Lagoon Creek Gold Mine

Trip Report – Lagoon Creek Gold Mine
Saturday 19th June 2021

On Saturday 19 June 2021 we met at a chilly Lithgow at 8.30 for a day of fun in the bush. Present were

After driving through Sunny Corner (which it was for once) we turned onto the dirt in the Sunny Corner State Forest. Fairly quickly the going became challenging as the track had some very big ruts. These needed to be straddled but occasionally people fell in.

The pace was slow (but fun) as we guided each other over these challenging obstacles.
Late in the morning we reached the mine site and stopped for a combined morning tea and lunch. The temperature was around 6 degrees (which it had been most of the morning and was to remain for the rest of our time in the Forest) and during this time the sun disappeared as solid cloud arrived.

After lunch we went looking for the mine boiler, which had alluded people on the recce. It was more than a minute before it was spotted. We entered one of the mine shafts and explored it until we could go no further – about 100 meters. It was a relatively easy walk as the floor was even, the walls fairly smooth and the ceiling around five foot high. We then went up to the boiler which was inspected thoroughly and the process of its transportation to the current location speculated upon in detail. We then went into another mine shaft which was shorter than the first and ended half way up a narrow but long and high crevice. Finally we proceeded to a small waterfall and then back to the cars.

The trip out (along a different track) was much the same as coming in, except that going uphill meant that drivers came to grief more often. Interestingly, where some people got stuck, others made it look fairly routine, only to have that situation reversed a few obstacles later. By the end it seemed to me that most people had been stuck a couple of times throughout the day. However I was tail-end-Charlie and those up front may have faired better (they were often out of sight).
We reached the tar about 4.30pm where we aired up and had afternoon tea. At this point the trip formally concluded. However, we then proceeded to Hungry Jacks at Lithgow and shared a brief meal before going our separate ways.
The mine site was interesting, the driving fun and the company great. Thanks to Francois for organising and leading (with Eric and Roger who also lead at certain stages). And thanks to Eric for removing a few trees along the way.

Alex Ralston