Renison Bell

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Renison Bell is an underground tin mine and locality on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.

In 1890 tin-bearing gossan was found near Argent River by George Renison Bell. He claimed land and formed the Renison Bell Prospecting Association.

In 1934 "Paddy" O'Dea amalgamated adjoining leases and mines into the Renison Associated Tin Mines NL.

In the 1970s Renison Bell gave its name to the historical conglomerate RGC (Renison Goldfields Consolidated) which once owned and operated mines in Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, Florida, West Virginia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. RGC sold the Renison Bell Mine to Murchison United NL a Brisbane based Australian company, in August 1998.

Murchison United operated the Rension Bell Mine during the period of lowest tin prices in history. In July 2003 Murchison United went into administration and the mine production ceased. April 2004 saw the purchase of Renison Bell by Bluestone Tin Limited. Blustone Tin Limited operated the mine and mill at Rension Bell, under continuing low tin prices, until placing the operation into 'care and maintenance' in September 2005. Bluestone Tin Limited is in the process of re commisioning the mine and mill at Rension, under high tin prices, with a proposed startup in June 2008.

It is located on the Emu Bay Railway line east of Zeehan - not far from Melba Flats, which is the current terminus of that railway line.

[edit] References

Pink, Kerry and Crawford, Patsy (1996). Renison: the slumbering giant. Zeehan: Renison Limited. ISBN 0-646-28356-1.
Pink, Kerry (1984). The west coast story: a history of Western Tasmania and its mining fields, Revised edition, Zeehan: West Coast Pioneers' Memorial Museum. ISBN 0-9598295-2-0.
Tuma, Andrew and Bottrill, R.S. (2006) The minerals of Western Tasmania: Introduction, history and geological setting. in Australian Journal of Mineralogy, volume 12, No. 2, December 2006
Whitham, Lindsay (2002). Railways, Mines, Pubs and People and other historical research. Sandy Bay: Tasmanian Historical Research Association. ISBN 0-909479-21-6.
www.bluestonetin.com.au