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Mining Industries on the Monaro

Summary

Kiandra from its history is surely amongst the richest areas of the Commonwealth. It has suffered as mining generally on Manaro has suffered, from lack of systematic development. It is impossible that in a few short months spasmodic digging revealed the treasures that nature had stored up during countless centuries, and Kiandra is waiting, as it has waited for so many years, to yield to determined systematic effort the wealth it has hidden under its hills and snow-fed waters.

Manaro is a district that has never been systematically worked, with a view to proving the extent of its metalliferous deposits, yet from the Mineral Resources of New South Wales, published by Professor Pittman, the following particulars are extracted:

At Bushy Hill, near Cooma, gold has been discovered in quartz-porphyry almost identical in appearance and general characters with the rock on which the celebrated telluride gold deposits occur at Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia.

SILVER has been located near Adaminaby, at Bredbo, Cooma, Kiandra, Matong Station (near Dalgety), Michelago, Nimitybelle, Snowy River, Tindary, and Yarrangobilly,

TIN has been found at Cooma, Kiandra, and in other parts of the Manaro

COPPER has been recovered from Adaminaby, Badger River, Buckley's Crossing, Bushy Hill, ,Cooma (near), Jindabyne, Kiandra (12 miles from Lobbs' Hole), Middle Flat, Myalla, Snowy River, Yarrangobilly.

ZINC. ORES were discovered at Bredbo and Coolamon Plains, near Kiandra.

LEAD has been reported from Bredbo, Cooma (5 miles from), Kiandra (near), Matong Station, Michelago (near), Nimitybelle, Snowy River, Yarrangobilly.

MANGANESE. Between 1888 and 1898 Manganese was encountered in the Cooma district.

TUNGSTEN. In 1891 Warden M. S. Love reported that on W. Avery's Conditional Lease at Berridale, in the Parish of Coolamatong, 20 miles S.W. of Cooma, a broken outcrop of quartz containing wolfram bad been traced for 100 yards.
A Departmental Assay yielded 54.35 per cent of tungstic acid. In 1893 another sample yielded 54.35 per cent. of tungstic acid, and indications were considered satisfactory. The area was worked for a number of years, but has now closed down.

MOLYBDENITE appears to have been found at Kiandra only in the Manaro District.

DIATOMACECIUS EARTH. Warden J. H. King reported a large area of this five miles from Cooma, and I 1/2 miles from Bunyan platform. The deposit was worked for a number of years by Mr. E. P. Margoschis, and the lease was afterwards acquired by Arthur H. Hasell & Co.

KAOLIN of a high grade has been located in large quantities, but too far away from rail to prove payable.

Transcribed by Pattrick Mould in 2003, from the book "Back to Cooma' Celebrations" page 56