Jinguashi Geopark (Benshan Mine) Introduction
Benshan Mine is an important gold mining area in Jinguashi. In the 19th year of the Guangxu era (1893), gold panners from Keelung River discovered the small gold nugget outcrop in Jiufen while tracing upstream from Houtong. In May of the following year, the gold vein outcrop of the large gold nugget was discovered. The exposed rock, resembling a gold nugget, was hence named "Benshan." The vertical distribution of the Benshan vein extends from the peak of the large gold nugget at an elevation of 600 meters down to 130 meters below sea level without a definitive end. The gold content is uniform throughout the vein, which can reach widths of over a hundred meters in some places, with the longest veins extending over 2 kilometers, while shorter veins are generally several hundred meters long. This makes Benshan a significant gold ore deposit in Jinguashi. In addition to producing a large amount of gold, a sulfur arsenic copper mine was discovered in Benshan San坑 in April 1904. Originally, the peak of Jinguashi stood at 660 meters above sea level, but after a century of mining, it has been reduced by 106 meters to about 500 meters, roughly equal to the elevation of San坑. Due to open-pit mining, the area is now highly exposed, making it a ready outdoor geology classroom.
