The Shetland Reef was discovered in March 1862 and mining begun by early 1863 (Easdale &Jacomb n .d.).
The OPQ Gold Mines co ltd was floated on the London market in 1897.the company took over the OPQ Reefing claim from the NZ Minerals co About 30 men were employed in sinking a shaft, erecting a battery and opening up the reef. By the end of a year they had pulled out about 100 tons of ore which assayed at 14 dwt/ton/.
Many problems were encountered in mining the reef, one was dealing with ground water, another, and major one was the presence of Arsenical pyrites in the lode which made the recovery of gold difficult and running at only about 70 to 75 per cent of the assayed lode value. Some 851 ozs gold were returned for 1899.
News reports were favourable right up to the date when the mine was closed.
optimism about future of mine and then
Waipori Ball
just before the axe suddenly fell only weeks later after the shareholders took their profits and closed the mine.
mine closure
Park near to the DOC sign on the Lawrence-Waipori road at s 45 50.762 e 169 53.251 on the wide grassy verge.
Cross through the hole in the fence into the reserve, walking down the hill until you reach the mine dump at S 45 50.868 E 169 53.288. Now you are almost there, the fenced shaft is close by. The concrete base for the winding gear is still in place with some of the rotten timbers. Alongside there is the remains of a mine bucket.
The cache is located above GL and is hidden from view.