Melba Flats, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Melba Flats is a railway siding on the Emu Bay Railway east of Zeehan
that served as a terminus for trains carrying copper
ore from the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
in west coast
Tasmania
, once the Emu Bay Railway ceased services into the Zeehan townsite.
The section of line near Melba Flats was operational by December 1900.
The Rosebery to Zeehan connection closed on the 14 August 1965, however the Rosebery to Melba Flats section re-opened on the 15 January 1970.
The Mount Lyell company had trucks deliver the ore along the Queenstown to Zeehan road to this siding.
The Melba Flats area is the site of numerous historical workings; hand workings and hand constructed mining shafts dating back to the 1880's. Lead
, zinc
, silver
, tin
and nickel
have been located in varying quantities in the area.
Allegiance Mining
are planning to open pit mine niccolite
and pentlandite
, copper, gold and platinum minerals from small deposits on Melba Flats.
Zeehan, Tasmania
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies southwest of Burnie. At the 2006 census, Zeehan had a population of 845. It is part of the Municipality of West Coast....
that served as a terminus for trains carrying copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
ore from the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on the 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania.Following consolidation of...
in west coast
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, once the Emu Bay Railway ceased services into the Zeehan townsite.
The section of line near Melba Flats was operational by December 1900.
The Rosebery to Zeehan connection closed on the 14 August 1965, however the Rosebery to Melba Flats section re-opened on the 15 January 1970.
The Mount Lyell company had trucks deliver the ore along the Queenstown to Zeehan road to this siding.
The Melba Flats area is the site of numerous historical workings; hand workings and hand constructed mining shafts dating back to the 1880's. Lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
have been located in varying quantities in the area.
Allegiance Mining
Allegiance Mining
Allegiance Mining is an Australian nickel mining company.Its sole operation is the Averbury mine on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia...
are planning to open pit mine niccolite
Niccolite
Nickeline or niccolite is a mineral consisting of nickel arsenide, NiAs, containing 43.9% nickel and 56.1% arsenic.Small quantities of sulfur, iron and cobalt are usually present, and sometimes the arsenic is largely replaced by antimony...
and pentlandite
Pentlandite
Pentlandite is an iron-nickel sulfide, 9S8. Pentlandite usually has a Ni:Fe ratio of close to 1:1. It also contains minor cobalt.Pentlandite forms isometric crystals, but is normally found in massive granular aggregates. It is brittle with a hardness of 3.5 - 4 and specific gravity of 4.6 - 5.0 and...
, copper, gold and platinum minerals from small deposits on Melba Flats.