Corporate entry: Mount Isa Mines Limited, Central Office, Mount Isa, 4825
Summary
The principal holdings of company records are in the Central Office and in storage deposits on the mine site, in Mount Isa. Central File holds six boxes of records entitled: Historical Records, 1924-1952. This material was retained when the holdings were culled in 1972, and is indexed. The bulk of the collection comprises inwards and copies of outward correspondence, and deals primarily with wartime copper production, the construction of the original copper smelter, and refurbishing of the mine plant after 1945. There are several bundles of earlier material, including correspondence with the London office, minutes of board meetings, Sydney 1931-1933, records relating to the acquisition of leases from other companies and private leases, negotiations with Queensland Railways over rail freights, and with the Townsville Harbour Board over wharfage; there are also miscellaneous maps, surveys and reports. The Publicity Section holds a large collection of photographs, including a considerable number of historical items taken from publications and private collections. They are principally of Mount Isa and the Cloncurry district, with a small number from further afield. Photographs are organized by a numerical code, chronologically by the date of copying. Proof sheets roughly organized by subject matter and annotated with the negative number, are available for perusal by researchers. An extensive collection of reference works on mining, including specific material on Mount Isa Mines is also held in the Publicity Section. Periodical holdings include: Mimag, January 1948-present, bound, indexed; Isa Mines, (formerly Minews), 1960-present. A quantity of company records is said to have been stored underground during the second World War, however this being the case, they seem not to have survived. They are not in evidence in the company's storage deposits, and if they were left underground they are now permanently inaccessible.