Of the nine prominent mines on the Barrier which preceded the arrival of The Zinc Corporation Limited and New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited, only North Broken Hill Limited - the 'North Mine' - had survived until its eventual closure in 1993. The Cosmopolitan claim (Block 17) pegged in December 1883 by Nickel and Anderson, was sold for $30 000 to the first North company, Broken Hill North Silver Mining Company Limited, formed in October 1885, By 1886 three shafts had been sunk and several drives and crosscuts put out, but the main lode had not been intersected. When the original share capital was exhausted the company was reconstructed as North Broken Hill Silver Mining Company Limited in 1888. The first secretary of the new company was William Knox, who held the same position with BHP, three of whose directors also held seats on the North board, namely W.R. Wilson, W.P. McGregor and William Jamieson. Zebina Lane, who in 1887 succeeded John D. la Monte as manager of the North, was replaced by Andrew Wilson a year later. By the end of 1888 the main shaft was 91ft deep, and 3100 tonnes of ore had been extracted. A.G. Hales, the Barrier Miner mining reporter, expressed faith in the North mine when he wrote on 22 December 1889: It needs time, patience and money to develop this mine, but I have no fear of the ultimate success.

But, by 1894 North shares were being offered for less than five cents each. The company's difficulties of limited financial and technical resources, compounded by the sulphide problem and low metal prices, resulted in the North company being placed in voluntary liquidation. The mine passed into the hands of Haliburton (Hal) Sheppard acting for a Melbourne syndicate for $3500, and on 25 July 1895, North Broken Hill Silver Mining Company, N.L. was registered to acquire the Block 17 lease. 'Captain' Arthur Paul from the Victorian goldfields was appointed manager, and profiting from improved production and treatment techniques the company's financial position enabled the first dividend to be paid in 1899.

In 1904 the directors of the North company made an important decision when it purchased the adjoining Victoria Cross mine (Block 43) for $18 880 in North mine shares. In later years the former Victoria Cross lease proved to be the North mine's most valuable source of production.

William (Billy) Cameron Gall was the Mine Superintendent for many years. A stern disciplinarian, he was the bane of the afternoon and night shift workers because of his propensity to appear at any hour to check that all employees were working at full capacity. A bush telegraph system was set up to warn the workers whenever Billy Gall was making his rounds. Of this he was aware, and a cat and mouse game developed, the results of which provided many a tale in the crib rooms and change-houses. Nevertheless, he was an expert surveyor and mining engineer, one of the outstanding feats of the time being the accurate breakthrough at No. 1 Shaft in 1908 with one party working downwards from the surface, and another upwards from a lower level drive.

The company was again reconstructed in 1905 and became North Broken Hill Limited in 1912. In 1976 a further change in company structure was effected when the North's mining operations and investment activities were separated under the control of North Broken Hill Holdings Limited.

The British mine was acquired in 1923, the Junction in 1929, Junction North in 1931, and Block 14 in 1942; these leases were transferred in 1961 to the ailing Broken Hill South Limited in exchange for 450 000 South mine shares.

In 1935 O.H. Woodward, an experienced mining engineer and metallurgist, joined the company as general manager. Under his direction a new concentrating mill was constructed, development of underground workings was accelerated, and supporting services were rationalised. He also had the foresight to acquire a number of mineral leases adjoining Blocks 17 and 43 to the north, thus ensuring the company's interests in the event of an extension of the main orebody in that direction.

In 1947 a fire broke out in the old underground workings, and the area was sealed off to allow water and slime filling to be pumped into the affected zones; small out breaks recurred in 1951 and 1959, but eventually they were extinguished.

A feature of the executive strength of the North mine has been the presence on the board of directors since 1905, of one or more members of the Baillieu family all descendants of James Baillieu who in 1853 jumped ship, the Niscilla, at Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, and founded an Australian dynasty.

During the afternoon shift on 20 August 1975 diamond drillers Johansson and Dawson reported signs of mineralisation in the core obtained from a hole being drilled below the No. 36 level, from a site 1.6 km below the surface. In succeeding days, amid an atmosphere of mounting expectation, it was confirmed that an intersection of high grade ore had been made, and a statement to that effect was issued to the press and Stock Exchanges. Named the Fitzpatrick area after a former mine manager who was convinced that the orebody would reappear in this actual zone approximately two million tonnes of ore have been proved. The mineral lease (No. 3012, Portion ML.44) in which the new ore occurred, was purchased from the BHP company in 1938, on the condition that the two companies share equally all profits derived from the lease, after deducting necessary capital and revenue expenditure.

The cessation of mining operations at Broken Hill, however, would not herald the demise of the North company as a thriving enterprise, because the parent company North Broken Hill Holdings Limited is a strong conservative Organisation with a sound investment portfolio and substantial interests both in secondary industry and in the development of the country's natural resources.

The North mine (Pasminco North) ceased operations in Broken Hill in February 1993, but continued as a major mining company until their subsequent takeover by Rio Tinto in 2000.