Cyanide baths

Directions to your 8th story point: continue on Fiddlers Track up the steep slope. The Union Jack Mine is to your left. The track descends to a turnaround place. Distance to story point 8 is 230 metres. Drive slowly or walk mindfully. You can park the car and turn around here. Pause the video and play to learn more.

A more industrial-scale method of separating gold was used in larger company mines like the Union Jack Mine after the 1890s. Cyanide (or vat leaching) mixes finely crushed ore with cyanide salt in water. The cyanide binds to the golden ions and makes them soluble in water, thereby allowing the separation from the rock.