29th Annual Conference-Broken

29th Annual Conference-Broken Hill

Australia’s First Heritage Listed City

31 August to 6 September 2025

First Circular and Call for Papers

Broken Hill was discovered by Charles Rasp in 1883 who believed that the outcropping gossan might be tin bearing. With six others, Rasp pegged the entire outcrop, and the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was created in 1885.

Rasp reported finding silver-lead mineralisation and the ensuing rush brought thousands to the area. Initially, early mining exploited the near surface oxidised ore which was carted to Adelaide by camel, wagon and pack mules.

Hand selection of rich ore was the practice but was very wasteful in that lower grade material was discarded. The froth flotation method developed concurrently by BHP and a Melbourne chemist became known as the Potter-Delprat Process. This process allowed the treatment of ore and waste dumps and has been adopted world-wide for the concentration of sulphide minerals.

In recognition of the development of froth flotation in Broken Hill, the Conference will emphasise the significance of technological development in the minerals industry and will include invited keynote speakers as well as submitted papers on any topic related to Australasian mining history. You are encouraged to attend and submit a paper for this conference. Further details will be sent out in the new year and will be available from the website.

Planning of the conference is well underway so save the dates 1st to 6th September. It is recommended that you arrive in Broken Hill by 5 pm on Sunday the 31st August.

The Mayor of Broken Hill has kindly offered to host a reception on the Sunday evening

 at the Geocentre which houses a wonderful display of mineral specimens and mining artifacts. Presentation of papers will commence on the Monday at the Civic Centre, a modern building with excellent facilities. Over the week there will be three days of conference papers and three days of site visits and tours, finishing on Saturday 6th September.

The tours will include an overview of the Line of Lode mineralisation and a walking tour of the historic centre; a visit to Silverton, the Day Dream Mine, Mad Max Museum and Camel Farm; and the Living Desert State Park. Highlights of the Park are the John Simons Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, with the Sanctuary Cultural Walk Trails taking about 1.5 hours, and the 12 sandstone sculptures.

Accommodation is tight in Broken Hill in September and it is recommended that bookings are made as soon as possible. As the Civic Centre is centrally located it is recommended that those without transport book near the city centre where there are numerous hotels/motels within walking distance of the Civic Centre. Four that have been suggested are the Ibis Styles, Comfort Inn Crystal, the Lodge Outback Motel and Desert Sands Motel.

Travel to Broken Hill at the time of writing is as follows:

From Adelaide

Rex Airlines: daily except Saturday

Bus: Sunday and Tuesday

A charter coach from Adelaide to Broken Hill will be arranged if there are sufficient numbers who require this service. Depart Adelaide Airport mid-morning, with a pickup in the City. TO INDICATE YES, PLEASE REPLY TO STEPHEN SHORTIS shortiss@ozemail.com.au

From Sydney

Rex Airlines: daily                 

Qantas: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Train: Monday

From Melbourne

Qantas: via Sydney

Train to Mildura then bus to Broken Hill: Wednesday and Friday

If you require assistance in travel arrangements including accommodation and transport to and from Broken Hill, please call the Travel experts at Helloworld Travel Broken Hill and let them know you are a part of the 2025 AMHA conference and their corporate sales consultant will be able to assist you.

Alternatively contact the Broken Hill Visitor Information Centre website: https://www.visitbrokenhill.com/Plan/Visitor-Information-Services

The weather in early September is likely to be cool to cold overnight and comfortable and sunny during the day with a low chance of rain.

Registration for the Conference and related Tours will be available early 2025 through: https://amha.tidyhq.com/schedule/events/57503-29th-annual-conference-broken#event_info

The weather in early September is likely to be cool to cold overnight and comfortable and sunny during the day with a low chance of rain.

Registration for the Conference and related Tours will be available early 2025 through: https://amha.tidyhq.com/schedule/events/57503-29th-annual-conference-broken#event_info

The weather in early September is likely to be cool to cold overnight and comfortable and sunny during the day with a low chance of rain. Registration for the Conference and related Tours will be available early 2025 through: https://amha.tidyhq.com/schedule/events/57503-29th-annual-conference-broken#event_info when the program and costings are in place, and you will be reminded with another Circular and timing for submission of papers.

AMHA gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Foundation Broken Hill, Lodestone Mines, through AMHA member Robert Williamson, and the Broken Hill City Council for their assistance and support of the Conference. Images supplied by the Broken Hill City Council