History of Australian Gold Production

	In 1851, prospector Edward Hargraves discovered  a ‘grain of gold’ in a waterhole near Bathurst, NSW, following an unsuccessful trip to California during the California gold rush.
	The discovery marked the beginning of the Australian gold rushes and a radical change in the economic and social structure of the nation.
	In 1852 New South Wales yielded 850,000oz of gold and the state of Victoria even more.
	In 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia and the economy of the nation boomed. Victoria contributed more than a third of the world’s gold output in the 1850s and in a matter of just a couple of years the State’s population had grown from 77,000 to 540,000.
	Following the gold rushes of NSW and Victoria, deposits were uncovered throughout the land, Western Australia followed first in the early 1850s.
	In 1891 the rush to the Murchison goldfields began when Tom Cue discovered gold at the town which now bears his name. In the years to come dozens of gold towns saw their light of day, including Meekatharra.

Meekatharra

	The name Meekatharra is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘place of little water’.
	Gold was first found at Meekatharra in 1894, but the success was short-lived. The only reason for the survival of the town was due to a second gold discovery in 1899.
	The railway arrived in Meekatharra in 1910 following the development of a stock route comprising 54 wells, which commenced in 1906. This ensured that the town became the railhead at the end of the stock route and this also played a significant role in the survival of the town.
	The town again experienced a significant gold rush during the mining boom of the 1980s. Mining continued until early 2005 at St Barbara Mines’ Bluebird open pit mine.
	Initially, Mercator Gold’s exploration at Meekatharra was conducted in the Annean Joint Venture with St Barbara Limited.
	In October 2005 Mercator Gold announced it was going to acquire all of St Barbara’s Meekatharra assets, including their interest in the Annean Joint Venture.