Auralia MD Daniel has been busy with some local site works out at Leonora this week and has sent in some shots of the old Leonora State Battery, first established in 1898. Consisting of two 5-stamp presses, one wood framed and the ‘newer’ one of metal, there’s talk of renovation on the horizon. Given its age and the relative scarcity of these batteries, it would be great to see the old girl restored to its former glory.
State Batteries in Western Australia were government owned and run ore-crushing facilities for the gold mining industry. Western Australia was the only Australian state to provide batteries to assist gold prospectors and small mines. They existed in almost all of the mineral fields of Western Australia. State Batteries were gold batteries where ore was crushed to separate gold ore. Stamp mills were gauged by the number of heads they had in operation for the crushing of ore (Source: Wikipedia)