Torrington Area

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Joined
Sep 23, 2014
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Sydney, NSW
Hi everyone, I will be heading to Torrington next week for a bit of fossicking. We are spending 2 days in Inverell at Billabong Blue first. Can't wait!

The last time I went to Torrington I went to the Emerald Mine, found some small bits of beryl. I also went to Blatherarm Creek and founds lots of small topaz.

I have copies of the maps available at the NSW DPI here: http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.g...-minerals-and-landforms-of-the-mole-tableland

I am keen to try and find some really nice smokey quartz specimens this trip. Possibly some citrines too.

Can anyone please recommend any reasonably accessible spots that might be easy to access with a 2WD? I will repay in kind with a trip report and lots of photos :)

I have seen some amazing specimens labelled from "Silent Grove". Does anyone know if they have likely come from the place called "Silent Grove" on the DPI's map or the "Silent Grove lode" labelled "No. 2" on the DPI's map?

Thank you!

Pete
 
Hi phantom3,
If you go to "Mr Tumbles" (? ) shop at Deep Water and pay a $5 (?) fee you will have permission to fossick and a map showing you how tp get to the "Silent Grove" property. The shop owner is the property owner. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago.

I hope this helps.

Gerda
 
Fords Hill is one of the best Smokey Locations at Torrington...... ;) , 2WD friendly
The OLD Emerald mine(James Hill) has been bulldozed and not there anymore,,, 8.( you can still find small bits of Beryl there tho. Big Carpark now.. but well fractured from said Bulldozer... Maybe 2wd at the moment
But there is the 'other' Emerald mine, de Milhous Lode that has been opened by a property owner on Gulf Road via Emmaville. :) .. Good Beryl/Emerald/Topaz/Tin/Fluorite have all been found there... He has also set-up the Emmaville Geology Centre on his property... Best place to find out about this place is the Emmaville Mining Museum... Steve, the owner of de Milhous is a volunteer there...2wd OK
You would be lucky to find a good size Topaz in Blatherarm Ck now... Dingo Ck is good but 4x4.... Steve's number is 02 67347394... Good Luck and Most tracks are Not on most Maps especially That map, Mole Tableland...so don't get Lost 8)
Silent Grove Lode is STRICTLY Private Property and you might get a not nice Surprise if you try..... :lol:
Yes it is Mr Tumbles at Deepwater... If you do Facebook...Try ...The Emmaville Emerald Mine and Geology Centre Page... or something like that.. :rolleyes:

Torrington is not Like it used to be... Goodies are getting harder to find now.... 8)


LoneWolf.....
 
Thank you Gerda and LoneWolf, really appreciate the quick response and awesome tips. I will let you guys know how I go.

Cheers

Pete
 
About 18 months ago. If I remember correctly :rolleyes: .. The Leaseholder wanted to collect his 'Bond' back from mines department as he got Sick and had trouble keeping people out of the Actual mine...... Part of the Conditions were to Bulldoze the mine and level the Place... And they certainly did that..... I herd the operators found some Beauties while 'on the job' tho.... :eek: You can still find the occasional Beryl there... especially after Rain... But the locals are quick.. ;)



LoneWolf...
 
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The Emerald Mine Torrington.... Now.. 8.(
 
phantom how did you go? hope your trip was good. im planning a trip to billabong blue at the end of september, i was also thinking about trying to chase some decent topaz for a day.
did you get any cuttable topaz from blatherarm creek ?
 
I remember the 2 blokes (brothers?) going to work at the construction of Pacific Copper noticing what they thought was broken windscreen glass on the track.
In fact the grader had ripped the top off the pegmatite shoot scattering beautiful emerald crystals everywhere.
I think they got nearly 2 buckets full before the locals gelled to it.

Saw some of the facetted stone 3-4yrs. later, they were together at the Yowah opal fest. The stones had been laser cut in Germany??, prices ranging down from $3000/ct., with 150gram backs of rough around $500

Not surprisingly, they were travelling well in life and driving very new Range Rovers :cool:

Quite right Lonewolf, Torrington is not like it was, and sadly never will be again.

In those days, Manuel's van park had plenty of visitors, lots of good fossicking locations available and Friday-Sat. nights at the pub would be games, raffles and if a "pub crawls on horseback" ride was in, then more fun and a great feed for everyone.

Then came the Olympics, and with it the transfer of the pub licence to Homebush.
That was the beginning of the end, was all downhill from there. 8.(

In those days, we were also out there looking for emeralds, camped on private property close to the resting place of Joe Bates, the man who discovered tin at Torrington.
Mike
 
Phantom,

How did you go? I haven't been to Torrington for about 25+ years when I was a kid. The pub was still run by Mal and Manual ran the caravan park. There was even a museum. Used to go to a heap of old mines including the old tin mine and processing plant. Was even involved in the first and only gem show at Torrington where it rained, selected, and snowed. We even bogged the Rothmans entertainment truck. Heaps of memories of this place.

