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Rosebery Mine MemorialPrint Page Print this page

Rosebery Mine Memorial
Rosebery Mine Memorial

Photographs supplied by Diane Watson

The Memorial commemorates the centenary of the mining in Rosebery from 1893-1993.

In 1893, prospector Tom McDonald discovered gold in alluvial wash, along with boulders of zinc-lead sulphide in dense rainforest on the slopes of Mount Black. McDonald pegged several claims in the name of the Rosebery Prospecting Association (named after Lord Rosebery), which later became the Rosebery Gold Mining Company. The South Rosebery Mining Company was formed soon after to mine the southern continuation of the orebody.

In 1896, the Rosebery Gold Mining Company was reconstructed as the Tasmanian Copper Company, and the South Rosebery Mining Company became the Primrose Mining Company. Rosebery Post Office opened on 1 November 1897.

The main mineral found in the orebody was zinc, but due to the lack of a technique to successfully extract the zinc from the ore, little could be done to exploit the orebody. One company formed to experiment in the processing of zinc ores was the Tasmanian Metals Extraction Company (TME) who built a large plant next to the track to Williamsford, completed in 1912. The experiment was unsuccessful and the plant closed in 1914.

The Rosebery mines passed into the hands of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway company in 1916, and the mines were eventually merged with the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia (EZ), who had discovered an effective method for the extraction of zinc. In 1926, construction of a processing mill at Rosebery began, and in 1931, an aerial ropeway to transport ore from the Hercules Mine near Williamsford was completed. Due to the Great Depression, the Rosebery Mill was not completed until 1936. The mone has operates continuously since 1936.

Location

Address:Agnes Street, Rosebery, 7470
State:TAS
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -41.779235
Long: 145.539915
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Technology
Sub-Theme:Industry

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Monday 1st November, 1993
Front Inscription

ROSEBERY MINE
(detailed history of mining at Rosebery )
ROSEBERY
100 YEARS YOUNG
1893 -1993

ERECTED BY THE AUSTRALASIAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
WEST COAST TASMANIA BRANCH NOVEMBER 1993

(lower plaque)
UNVEILED ON SATURDAY, 19TH NOVEMBER 1993
BY
MR.E.A.(NED) HENDERSON
SUPERINTENDENT/ MANAGER WEST COAST MINES 
15/8/1960 - 30/3/1972

 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au