INTRODUCTION TEACHERS EXHIBITION NOTES 1

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2 INTRODUCTION Like the deep ocean, the highest mountain peaks or outer space, the environment and atmosphere of an underground mine is a rarefied one, alien and extraordinary. It is a place of pitch-black, hot, humid, claustrophobic conditions. The sheer weight of the earth hangs above. A complex mix of earth and environmental sciences, economics, engineer-ing, explosives, chemistry, construction and heavy machinery are combined to locate and extract precious natural resources from within the earth s equally complex crust. It is a workplace like no other, in a world restricted to a select few. The Tasmania Mine Holographic Experience is a multimedia exhibit that recreates the contemporary underground environment, working culture and various methods employed in mining and processing gold at Beaconsfield. Incorporating holograms, audio and video, access is given to the otherwise off-limits world plunging 1.2 kilometres deep into the West Tamar geology. Concentrating on key features of gold & gold mining, the Tasmania Mine Holographic Experience presents the stark contrast of modern methods and technologies, as compared with those of the historic operation on this site ( ). Students have the opportunity to consider changes in design and technology, relationships between humans, the earth, and its precious resources, and the continuing economic, environmental and cultural significance of the mining industry in Australia. TEACHERS EXHIBITION NOTES 1

3 ENTER> WHAT YOU WILL SEE Entering the exhibit, ten choices are available from the touch screen. Each component combines video footage, audio commentary and holographic imagery to discuss the following topics: WHAT IS DOWN THERE As a result of the rock-fall and rescue of 2006, the Tasmania Mine headframe at Beaconsfield has become a nationally & internationally recognised piece of architecture. But it is only a tiny visual clue to a much larger and more complex architecture and infrastructure hidden below it and beneath the town. A holographic fly-through of the mine schematics shows the orientation, layout and depth of the operation as it follows the gold bearing Tasmania Reef deep into the earth. Mine animation holograph still shots. TEACHERS EXHIBITION NOTES 2

4 MINING LINGO Over time, a unique dialect has developed in undergroung mining. Words and word combinations unfamiliar to us above ground are used, a type of foreign language, and seemingly familiar words have entirely different meanings in the underground context. NO SUIT & TIE JOB WATER CAN FLOW UPHILL When workers descend the shaft into the mine, they rapidly leave the environment we know and enter another world. To work safely underground, they must wear specific clothing and carry specialised equipment, which is detailed in this segment. The historic ruins that the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre occupies once housed possibly the largest mine dewatering pumps in the world when they were installed at the beginning of the 20th century. The volumes of water pumped out were staggering. Water is no less an issue for the contemporary mine operation. Follow the flow of water uphill from the bottom of the mine to the surface. ENGINEERING A MINE Mining gold at Beaconsfield involves far more than simply digging it out of the ground. There are considerations such as supplying fresh air to the labyrinth of tunnels and drives over a thousand metres underground, pumping millions of litres of water to the surface, monitoring seismic activity and controlling the stability of the rock faces, and how to do all of this safely and economically. KEEPING IT TOGETHER How do you handle the enormous stresses of the earth as you dig deep within its crust? Rock-bolting. Patterns of mesh and rock-bolts decorate the walls and roofs of the underground drives, transferring weight and pressure and preventing rock-fall. TEACHERS EXHIBITION NOTES 3

5 A MAJOR VEHICLE FLEET The vastly scaled-up mining operations of today are perhaps best represented by the machinery that moves around in the darkness below. The various vehicles and heavy machinery sent underground for specific tasks are detailed, as is the unique way they get down there. FINDING THE GOLD Geologists combine with engineers to closely follow the irregular, twisting and fragmenting quartz/gold vein down through the complicated and diverse rock types that bound it. Drill rigs extract core-samples which are analysed for rock type, structure, and mineral intersection. Geophysics is employed to see the terrane in three dimensions. Samples are taken from the working faces, and resource quantities and grades of gold per tonne are estimated. GETTING THE GOLD OUT This is explosive! An almost daily performance of geologists, engineers, drilling teams and shot firers, all involved in a choreographed preparation of the gold bearing quartz reef for an event that always ends with a BOOM! GOLD BENEATH YOUR FEET Trace gold, from extraction and processing at Beaconsfield, shipment to the Perth Mint in Western Australia where it undergoes final refinement, and on to final destinations in vaults, electronics equipment, medication, teeth fillings, as jewellery, on skyscrapers and space-craft. You may be surrounded by gold and not know it. TEACHERS EXHIBITION NOTES 4

6 For further information on the TASMANIA MINE HOLOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE exhibition, or to book a visit, please contact us: Telephone Fax museum@wtc.tas.gov.au P O Box 59 West Street Beaconsfield TAS Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre, Beaconsfield, 2011.