Location 196
Location #196. The Royal Standard Battery.
Map 7
Address

Area

Quartzville

Description

Location #196. The Royal Standard Battery. Quartzville. The location of this battery in Quartzville has not been confirmed at this time.


Still Standing

No



Construction Details


Location Type

Stamper Battery


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Interested Parties

The table below shows the groups of people that had an interest in this property, either as owners, residents, tenants or shareholders. Clicking on the 'Details' link will display a list of the individuals in the group along with any known historical information about them.

Group Date Description
1 1870 - 1880 The Royal Standard Quartz mining Company Details
2 1880 - 1889 The last Chance Mining Company (or directors who may have formed new companies) Details
3 1889 John Pryde (Kawarau Colliery - location #386) Details
Notes

The table below shows any historical notes about the location.

Note Date Short Description Note Text
2360 1870 Location of the battery. The exact location of the battery is unknown at this time. It was constructed in Quartzville rather than at the Royal Standard mine which was situated approx 6.5 kms up the Carrick Range. The Bull Spur Road was constructed as the mining access road.
2361 1870 Company formation. In November of 1870 the Royal Standard Quartz Mining Company was floated as a limited liability company with a capital of eight thousand, four hundred pound (£8,400) in shares of one hundred and fifty pound each (£150). The directors were mess'rs Robert Elliot Dagg (proprietor of the Clutha Hotel in Cromwell), I Loughnan, R A Loughnan, Edwin Jones, John Alves, William Shanley (store owner of Cromwell) and John Francis. It was decided to build a quartz crushing battery at Quartzville so that the battery could be used as a public battery as well as crushing the ore from the company's mine in the upper Pipeclay Creek area. Before the battery was complete, arrangements had been made to crush the ore for the Elizabeth, Star and Golden Phoenix companies. These mines were approx 3.2 kms further uphill from Quartzville in an area later to be known as Carricktown. The battery may have been constructed by John Alves. On December 19, the Royal Standard Battery was christened by Mrs Corse of Cromwell with a bottle of champagne. Mrs Corse was the wife of Doctor James Corse, the first medical practitioner in Cromwell. Dr Corse was a popular local figure and was involved in a number of local mining ventures. The crushing machine initially consisted of a battery of four, four hundred-weight (200kg) revolving stamps, working in a cast iron coffer or stamper box which was fed by hand. The battery was powered by an 8 hp steam engine with the coal being delivered by dray from a pit in Adams Gully owner by Mr Alexander McLoughlan. The gold saving applicance consisted of mercury in the coffer, amalgamating tables, and ten feet of blanket strakes, laid at an inclination of about two inches per foot. The battery was a public crushing machine and crushed ore for many companies in the area as well as that of the Royal Standard.
2362 1871 General notes. In November of 1871, another battery of four stamps were added to the crushing machine to cope with the increase in production of ore. The company had just undertaken to crush ore from the Caledonian Mine which was being developed nearby. The Caledonian Company later erected their own battery. The Royal Standard Company employed two men to run their battery. The only public crushing battery on the Carrick Range, the Royal Standard crushing charges were : (in pounds-shillings-pence) 10-20 tons 1-10-0 20-30 tons 1-5-0 30-40 tons 1-0-0 40-50 tons 0-18-0 50-100 tons 0-16-0 100 tons and over 0-14-0 The cartage cost of ore from the various mines using this battery was very high, at between 20-30 shillings per ton. This meant that in general, only higher grade ore was carted to the battery. As mines became more profitable, some erected their own batteries which made processing poorer grade ore more economic. In general high grade ore was considered stone expected to pay an ounce per ton.
2363 1872 General notes. In March of 1872, the Royal Standard Battery was busy crushing stone for all of the smaller mines in the area. The battery was upgraded with a total of ten rotating stamps driven by a 12 hp steam engine. Quartz mining was booming and crushing charges had been raised to a sliding scale from 14 to 30 shillings per ton.
2364 1874 General notes. In May, the Royal Standard Quartz Mining Company who had already abandoned their mines, decided to wind up the company and sell their battery. They had found that the charges paid by the miners for crushing was not profitable and the miners refused to pay an hourly base rate of ten shillings for the battery. It appears that the sale never took place and probably was a device to convince the miners to pay the price they demanded.
2365 1880 The battery was sold to the Last Chance Mining Company. The battery was sold to the Last Chance Mining Company.
2366 1880 Battery sold to the Last Chance Mining Company. In March of 1880 the Royal Standard Quartz Mining Company closed its operations with the sale of their battery to the Last Chance mining Company. The Last Chance company had taken up the old 'Try Again' reef which at one time had been known as the 'White Horse' and the 'Crown and Cross'. The company had their first crushing of 180 tons in May and recovered 140 ounces of gold. It appears that the battery was still used as a 'public' battery to crush other mining companies ore.
2367 1881 General notes. In January of 1881 the 'Try Again' crushed 190 tons of ore for 157 ounces of gold. It appears that the Royal Standard Battery continued to crush stone for various mining companies for some time. Some existing companies folded and new ones were formed, Mostly these companies were run by the same few miners and shareholders, some of who had been involved in the original Royal Standard Company. It is unclear if the Royal Standard Battery changed hands during this time or was under contract to crush stone for different companies.
2368 1889 The battery was sold to John Pryde. Reef mining on the Carrick had practically finished and in February John Pryde purchased the Royal Standard Battery.
2369 1889 General notes. In February of 1889, John Pryde (Kawarau Colliery) purchased the Royal Standard Battery and removed the 12 hp steam engine to use in his Kawarau Colliery (location #183). It is unclear what became of the crushing battery and the gold saving appliances.
Images

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Image Id Source Date Short Description