The Belara and Native Bee base metal deposits were discovered prior to 1875, and operated intermittently to 1907 during which time the Belara mine had yielded (with intermittent working) some 260t of metallic copper from 8,000t of ore. In 1908, the maximum vertical depth of the Belara workings was recorded as 60m, with drives on three levels. Lode widths varied from 0.5 to 3m. Reported average mining grades were as follows: 3%-5% Cu, 2.0-4.5g/t Au, and 2-3oz Ag. At the time of mining, Zn and Pb were not economically important metals and the average grades of these metals, which are present in the lodes, were not reported. Exploration subsequent to mining has suggested that the mineralisation is similar to the well known Kuroko type.
The Native Bee workings opened the lode through four shafts over a length of 137m, and to a depth of 27m. Lode widths varied from 0.1m to 0.6m. The Native Bee mine yielded approximately 25t of metallic copper from 500t of ore before production ceased in 1908. No further production is recorded for either of the two mines after 1908. It is understood from previous exploration programs that the Native Bee mineralisation and metal association is similar in type to that at Belara.
The Belara workings are present over at least 500m, with stope production over some 100m. The underground levels show a dip 75° to the east and the strike is about 340° magnetic parallel with both the cleavage and regional bedding. Early workers have interpreted the mineralisation to be in a shear or fault.
Smelters were built at both the Belara and Native Bee mines to process the ore.
The Belara lode has been drilled by more than a dozen diamond drill holes. The lode has been found to consist of massive and disseminated pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite mineralisation with an upper zone enriched in sphalerite and galena.
The Native Bee base metal sulphide bearing lode occurs along strike from the Belara lode in an identical stratigraphical position. It is not known from exploration conducted whether continuous sulphide mineralisation at depth between the Belara and Native Bee areas exists.
Mineralisation and Exploration Targets
22 diamond drill holes for 3,905m have been drilled into Belara and Native Bee since 1968. Drill hole intersections of the Belara lode have shown the lode thickness to vary considerably. The depth extension of the Belara lode has not been proved. The most recent drilling in 1993 shows the lode to be open at to the north with the deepest intercept being:
6.0 metres @ 6.9% zinc, 2.5% lead, 83 g/t silver, 0.6% copper and 0.46 g/t gold from 304m downhole.
The Belara lode is documented to have a known strike length of approximately 600m.
There are no JORC compliant resources estimated for Belara or Native Bee. In 1980, Newmont estimated a mineral inventory based on the diamond drilling conducted by Cominco in 1968 of 700, 000 tonnes of 0.85% Cu, 2.3% Pb, 5.9% Zn and 55g/t Au.
Further to the Newmont estimate, CRA Exploration Pty Ltd and Aztec Mining Limited drilled a further 5 diamond drill holes and conducted downhole EM geophysical surveys. In 2002, Mt Conqueror Minerals NL held the project and engaged an independent resource consultant who estimated a potential resource of 780,000t – 3,100,000t of ore grading an average of 4.4% Zn, 1.5% Pb, 0.7% Cu and 50 g/t Ag.
