Copperfield Chimney - QLD

The town of Copperfield burst into life following the discovery of solid copper ore in 1861 and the
establishment of the Peak Downs Copper mining company.
The Peak Downs Copper Mine commenced operations in 1863, making it the first successful, large-scale copper mine in Queensland.
The copper smelting process used the Welsh reverbatory furnace, though none of the original 22 chimneys from this period have survived. The copper ingots produced were transported over 300 kilometres to the port at St Lawrence, Broadsound for export via Sydney to the international market. Mining continued with varying levels of success until 1883, and then was revived again briefly in 1906-1907 with the construction of a new smelter and stack using water-jacket rather than reverbatory technology. The chimney from this rebuild is all that remains.The chimney's restoration by Council has preserved enough of the water-jacket furnace component to give an idea of copper refinement processes in the early 1900s. Each side of the chimney base measures two metres in length, and the south side features arched openings which face the furnaces. The furnaces are in poor condition, but they indicate the enormity of the Peak Downs Copper Mines along with the remnant cement lined pits, concrete tanks, a large slag heap and numerous, scattered bricks. The bricks themselves were made by bricklayer Charles George Bettridge, who settled in Copperfield in the early 1870s and built a kiln at Sandy Creek to manufacture thousands of bricks for use in construction of the chimneys and other buildings at Copperfield. The distinctive glossy finish was achieved by sprinkling powdered glass on the surface of the bricks.
Copperfield was once a prosperous town of over 2000 residents. All that remains today are the chimney, the cemetery, and the store, but Copperfield's significance to the mining history of Queensland has not been forgotten.
To learn more, visit the Clermont Historical Centre (located on the Gregory Highway on the way to Mackay, about 400 metres beyond the roundabout on the left which contains artefacts relating to the interconnected histories of the towns of Copperfield and Clermont.