Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
30° 58' 51'' South , 119° 12' 58'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Mindat Locality ID:
266606
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:266606:1
The Rutherford's Gold Mine is approximately 8 kilometres east of Bullfinch. It is located in high undulating scrubby land, as part of an extensive bush block surrounded by wheat fields. Access is difficult, tracks many and sandy, and getting lost is a possibility. The site is some 3 kilometres south from the Wither's Find Gold Mine and accessed from it. The immediate area surrounding the old workings has seen many modern exploration tracks created.
While the site is called Rutherford's Find, he was only one of a prospecting party who discovered the reef around 1927. This included Charles George Rutherford, John Moreland, Mick Brady and H.J. Hansson. All were returned soldiers from World War One. The names were provided by Hansson himself in a letter to a newspaper.
Historic information on the site is confusing. Another source states Rutherford, Goodwin and Skinner discovered the site. This was reported by Mine's Inspector H.P. Rocket in 1927. He states the reef extends for 600 metres through granite, and ranged from 2 to 20 feet wide. A large hole 20 feet wide by 5 feet deep had been dug, and some costeaning. The inspector could determine little from the workings. 800 metres north is another location, discovered about the same time, the Mines Department names Tree Frog, but modern sources name Golden Frog.
Historic production from Rutherford's is only 308 tonnes at 19.5 g/t Au, although records are possibly incomplete. The main historic workings show two shafts, 150 metres apart, with numerous pits and costeans along the line of lode.
Modern exploration claims the discovery at the site of an east-west trending tabular reef, dipping 70 degrees south. Gold is found in intersecting quartz veining in a chloritic altered granite. The quartz is white, opaque, laminated, but becomes vuggy, and heavily mineralised with pyrite around the shafts.
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This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
4 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
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Entries shown in red are rocks recorded for this region.
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References
