Adelong gold

Adelong is situated 14 kilometres west of Tumut. Payable gold mineralisation, both reef and alluvial, was first discovered at Adelong in the year 1857, and the total yield of the Adelong field over a productive life of nearly 100 years is estimated to be about 21 234 kilograms. As such, Adelong ranks as one of the major gold-producing districts in NSW.

The only detailed description of the geology of the Adelong Gold Field is that by Harper (1916), based largely on a study of those underground workings accessible at the time of his survey. The history of mining operations at Adelong from 1875 to the present is outlined in successive Annual Reports of the NSW Department of Mines.

This Primefact looks at:

• historical outline
• geology
• gold mineralisation
• reef deposits
• reefs in the Wondalga Granodiorite and the Maragle Batholith Basic Dykes
• fissure lodes associated with Basic Dyke Emplacement in the Wondalga Granodiorite
• source: veins of the Wondalga Granodiorite
• Gibraltar, Victoria, Currajong, Caledonian, Old Hill, Middle, Donkey Hill Line, Lady Mary and Gadard Reefs
• alluvial deposits.