The Ottery Arsenic Mine, located near Emmaville in northern New South Wales, is one of Australia’s most historically significant mining sites, and a fascinating example of early industrial ingenuity and environmental legacy.
It was established in 1882, one of the earliest underground base-metal mines in the Emmaville district. Initially mined for tin, from 1921 it became a major producer of arsenic trioxide, used in sheep dips and pesticides.
Arsenic was extracted by roasting ore in kilns and condensing the fumes in brick chambers, leaving behind crystalline arsenic salts. The refinery, kilns, and chimney stack is still visible, although it is fenced off for safety and conservation. White and pink arsenic residues still remain on the brickwork. There are several warning signs around warning of the dangerous mine shafts and tunnels, as well as the contamination of the water there.
There is a basic parking area off the road. There were a couple of water puddles but no issue to drive through. From the parking area, the mine is a quick walk down a basic dirt track, around 200 metres. From there, it was another 200-250 metres to an old vertical mine shaft above a creek, with a number of other things to look around at. Around 500 metres or so return walking.
You could walk back from there having seen most of the mine site. I continued further down a long and steep track where I found some more remnants from the mine. There appeared to be another mine shaft entering at the creek level but I would have had to walk though the water upstream in the creek to see it better. With the warning signs I thought it best not to jump in. This added almost an extra kilometre to my walk in total, including wandering around.
