Fireclay Caverns are located in the heritage-listed Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981.Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately 262 tonnes of gold, 37 tonnes of silver and387,000 tonnes of copper....

 site in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Fireclay Caverns were excavated by the Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981.Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately 262 tonnes of gold, 37 tonnes of silver and387,000 tonnes of copper....

 to provide clay for its brickworks. Excavation of the caverns ceased when the mine brickworks were decomissioned. Erosion revealed dinosaur footprints on the cavern ceilings plus the caverns also became inhabited by a colony of Bent Wing Bats. Walkways and stairs have been constructed to provide access to the dinosaur footprints as part of the mine site tours.

History

The Fireclay Caverns were excavated to supply clay to brickworks of the Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981.Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately 262 tonnes of gold, 37 tonnes of silver and387,000 tonnes of copper....

. Clay was mined from within the caverns by pick and shovel, then transferred by underground rail to a brickworks lower in the Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine

Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981.Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately 262 tonnes of gold, 37 tonnes of silver and387,000 tonnes of copper....

 site. Excavation from the caverns ceased when their clay was no longer required by the mine.

Pleseosaurs

After cavern excavations ceased, clay progressively fell from the cavern ceilings, revealing rock ceilings above. In 1953, HRE Staines, a Mount Morgan Limited geologist, identified pleseosaur footprints in the rock ceilings. Over 300 such footprints have been identified on the cavern ceilings.

Bent Wing Bat colony

After cavern excavations ceased, a colony of Bent Wing Bats began inhabiting the caverns. The sections of the caverns containing the bats are inaccessible to protect the bat habitat.