Sapphires and Gold in oberon

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Hi everyone

In a few months time Ill be heading off to Oberon for a fossicking camping trip looking for sapphires and the yella stuff and i was wondering if anyones had experience in fossicking around Sapphire bend the Oberon area. Ive been wanting to go hunting for sapphires for ages and as a newbie thought it might be wise to throw the hat in the ring for some general advice. Taking the whites TDI pro as well in some of the gold areas in Oberon NSW. Just wondering if anyones had any success looking also for gold in Oberon NSW
 
G'day Nikos, there are a few members who head to Sapphire Bend, the stones look quite nice too though small. I'll be doing a lot of detecting and gem hunting in the area as soon as it warms up a little. Where are you from? Plenty of State Forest around Oberon to try for all sorts of gems and gold.

I'm sure some other members will post.

Should be a few pics somewhere if you do a seach in this section.
 
thanks for the feedback heatho..from central australia..ill look around to see if i can find any pics..
 
Hi Nikos,
Sapphire bend is where I caught the gem hunting bug a few years ago.
Lots found in the public area and met people that found some good ones from other parts of the forest.
At the time we got a permit to camp and fossick the whole of Vulcan state forest, unfortunately some areas of interest had logging in progress and no access.
Plenty of exploration reports on the area although not sure about gold.
Cheers
Druley
 
Hi Nikos. I have been to most of the fossicking areas of Oberon many times & there a a few spots that you will find sapphires & zircons , small but good quality- Sapphire Bend (Black Springs) Twin Creeks (Abercrombie Rd , Near Porters Retreat) & Native Dog Creek. There is gold at Native Dog Creek in the forest . Bathurst Rural is better for gold , a bit more west.

Cheers Paul
 
Those pictures you posted Paul looked like they were nice and clear stones with good colour, I'm very keen to get out there for a dig soon. Closer than GG too, nice place but a long hike from Sydney for a day trip.
 
I am thinking about going to Oberon this Sundayz I know I said I wouldn't go out again for a while, but the thought of those Gold & Gems lying out there in the ground, Cold & Alone just doesn't sit right with me.
I want to run the Highbanker with an emphasis on Gold in Oberon. Was thinking Sewells Creek or Black Dog.
I have heard there is a quartz vein there worth swinging over, can anyone confirm this?
 
Hi MTMM , keep in mind there is little water at Sapphire bend & you will struggle to get enough for highbanking. Last month I went up & was surprised at how little water there was, as I took a pump to pump out the holes , but didnt need it, but used the pump in a big puddle for washing the sieve material. There are 2 dams local , but not close to where you would dig. Cheers Paul
 
When we go up there we were just going to dig out a few tubs of wash and sieve it out elsewhere. Still not the same as having the banker set up though.
 
How hard packed is the wash layer Paul? Can you classify the wash with a 1/2 inch sieve dry, or need some water to break it up?
 
Hi Heatho , I took up the 12V bilge pump & battery . The puddles in the entrance track have enough water to recirculate , so washed everthing on the spot. Or as you suggest, take the buckets to the dam . Cheers Paul
 

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