Charters Towers Shaft Repair Program
Charters Towers was founded in the 1870s following discovery of gold at Towers Hill on Christmas Eve 1871. Ten major gold reefs were eventually mined and hundreds of shafts were sunk.
Public safety and health issues are associated with subsidence around historic shafts, old wells, trenches, dumps and unconsolidated fill. Remnant tailings deposits known as the ‘red and white dumps’, located at the base of Towers Hill, also contain about 20,000m3 of contaminated material. The dumps are part of a heritage listing.
At present, 1,160 actual and potential shaft sites have been catalogued within the Charters Towers city limits area.
The objectives of the Charters Towers Shaft Repair program are to:
- respond to public notifications of possible shafts or legacy mining features
- provide information on the location of known legacy shafts and mining features through an online undermining search which is available on GeoResGlobe—the abandoned mines layer allows users to view mine locations.
View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: Charters Towers, Latitude -20.0788000, Longitude 146.2575000
Commodity: Gold
Mining type: Historical underground
Date of abandonment: N/A
Status: Shaft investigation and remediation as required
Native title interest: Ngrragoonda Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC
Public land registers: Parcels of affected land are listed on the Environmental Management Register and the Contaminated Land Register
Map
Deane Street heritage remediation
Deane Street has been remediated to make the shaft safe while maintaining existing heritage and tourism values. Glass capping of the shaft and installation of a shade structure will enhance the user experience for the visiting public and complements Charters Towers Regional Council’s nearby Miners’ Memorial Walk.
Key risks
Health and safety risks associated with:
- potential subsidence under buildings, roads or in areas with unrestricted public access
- recreational use of the red and white dumps which creates dust and potential exposure to contaminated tailings material
- abandoned mill sites (Brilliant Deeps and Rainbow Mills).
Environmental risks associated with contaminated tailings material.
Completed works
- More than 400 shafts have been made safe since 1996
- Red and white tailings deposits have been fenced to prevent people accessing the contaminated tailings material
Planned works
- Ongoing investigation of shaft notifications and remediation as required.
- Finalise works at Deane Street.