At the land sales of 19 April 1845 the Association made a purchase adjoining Captain Bagot's property[5] near Kapunda, and another on the River Torrens near Montacute.
They were (in order of votes received) Emanuel Solomon, John Cundy Sleman (who left Australia in December 1846), Charles Beck, Samuel Stocks, jun., William Peacock, Jacob Hagen, George Bean.
Other candidates were: (again in order of votes received) William Paxton, Matthew Smith, Thomas Whistler, Samuel Payne, Tom Cox Bray, Robert Sanders and Edward Castres Gwynne.
Two parties tendered for the mineral rights: the Association and the Princess Royal Company (dubbed the "Nobs", these were much wealthier individuals), whose members were George F. Aston,[8] John Grainger, R. Boucher James, Charles Hervey Bagot, Francis S. Dutton and other proprietors of the Kapunda mine; two (unnamed) English investors; Thomas Shepherd, Joseph Johnson, and George Tinline.
An amicable arrangement was made between these two groups: that each should pay half the £20,000 in specie demanded by Governor Grey, that the surveyed area should be divided in two, which was done on 20 September 1845, and by some means[clarification needed] it was resolved that the Association should have the northern moiety and the Princess Royal Company the southern.
[9] The Association wasted little time; they despatched ten Cornish miners, a blacksmith and a captain to the site and began blasting on 29 September, and soon bullock drays loaded with the red copper oxide ore were inching their way to Port Adelaide.
Some shareholders sold up and returned to England with their new-found wealth; Emanuel Solomon realised £200 for every £5 share and went on to other projects, others held on and reaped enormous dividends every year until 1860.
By March 1848 the number of men and boys working at the mine had risen to 567 and 13,533 tons of ore had been carted to the Port in the previous year by some eight hundred teamsters and between six and seven thousand bullocks.
Around mid-1851 news of the gold finds in Victoria reached Burra, and in the year to 31 March 1852, two thirds of the workforce left to try their luck, but the Association still raised some 11,000 tons of ore, for a profit of £58,000.
Much of this property was offered at auction off by Bagot, Shakes & Lewis in 1904, but the reserve prices were so high that only a small fraction was sold[19] and critical blocks adjoining the Burra Creek were held back.