The Mt Lyell Company spent many thousands of dollars working the the Blue Tier, which is located near Weldborough. Enormous batteries were erected and immense quantities of stone crushed. The richness of the tin in the early days was substantial. One report stated that eight men raised forty buckets of tin in one day, and that each bucket of clean tin weighed one hundredweight (about fifty kilograms).

The operation shown in the photograph below, however, is only a small one. During the tin boom in the northeaset, many prospectors like these men were to be seen searching for tin in rivers and creeks. Running water was essential, so that material from the creek could be washed and the tin extracted. The man on the left carries a large fork used to sift through the material, and two tin pans and a bucket can be seen. Any good wash would be placed in the small sluice box (which looks rather like the cradle gold seekers used) and carefully scrutinised for signs of tin. Often a large sluice would be set up in the creek if the quantity of tin warranted it. Notice the tailings, or the washed material after panning and sluicing, piled high on the river bank, and the thick tea-tree scrub in the area.

The Blue Tier proved to be a very good lease and a large amount of tin was extracted from the district.