Where can I find a database of abandoned mines in Australia, online?

Sir_Senlock · 14 Feb 2016, 8:32 pm

I have been looking around the internet for a while now. I can't find any mine databases, so would anyone know of a database?

dodger · 14 Feb 2016, 9:58 pm

If there was one, it wouldn't be shared here. (It's an open forum and publishing a list like this is a good way to have them all closed down/bull dozed.)

Nick · 15 Feb 2016, 8:14 am

It does exist!

The Gov maintains a cool map thing with all the expired mining leases etc,

I'll try and find the details, you'll be disappointed by it though. 99.9% of them are a mound in a paddock that was once a mullock heap. Kontour is the go-to guy for mine research, I'll try and find some links...

Bangers · 17 Feb 2016, 7:50 pm

There's one called Minedex, can't remember if it was just WA or national. I found it quite hard to navigate and its like Nick said you'll be lucky to find anything interesting anyway.

mr india · 23 Mar 2016, 4:59 pm

DMR also has an online GIS function but it's easier to spit out a CSV report on a section then search for keywords like "abandoned" or "derelict"

Nick · 24 Mar 2016, 2:41 pm

Geovic is the one I was thinking of.

Tanzer · 28 Mar 2016, 10:31 am

Western Australia is blessed with the excellent Tengraph system. It's Citrix, so meh, and clunky - designed by the public service, so what do you expect - but once you learn your way around it there is a tremendous depth of information. The historical database is great.

Then, if we're still talking WA, a copy of 'Gold and Ghosts' will come in handy.

Google earth, obviously - but you need to know what you're looking for and the signs are subtle. People may have .kmz files they are willing to share, maybe.

Then its a matter of get out there and search. WA is pretty good because there's nothing much older than 110 years and a huge amount of more modern abandoned underground mines which are usually more accessible and in better condition, just not as interesting as older stuff. Depends on the mine. Water is the enemy - can't explore that which is under water!.

Myself, I've been at it for a few decades now and I still have much left to seek out and explore. I've found too that after this long working in the industry and developing an excellent network, it's just a matter of asking the right person the right way and off you go with a set of keys, a mud map and nothing more asked than copies of any photo's and a report on ground conditions.