A view looking towards the mines, with a railway line in the foreground, and a residential district in the distance. Situated in the far west of New South Wales, on the Barrier Range, the area was the subject of a gold rush in 1867. No gold was found and it was not until 1875 that it was discovered that the area contained enormous reserves of extremely concentrated silver lead ore. In the 1950's, even after extensive working, geologists estimated that the mines would continue to be productive for at least fifty years, possibly a hundred.