Tanami gold

In 1900 gold was discovered at The Granites in the Tanami Desert. By 1911, the year in which Lionel Gee's report was published, the gold field had been largely abandoned.

In 1909 HYL Brown, the South Australian government geologist, visited the Tanami gold fields. Water shortage was an extreme problem. The miners were dry- blowing to extract the gold. One miner extracted 180 ounces from about 21 pounds of rock. This generated a small rush despite the isolation of the field. Lionel Gee was appointed the warden and magistrate. But the water shortages spelled an end to the field as a whole. Only a few persistent men continued to work, extracting just sufficient gold to finance their efforts.

Brown had believed the field held gold, but at a depth, a view that has been upheld by the latest developments in miniing exploration.

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