Broken Hill Ore Deposit

The Broken Hill Ore Deposit is located underneath Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Australia, and is the namesake for the town. It is arguably the world's richest and largest zinc-lead ore deposit.

Charles Sturt made a pencil sketch of the area in 1884 and noted iron ore along an isolated hill. In 1866 the Mount Gipps sheep station named their paddock, which embraced the lode outcrop, Broken Hill. However, the hill was thought to be mullock. On 5 Sept. 1883, a Mount Gipps boundary rider named Charles Rasp staked a claim on the outcrop because it looked like tin oxide as described in his prospecting guide book. With six others he staked the entire outcrop. In 1884, the syndicate reorganized as the Broken Hill Mining Company. Horn silver was discovered in 1885 and the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was organized.

Charles Rasp discovered the gossan or weathered sulfide outcrop of massive lead-zinc sulfides on a feature known as Broken Hill. Rasp reported finding massive galena, sphalerite, cerussite and other oxide minerals, but was most concerned with the galena, a primary source of lead. His reports, believed exaggerated at the time, of masses of lead in the desert, soon proved true and sparked a 'lead rush' similar to gold rushes.

Broken Hill was exploited initially by small prospectors working the gossan for easily won galena, and soon dozens of shafts were sunk. Ore was carted to South Australia by camel trains, wagons and pack mules. A major secondary source of income became apparent, with extremely high silver grades recovered, including native silver, and other rare silver minerals present in abundance.

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