North Mount Lyell Explained

North Mount Lyell was the name of a mine, mining company, locality (sometimes as North Lyell) and former railway north of Gormanston on the southern slopes of Mount Lyell in the West Coast Range on the West Coast of Tasmania, and on to the ridge between Mount Lyell and Mount Owen.

North Mount Lyell Copper Company

The company was short-lived, however the mine, orebody and workings lasted long after the company was absorbed^[1] into the workings of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company following the failure of the smelters at Crotty.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The stages of building the infrastructure of the mines, the smelters, and port at Kelly Basin were photographed by John Watt Beattie.

Founder

The company was founded by James Crotty, and was for a few years a fierce competitor with Mount Lyell. Geoffrey Blainey gives a description of the rivalry and final amalgamation in The Peaks of Lyell. As Blainey points out, the North Mount Lyell workings eventually proved vital for the Mount Lyell Company.^{[5] [6]}

Establishments

During Crotty's establishment of the company and its operations the company had:

• The North Mount Lyell mine on its lease adjacent and east of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company leases
• Shipping^[7]
• Port and railway terminus at Kelly Basin and Pillinger, Tasmania
  • Smelter and town at Crotty, Tasmania at the eastern foot of Mount Jukes and just south of the King River, Tasmania Railway terminus at Linda, Tasmania^[8]
• Aerial ropeway between North Lyell mine and Linda^{[9] [10] [11]}
• North Mount Lyell Railway

1912 disaster

The 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster is also found in Blainey's work, but for decades later there were divergent and popular accounts from the official reports that followed.

Locality

The North Lyell locality (at which some of the workers killed in the disaster had addresses) was eventually overtaken by the Mount Lyell mine workings.^[12] A rare photo of the locality is in Blainey's book.^[13]

20th century output

The development of the Mount Lyell mine depended upon the resources of the North Lyell orebody and workings well into the late twentieth century.^[14]

See also

• Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania
• West Coast Tasmania Mines

Notes and References

1. Strictly the name was North Mount Lyell Copper Co. Ltd. see –, and, and consider the 1894 report of the AGM of the North Mount Lyell Company referring to Crotty News: NORTH MOUNT LYELL COMPANY. . . LIV . 112 . Tasmania. 11 May 1894 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
2. News: CROTTY . . XXII . 274 . Tasmania. 18 November 1902 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: CROTTY. . . XXIII . 189 . Tasmania. 10 August 1903 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
4. News: MOUNT LYELL AND NORTH MOUNT LYELL COMPANIES . . 14683 . Victoria, Australia . 25 May 1903 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
5. • Book: Blainey, Geoffrey. Geoffrey Blainey. The Peaks of Lyell . 6th . St. David's Park Publishing . Hobart. 2000. 0-7246-2265-9. – Chapter 12 'The Feud of the Irishmen' – for the Bowes Kelly and James Crotty rivalry – North Mount Lyell vs Mount Lyell
6. Annual reports after the amalgamation emphasize the output and value of the North Lyell mine to the companies operations News: MOUNT LYELL, COMPANY. . . XLVI . 13,858 . South Australia . 11 November 1909 . 4 June 2016 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: NORTH MOUNT LYELL STEAMER. . The Evening News. Sydney . 2 January 1899 . 22 June 2015 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: LYELL. . . XXIV . 306 . Tasmania, Australia . 8 October 1913 . 25 October 2019 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
9. Regarding the construction and completion in 1901 – News: NORTH LYELL. . . LX . 154 . 29 June 1900 . 4 June 2016 . 2. DAILY . National Library of Australia.
10. News: LYELL. . . XX . 182 . Tasmania. 17 May 1909 . 4 June 2016 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
11. News: NORTH MOUNT LYELL. . . 4 . 670 . Tasmania, Australia . 13 August 1900 . 25 October 2019 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
12. News: North Lyell. . . XIV . 178 . Tasmania. 11 May 1903 . 4 June 2016 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
13. [The Peaks of Lyell]
14. News: MT LYELL TO CLOSE TWO MINES . . 51 . 14,528 . 5 November 1976 . 4 June 2016 . 15 . National Library of Australia. – although not very precise, the news report refers to the North Lyell operation still in working mode, but reduced capacity