Jinguashi Geopark (Benshan Mine) Introduction
The Bonshan mining area is an important gold mining district in Jinguashi. In the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), gold prospectors from Keelung discovered small gold outcrops in Jiufen while trekking up the Hohuan River. In May of the following year, they discovered a major gold vein at Dajinguashan. The open rock formations resembled the shape of a golden melon, hence the name "Jinguashi." The Bonshan vein extends vertically from the peak of Dajinguashan, which is at an elevation of 600 meters, down to 130 meters below sea level, where it remains unexploited. The gold content in various parts of the vein is uniform, with the widest area reaching over a hundred meters. The longest vein stretches over 2 kilometers, while shorter ones are often in the hundreds of meters range, making it a significant gold deposit in Jinguashi. Besides being rich in gold, a copper arsenic mine was discovered in Bonshan San坑 in April 1904. Originally, the summit of Jinguashi was at an elevation of 660 meters, but after a century of mining, it has been reduced by 106 meters to approximately 500 meters, rendering the geological features very clear due to open-pit mining, and it has become a ready-made outdoor geological classroom.
