Umberumberka Mine - 1882 At Umberumberka quite a tent town had sprung up and with the opening of the Umberumberka mine in 1882,shanties started to replace tents and a township mushroomed into being. The Barrier Mining Silver Company and the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company encouraged the development of the field and with the influx of people,hotels and permanent buildings started to spring up. Umberumberka was located in the Albert gold district of New South Wales and as the township continued to grow it was decided by the Mines Inspector to rename the settlement, his choice being Silvertown. For some time the official reports carried the name of Silvertown, but on formation of the Barrier Ranges Association, the forerunner of Municipal Council, the name was altered to Silverton. The Umberumberka mine continued to reveal new riches as the new levels were opened up. Earlier workings had rich ores on the surface and most shows had petered out on reaching water. When water level was reached at 130 feet it was obvious that secondary enrichment was to play a vital part in the life of the mine. Until the South Australian Government Railway reached Cockburn in 1886 all ore mined by the mining companies and prospectors was bagged and freighted by bullock team to Terowie.  Freight rates to the rail head ranged from 5 pounds to 7 pounds per ton, but the freight was handled from Terowie to London for between two and three pounds per ton.  A large proportion of the ore at this period was being processed in Germany. Efforts were made to process the ore on site, but water jacket furnaces and concentrating processes alike required water, and water shortage affected operations. Throughout its history, the Umberumberka mine had a patchy career as a producer. The character of the ore kept bearing from large rich pockets to narrow veins. The lenticular habits of the ore bodies rendered a large amount of development necessary. While stoping was in progress development usually lagged. Operations were carried on uninterruptedly for ten years until the '92 water famine, then ceased.  The breaking of the drought in 1893 made it possible to reopen the mine, but once again activities were brought to a standstill by the "silver crisis"; 1893 was known as "the bad year" finance tightened, several banks failed and the industry was brought to chaos. In 1894 an attempt was made to reopen the mine, but extensive damage had been done to the lower levels by water. It was decided to sink another shaft about a half a mile west of the main shaft.  Stoping operations were carried out, but the high percentage of zinc, which was at that period a penalty content caused final cessation. In May, 1885 the prospectus was issued for the Silverton Tramway Company.  The railway passed through the Umberumberka mine lease, and in the cutting for the line rich chloride lodes were discovered.  In 1900 the Umberumberka  mine was reopened by a tribute party with very little success.  In 1953 a company was treating the dumps by cynanidation, reclaiming silver from the old tailings. Today the current Registered holder of the Umberumberka mine is Mr Craig Williams from the Pinnacle Mines.                                                                HOME