Glen Valley - Maude And Yellow Girl Mining Site
Visit the Maude And Yellow Girl Mines treatment plants historic area with signage which makes for a nice picnic spot.
Gold reefs in the Glen Wills area were worked from 1891, following the failure of the tin lodes. Yellow Girl Reef was opened up in 1892, by adit on the west bank of Mt Wills Creek. The reef gave some phenomenal yields (reputedly up to 42 oz per ton), but the shoots of ore were small. From 1902, the Yellow Girl mine was worked on a larger scale. A 5-head water-driven battery, complete with gold-saving appliances, was installed close to the tunnel mouth in 1905, and its first crushing, of 2,000 tons of ore, returned 4,544 oz of gold. From a shoot of gold 150 ft in length, 121 tons of stone for crushed for 2,860 oz. The mine eventually closed in about 1917, having produced 28,000 pounds worth of gold.
The Maude and Homeward Bound mines were first worked in 1892, and by the end of the decade were amalgamated under one company. The company had a steam-driven plant. By 1907, when the mine was let on tribute, 75,820 pounds worth of gold had been produced. In 1912, the Maude Reefs Co. was formed to work the Maude and Homeward Bound. A new steam-driven battery was installed, to be replaced by a water-powered plant in 1916, shortly before the mine closed down.
The Maude and Yellow Girl Co. was formed in 1931 to work the former Maude, Homeward Bound, and Yellow Girl ground, and their mine was the focus of a mining revival at Glen Wills. Initially the 5-head Yellow Girl battery was used for crushing, but it was upgraded to ten heads before long. A 20-head battery and new treatment plant including a gyratory crusher, Wilfley tables, Watson & Denny pans, cone classifier, and eight-cell flotation machine - were installed at the Maude and Yellow Girl mine in 1941.
Operations at the mine were wound down during the later years of WW2, but by 1948 the battery was operating for two (and occasionally three) shifts daily. The mine closed down in 1952, but work continued by other parties until 1967, and the mine is currently held under lease. The workings that comprised the Maude and Yellow Girl mine yielded a total of 103,556 oz of gold - almost half the total gold production of the Mt Wills field.
Note: Although it is difficult to establish the exact management of the property, it seems clear the mine/buildings, are not publicly accessible without permission. However, tourist information for the area mentions the possibility of a visit to the area.
Location
Kangaroo Creek Track, Glen Valley 3898 Map
Web Links
→ Maude And Yellow Girl Mining Site (Victorian Heritage Database)
→ Maude and Yellow Girl Mine, Glen Valley (Gippsland History)
