Welcome to the Cumberland Chimney, you are going to be glad we got you to stop here, the Lagoon and its birdlife are amazing, But before we let you go off and look at that we need to present a very quick Earth Science Lesson.
Cumberland was born when gold was discovered there in 1872 and the first prospecting claim was registered in that same year. By 1878, it was one of the major producers of gold in the Etheridge goldfield. The Cumberland Company dammed nearby Cumberland Creek to create a permanent water supply for the township.
High levels of gold production continued through the 1880s peaking in 1886, and the town grew to a population of about 400 people. In 1885 a police station and telegraph station were established along with Cumberland Post Office. Both the Queensland Government Savings Bank and the Bank of New South Wales had branches here there was a school and 4 hotels. Cumberland produced 65,713 oz of gold from ore averaging 1oz 18 dwt gold per ton. In the primary zone, the gold in the reefs contains pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite.
Todays Earth Science lesson isn’t about Gold as you may have predicted, Geo daughter (4.5) was fascinated by the shiny fairy sparkles she saw everywhere on the ground, this took Geo mum back to her childhood where she often saw a similar thing in the Murray River. Have you noticed them?
What we are referring to is the mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold, hence the well-known nickname of fool's gold. The color has also led to the nicknames brass, brazzle, and Brazil, primarily used to refer to pyrite found in coal.
Pyrite is the most common of the sulfide minerals. Pyrite is usually found associated with other sulfides or oxides in quartz veins, sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock, as well as in coal beds and as a replacement mineral in fossils. Despite being nicknamed fool's gold, pyrite is sometimes found in association with small quantities of gold.
So we have identified Pyrite for you, now to successfully log this Earth Cache we need you to:
1.Find a piece ( there are plenty of big enough pieces here to place in your hand and see it clearly). Examine it and describe it?
2. Why is it here and why is it laying about everywhere?
3. What was this particular Chimney here at Cumberland used for?
To help you answer these questions you may need to do some further reading, when you are happy with your answers please submit them via email or the GC message system.
You are welcome to log your answers straight away to keep your TB's and Stats in order but please message us with your answers within 24 hours. Cachers who do not fulfil the Earth Cache requirement will have their logs deleted.
Source: Wikipedia
