MINE HISTORY
The Charing Cross Prospect is one of the many showings that was
explored during the 1850's. During this period of activity lasting
from 1854 until 1859, the six levels were excavated and shaft was
sunk through a distance of 150 feet from the No.2 adit level to the 65
fathom cross cut. Sawkins J.G. (1869) reports that the company
shipped 207 tons of copper - ore to Liverpool which assayed 14.3%
copper and over 2 ounces gold per ton; the range of copper values
appears to have been from 14 to 23%.
In April if 1858, Captain , (M.Eng., C.Eng.), visited Jamaica and
inspected all the operating "mines" in the country. His
recommendations at Charing Cross were to sink an engine shaft
from surface to depth to investigate the mineralized vein. The
company "Wheal Jamaica Copper Company" carried out this
recommendation and such a shaft from the No.2 adit level to the 65
fathom crosscut level as this was drained by the existing workings
and required no machinery. Following the completion of the shaft
and faced with the necessity to subscribe additional funds to purchase
the required machinery for an engine shaft, the Company suspended
operations due to an inability to raise additional funds.
There is no record of any further work being carried out at the
Charing Cross mine, although during the early 1900's, the area was
again looked at by mining interests from the U.S. In the 1950's, two
adits were reopened by the Jamaica Copper & Iron Company Ltd.,
for a total length of over 2000 feet. During 1954 - 1955, Base Metal
Mining Corp. held an exploration license over an area which included
the Charing Cross Prospect although only reconnaissance exploration
was carried out. During that period, Geophysical Engineering
Services acted as contractor to Jamaica Copper Iron Ltd., the
Charing Cross adits were cleaned out and investigated.
While the deposit was considered to be mineable at the right price for
copper (Bergy 1957), no such work was initiated at the time. During
1958, Bergy reports that certain high grade sections of the Charing
Cross vein contain good gold values with one nine inch section
reportedly assaying 0.67 oz. gold per ton. During 1989-1990, Trevcorp
carried out a program of rehabilitation on the No. 5 adit followed by
an underground sampling program on the mineralized shear zone
exposed through a distance of 300 feet.
The sampled section of the vein was channel sampled and results
obtained showed an average grade of 9.16% copper and 0.22 oz. of
gold per ton over an average width of 1.5 feet. A program of surface
geophysical surveying was also carried out to identify additional
structures. Trevcorp has also completed a surface soil geochemical
program which investigated, in part, extensions of the Charing Cross
mineralized system.
MINERALIZATION
At the Charing Cross Prospect and immediate area, mineralization
consists of various copper minerals. Sawkins in his report on Charing
Cross remarked, "The character of the ores is in many particulars as
those of Cuba - the carbonates overlying the oxides, and the oxides
the sulphurets, the two latter being separated by quartz and iron
pyrites..."
The principal carbonates that have been identified in hand specimen
are malachite, azurite and calcite; oxides include cuprite and
chalcocite; sulfides include chalcopyrite, bornite and covellite; other
copper bearing minerals include turquoise and chrysocolla.
On surface outcrops all minerals, except for the sulfides, are present
in gossans, generally accompanied by orange and yellow and rusty
iron staining. Little quartz or other gangue minerals are present in
outcrop. Gossans are reported to carry over 2 ounce gold per ton.
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