Collective effort required here, then. The rather cathedral crypt style building contains a lot of big iron funnels. There is a very, very basic reciprocating steam or air engine in the grass - the sliding affair is exactly like an old Mamod steam toy. And there's a double-ended screw thing, that might be for moving grain or some other granular material. Or grinding it. Or something.
So - essentially, not the slightest idea. Anyone else...?
Looks like something very heavy was being transported (railway line) and then processed in dry or dry-ish form being stirred with those screws and or poured through the funnels.
Is it an old grain store? Or possibly a rock crushing / cement mixing plant?
Of course being New Zealand it could just be the set for the factories of Isengard in the films!
Given the alchemy comment was apparently close, I'm tempted to go for some sort of industrial chemical process. It's not some sort of guano fertiliser factory is it?
Some sort of mining certainly seems in order; gold seems the most likely (and you have blogged about it before). The tanks make me think of things needing to settle out, which would fit.
Crush gold-bearing rock>mix with water>pour slurry into tanks>wait a bit>get gold out bottom would seem to make sense....
Yes, the G's have it. Or close enough anyway. In this part of NZ, the gold is all locked up in quartz crystals. To get it out they needed to smash up the crystals with the stamper batteries, which were water powered and used the heavy cams in the penultimate photo. Then they had to dissolve the gold in potassium cyanide which was done in the large tanks. The funnelly bits were to pump air though the mixture to agitate it and aid dissolution. The kiwis invented this last bit and seemed very proud of it.
Yes, the G's have it. Or close enough anyway. In this part of NZ, the gold is all locked up in quartz crystals. To get it out they needed to smash up the crystals with the stamper batteries, which were water powered and used the heavy cams in the penultimate photo. Then they had to dissolve the gold in potassium cyanide which was done in the large tanks. The funnelly bits were to pump air though the mixture to agitate it and aid dissolution. The kiwis invented this last bit and seemed very proud of it.
Is it the factory that produced the dye for the lakes? Seems unlikely, because it's on the wrong island.
ReplyDeleteNo, as you correctly surmise, this is on South Island, near Haast.
DeleteA secret den for industrial-strength and very optimistic alchemists?
ReplyDeleteOoh, very close... But no chocolate fish I'm afraid.
DeleteCollective effort required here, then. The rather cathedral crypt style building contains a lot of big iron funnels. There is a very, very basic reciprocating steam or air engine in the grass - the sliding affair is exactly like an old Mamod steam toy. And there's a double-ended screw thing, that might be for moving grain or some other granular material. Or grinding it. Or something.
ReplyDeleteSo - essentially, not the slightest idea. Anyone else...?
Looks like something very heavy was being transported (railway line) and then processed in dry or dry-ish form being stirred with those screws and or poured through the funnels.
ReplyDeleteIs it an old grain store? Or possibly a rock crushing / cement mixing plant?
Of course being New Zealand it could just be the set for the factories of Isengard in the films!
Gareth
Explosives...?
ReplyDeleteGiven the alchemy comment was apparently close, I'm tempted to go for some sort of industrial chemical process. It's not some sort of guano fertiliser factory is it?
ReplyDeleteYou're almost there...
ReplyDeleteI'll pull out some particularly relevant keywords that have been mentioned.
industrial chemical process
alchemists
rock crushing
very heavy
Another clue is that the funnels are the bottom bits of 15m high cylindrical tanks.
It also relates to a historical activity that we have previously blogged about...
The alchemy reference makes me think of gold. Is it an abandoned gold smelting plant?
ReplyDeleteOr a fertiliser factory... With the cylinders having been some very early example of the Haber Process in industrial use?
Gareth
Some sort of mining certainly seems in order; gold seems the most likely (and you have blogged about it before). The tanks make me think of things needing to settle out, which would fit.
ReplyDeleteCrush gold-bearing rock>mix with water>pour slurry into tanks>wait a bit>get gold out bottom would seem to make sense....
Well, if that's right, I think Gareth and Samuel should get to share a chocolate fish. Whatever one of those is...
ReplyDeleteYes, the G's have it. Or close enough anyway. In this part of NZ, the gold is all locked up in quartz crystals. To get it out they needed to smash up the crystals with the stamper batteries, which were water powered and used the heavy cams in the penultimate photo. Then they had to dissolve the gold in potassium cyanide which was done in the large tanks. The funnelly bits were to pump air though the mixture to agitate it and aid dissolution. The kiwis invented this last bit and seemed very proud of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, the G's have it. Or close enough anyway. In this part of NZ, the gold is all locked up in quartz crystals. To get it out they needed to smash up the crystals with the stamper batteries, which were water powered and used the heavy cams in the penultimate photo. Then they had to dissolve the gold in potassium cyanide which was done in the large tanks. The funnelly bits were to pump air though the mixture to agitate it and aid dissolution. The kiwis invented this last bit and seemed very proud of it.
ReplyDelete