The history of the Broken Hill mine extends back to 1883 when Charles Rasp, a worker at a local
livestock ranch, examined rocks from prominent craggy, black hill and noticed that they were
unusually heavy. Rasp suspected the weight was due to the presence of tin-bearing minerals
though assay from his samples reported silver and lead but no tin. While anomalous, the silver and
lead values were not ore-grade due to the presence of strong oxidation which produced a ferrous
and manganiferous, leached rock or gossan. Subsequent shafts exposed the primary, silver-rich
ores beneath the gossan. Though rich in base metals, it was silver that made Broken Hill famous
worldwide. Over 500 million ounces of silver have been produced from the Broken Hill mines
since discovery.