Historic Daydream Mine

Day Dream Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Apollyon Valley, 28 km northwest of Broken Hill on the road to Silverton. (-31.815165, 141.349829)
Open:	Victorian and New South Wales school holidays excluding summer daily 10, 11:30. Other times Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 10, 11:30. Booking by phone mandatory. [2026]
Fee:	Weekdays: Adults AUD 33, Children (-15) AUD 13, Seniors AUD 31, Students AUD 29. Sundays: Adults AUD 40, Children (-15) AUD 16, Seniors AUD 38, Students AUD 34. Holidays: Adults AUD 42, Children (-15) AUD 18, Seniors AUD 40, Students AUD 36. [2026]
Classification:	Lead Mine Zinc Mine Silver mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Historic Underground Daydream Mine, Silverton Road, Apollyon Valley, NSW, 2880, Cell: +61-427-885-682. Historic Underground Daydream Mine, 1 Brown St, Broken Hill NSW 2880, Tel: +61-8-8088-5682. 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

1882	mine opened.
1884	smelter built.
1985	mining at Broken Hill started.
1896	mine closed.
1907	mine reopened.
1921	mine closed.
1964	mine reopened.
1983	mine finally closed.

Geology

The lead-zinc-silver orebody is 7 km long and straight, and only 220 m wide, and thus it is named Line of Lode. It formed as a result of volcanic activity about 1.7 Ga ago. Mining ended in the 1970s because the metal prices on the international market went down, there is still a lot of ore underground. The lode is more than 1.5 km deep, mining happened only in the uppermost 200 or 300 m.

Description

The Daydream Mine is a very early mine, it started operation three years before mining began in nearby Broken Hill. It was opened and worked by Cornish miners. During its heyday it employed 150 men and 20 boys, the youngest only eight years old. In the early days the ore was transported to the U.K. and Germany, but in 1884 a smelter was built and the ore was processed locally.

Once the mining was very hard. The tunnels were dug by hand, and sometimes they were so narrow or low, the miners had to work on their side. Today the mine visit is very easy and suitable for all ages. Nevertheless, we recommend sturdy shoes.