Mount Lyell Copper Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Meet at 2 Orr Street, Queenstown 7467.
Open:
Fee:	Adults NZD 18, Children (3-18) NZD 9. [2007]
Classification:	Copper Mine
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=1 h.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Douggies Underground Mine Tours, PO Box 90, Queenstown 7467, Tel: +61-3-6471-1472, Cell: +61-407-049-612, Fax: +61-3-6471-1472. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1903	mine started.

Geology

Description

Mount Lyell Copper Mine is an abandoned open pit mine, once Australias largest mine, and part of the characteristic bare hills of Queenstown. Excavation remains and poisonous rivers are the environmental heritage of more than 100 years of mining. But the new owners of the mine, probably forced by the government, have a major redevelopment going on. The hills are renaturated, plants grow and gravel is transformed into a football oval.

This surface tour shows the open pit, the excavation remains and the best view of the valley and the town below. The Prince Lyell Poppet Head and the concentration mill are also part of the tour.