Scotia

Mining at the Scotia Mine near Gladstone, 140 kilometres from Launceston, in North East Tasmania, began in 1881 following the formation of the Scotia Tin Mining Company. A decline in production forced the mine to close in 1908. In 2005 a mining lease was granted to Van Dieman Mines Pty Ltd that covered the Scotia mineral resource area. Van Dieman Mines Pty Ltd soon went about re-commencing mining operations at the old disused mine site, as well as developing other deposits to the north of the old mine workings. At the time it was estimated there was a minimum of 14,343 tonnes of tin oxide as well as gold and sapphire remaining in the area. However, the management soon struck hard times and the Van Dieman Mines Pty Ltd went into Administration in 2009 and the mine was once again closed.

Tin Dragon Pty Ltd has subsequently acquired the assets previously held by Van Dieman Mines Pty Ltd and is currently in the process of trying to find a buyer as it is claiming all Scotia mine assets can be acquired by purchasing the unencumbered Tin Dragon Pty Ltd itself.

When the Scotia Mine was last operating under the Van Dieman Mines Pty Limited licence, the infrastructure included a gravity processing plant, tailings dam and a dam that provided the mine water supply. There was also a clean up facility constructed at Gladstone that provided the final treatment of the mined concentrate.

The Scotia Mine consisted of a staged open pit with pit conveyors used to return the overburden immediately into the void behind the ore face as the mining progressed. The ore was processed on- site before being transported into Gladstone.

The latest development at the old disused Scotia mine site has been the announcement of public concern regarding the proposed releasing of 1,000 million litres of water from the Scotia Mine tailings dam. It has been claimed the water is to released into Ringarooma River.

The Scotia lead was the first to be located in north east Tasmania when it was part of the Gladstone Tin Field, a mineralised field that was producing tin from the earliest days of tin mining in the state. The Scotia mine continued with uninterrupted production until it was forced to close in 1908. By 1891 the Scotia company has opened six different working faces close to the Ringarooma River. In 1901 it was the leading tin producer in north eastern Tasmania.

The Scotia Mine main area and open cut covers about 30 hectares. The open cut is a single area consisting of shallow workings to its eastern and southern side with deeper workings to the north east and north, with some faces up to 20 metres high. The floor of the pit is rather flat and shows signs of sediment areas that have not been mined. There are also tailing mounds of various types and in places mine workings bottom out on bedrock.
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