Have been thinking of taking my kids up there camping and exploring. We used to stay at the end of the old airstrip, on a river but I doubt I could find it again after so many years.
I have been googling Torrington to see what has been happening, hence I found this forum. Would be great to get you feedback on the place as it is now.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Jason
 
Torrington update.... No Pub, they sold the Licence to some bar in Sydney before the Olympic Games.. No Post Office... No caravan park... Manual has moved on after Heart Attack, New owners now but they need to spend big $$ to get Council Approval again and don't have $$... Less Goodies to be found.. unless you know where. ;) But good finds are still coming out of there.. Town has a few 'Undesirables' now... but still trying to keep village atmosphere... :/

I go Down there often... Not too sure about 'old Airstrip'... Only 2 I know are on Gulf Road heading out from Emmaville, and both are on Private Property... The one I think you are talking about, down near the Beardy River was part of a property that was sub-divided years ago, part of that property was called Trap Mountain.. And has a Fluorite Mine on it. You can't go Anywhere near it now.. Most of the 160 odd mines were Tin Mines at Torrington and Emmaville District...

LW....
 
Lone wolf,

Thanks for the update. I remember when Manual owned the park it needed $$$ spent then. Used to have to take a block of wood into the shower with you to knock the taps on and off otherwise if you touched them with your hands you got an electric shock.

The old airstrip I mentioned was on private property. One of the families we went with knew the owners. To get there we headed up Silent Grove rd. Can't remember where we went from there though. Too many years ago. Can't remember a lot of the mine names either except for the Dutchman.

J.
 
Ah now I know where you are talking about... Yes there is a landing strip near Fords Hill... Electric Shock and Ducks in the Shower Block... We used to remark that if we could combine the two, we would have roast Duck for dinner every night... :lol: ...

Dutchman's Mine is Another 'No Go' Zone... Locked up by a Mining Co.. A few of the old Mines are like that now... They are sitting on a lot of areas, waiting for Mineral Prices to improve.... A large Silver Mine(one of the biggest Tin and Silver Lodes found in the area) is Planned for Emmaville soon... But things with then are going real slow.... Still waiting for their Approval to Mine... A mate has just got a job with them and said they are a long way off from Mining... :Y:

LW...
 
Hey guys,
me and a couple of mates were planing to go down to torrington/silent grove/ewingar area (havent decided what place would be best to go yet), this would be me and my mates first time fossicking I was wondering if you guys had any tips for me? or even a location or 2 I could where i might have some luck finding some crystals?

Any info is greatly appreciated :) been getting into my crystals for a while now and really want to get out there an find some of my own.
 
Gerda said:
Hi phantom3,
If you go to "Mr Tumbles" (? ) shop at Deep Water and pay a $5 (?) fee you will have permission to fossick and a map showing you how tp get to the "Silent Grove" property. The shop owner is the property owner. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago.

I hope this helps.

Gerda

Does anyone know exactly what has been found at Silent Grove?
 
Silent Grove is a District, Where you may find Quartz Crystals, Tin and a few other minerals... Most if not All Locations are on Private Property and Permission is Very hard to obtain.... Im not too sure if 'Mr Tumbles' is still allowing people on their property now....

LW...
 
The biggest find at Silent Grove was the marijuana crop, estimated at $8m+.
Quite strange that no one was ever prosecuted over it.

Yes, remember the Gem Show very well. We were there and camped off the Butler mine road.
Will and Fred Sharret did very well distributing sawdust from their mill.

Mal and Bev retired to Tin Can bay, both now deceased as is also Manuel.
Very few of the people from 25 yrs. ago left there now, when Steve Langley had his Pub Crawls on Horseback in town there were some pretty riotous nights at the pub.
Don Burton (shearer) had a wonderful vegetable garden, would often bring a tub of hot cooked spuds into the pub on a Friday night. He knew how to catch fish around there too.

Of recent times Fred Aletse (Parry Real Estate) has sold a lot of blocks out there, but not much in the way of development has occurred.
The pub (will never get a license again) is on the market for $1m+ Good luck to them.

Silver Mines Ltd. at Emmaville I think are on a hiding to nothing. They had some ups and downs (I actually bought at 0.09c and sold at 0.38c) but I think locally it will fizz. They are doing some work closer to Mudgee.

There are still places to pick up good stones, there is one spot where you can fill an ice cream container with topaz (not creek wash) in an afternoon with maybe 10 good cutters.
I cant recall the exact year (around 2005?) there were big fires burning all around the area. Fire trucks lined the road from the pub to the fire station shed but the number of odd folk who came in from their hideaway camps in the scrub was unbelievable. Never knew there was such a hippy population out there.

Great times were had. Sadly, like for so many, age has caught up.
Mike
 
Thanks Lone Wolf for the imput ,a few of us heading that way in November from Tassie. a bit of a field trip and a long way from home eh ! but love the hunt
Spoke to Steve and will catch up with him and Bill from Billabong Blue -- soo looking forward to it . if there is any info that might help please PM me or email, would be much appreciated ! have done months of research to areas but the issue as always is whats on private land and whats not .The Forum is a great place for like
minded people to interact and if anyone on here comes to Tassie please let me know as i can help out and maybe catch up for a trip , getting some nice Saphires, Topaz
and huge Spinel in some of my secret not so secret spots ! Maybe we can catch up in NOV ?
Cheers Colin.
 
Hi, Im on my very first fossicking trip around Torrington. A pair of complete novices with a map from the information centre and a ton of enthusiasm. Were confused by the private property signs on some tracks. Are people no longer allowed to pass through the conservation area?
 

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