Renison Bell
Encyclopedia
Renison Bell is an underground tin
mine
and locality on the West Coast
of Tasmania
, Australia
.
was found near Argent River by George Renison Bell. He claimed land and formed the Renison Bell Prospecting Association.
In 1934 "Paddy" O'Dea amalgamated adjoining leases and mines into the Renison Associated Tin Mines NL.
In the 1970s Renison Bell gave its name to the historical conglomerate RGC (Renison Goldfields Consolidated) which once owned and operated mines in Tasmania
, Western Australia
, Queensland
, Northern Territory
, Florida
, West Virginia
, Papua New Guinea
and Indonesia
. RGC sold the Renison Bell Mine to Murchison United NL a Brisbane based Australian company, in August 1998.
Murchison United operated the Rension Bell Mine during the period of lowest tin prices in history. In July 2003 Murchison United went into administration and the mine production ceased. April 2004 saw the purchase of Renison Bell by Bluestone Tin Limited. Bluestone Tin Limited operated the mine and mill at Rension Bell, under continuing low tin prices, until placing the operation into 'care and maintenance' in September 2005. Bluestone Tin Limited, now Metals X Limited, recommissioned the mill and mine in 2008 with the first tin produced in August 2008.
It is located on the former Emu Bay Railway line, now called the Melba line and owned and operated by Pacific National Tasmania east of Zeehan
- not far from Melba Flats
, which is the current terminus of that railway line.
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...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and locality on the 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...
of 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...
, 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...
.
History
In 1890 tin-bearing gossanGossan
Gossan is intensely oxidized, weathered or decomposed rock, usually the upper and exposed part of an ore deposit or mineral vein. In the classic gossan or iron cap all that remains is iron oxides and quartz often in the form of boxworks, quartz lined cavities retaining the shape of the dissolved...
was found near Argent River by George Renison Bell. He claimed land and formed the Renison Bell Prospecting Association.
In 1934 "Paddy" O'Dea amalgamated adjoining leases and mines into the Renison Associated Tin Mines NL.
In the 1970s Renison Bell gave its name to the historical conglomerate RGC (Renison Goldfields Consolidated) which once owned and operated mines in 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...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, 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...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. RGC sold the Renison Bell Mine to Murchison United NL a Brisbane based Australian company, in August 1998.
Murchison United operated the Rension Bell Mine during the period of lowest tin prices in history. In July 2003 Murchison United went into administration and the mine production ceased. April 2004 saw the purchase of Renison Bell by Bluestone Tin Limited. Bluestone Tin Limited operated the mine and mill at Rension Bell, under continuing low tin prices, until placing the operation into 'care and maintenance' in September 2005. Bluestone Tin Limited, now Metals X Limited, recommissioned the mill and mine in 2008 with the first tin produced in August 2008.
It is located on the former Emu Bay Railway line, now called the Melba line and owned and operated by Pacific National Tasmania east of Zeehan
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....
- not far from Melba Flats
Melba Flats, Tasmania
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...
, which is the current terminus of that railway line.
Further reading
- Manny, L.B. (1962) The Boulder Tramway Australian Railway Historical Society BulletinAustralian Railway HistoryAustralian Railway History , is the premier magazine covering railway history in Australia...
, February.