Southland Silica is a privately owned and operated business located in Mosgiel, a suburb of Dunedin in the province of Otago, New Zealand. The Waimumu Stream Deposit is located just 5km from Gore and Highway 1. Our closest port is South Port which is located 80km away. The City of Dunedin and Port Chalmers are at a distance of approximately 160km. Both Southport and Port Chalmers are important international ports in New Zealand with many international shipping carriers.
After a thorough scientific analysis of a number of potential gold resources we were indeed fortuitous to discover that the host horizon for the gold at Waimumu Stream was actually a world class deposit in terms of silica purity. We now understand that the same geologic process that enhanced the gold grades also contributed to the concentration of the silica resource.
Our corporate philosophy is to operate utilising the most modern and efficient environmental standards. We have constructed an environmental bund to separate the mine from view from the adjacent Gore to Te Tipua Road. In addition the recycled water that feeds the scrubbing and screening plant is separated from the Waimumu Stream by a carefully crafted wilderness area. Native trees have been planted around a ponding area and a pest eradication programme has encouraged the reintroduction of such native wildlife as blue heron, pukeko, ducks and other waterfowl.
