub-oval pits are cut into the west bank, measuring on average 2m in length, 1 m in width and 0.6m in depth.
Site is likely to have had limited disturbance.
MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINE - Interpretation of Site
The larger pit (phase 1 activity) is likely a quartz extraction pit with excavated material heaped around the edge where, in pursuit of gold, quartz was broken and crushed. The smaller pit (phase 2 activity) is likely a later fossick pit where previously excavated material was reworked. The site represents two phases of ad hoc gold prospection.
Heritage Inventory Description
MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINE - Heritage Inventory Description
The Muscat Prospector Mine is located in a paddock under grass in the south eastern most corner of the Muscat property off Muscat Road on the southern side of the Beaufort- Lexton Road. The site comprises one large and three smaller open, hand dug, sub-soil cut pits.
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MUSCAT PROSPECTOR MINEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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