Osmiridium Prospecting

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Has any one here done any Osmiridium prospecting? I was looking for the easy way to get information about the process as to whether there is much difference to gold sluicing and washing. ??
 
Great article there Pat, I've never tried panning or sluicing for ozzy but given its density it should be the same as gold but easier!
 
Gday Pat

I tried a few times, with a zero result. A local I was talking to reckons that its hard to find because the old timers chased it pretty hard given its higher value than gold in their day. From what my research gave me it was recovered the same way gold is- given its density (22.57). Im sure its there to find but I think youve got to lucky or persistent. Might take a little to figure out the prey.
 
Yep, I figure that it is the same as gold and that association with gold is a bonus.

I noted that the area has been hard hit, the only thing that rings in my mind, apart from the marbles, is that the serpentine is still shedding.

It is the same with gold, it is still there, just not in the concentration that it once was.
 
Pat Hogen said:
Yep, I figure that it is the same as gold and that association with gold is a bonus.

I noted that the area has been hard hit, the only thing that rings in my mind, apart from the marbles, is that the serpentine is still shedding.

It is the same with gold, it is still there, just not in the concentration that it once was.

"the serpentine is still shedding" - yes, and Victoria's volcanoes are still erupting - watching grass grow is more fun.

Yes, same methods work as with gold. I visited Adamsfield and also areas east of Savage River a couple of years ago. Most areas are restricted, with hefty penalties (got $20,000 to spare?). Keep in mind that the total osmiridium production of Tasmania (all of Australia actually) is about as large as the gold production of the tiny Diamond Creek goldfield in Melbourne, less than Warrandyte. Lots of hard yakka for little return, and the Tasmanian fields have been flogged by detectorologists. Good luck though - it is God's Own country down there and you might get a few bits if you persist (legally).
 
We are legal goldie, where we intend to go is legal, what we do is legal, what we collect is legal, better than watching grass grow, plus the area has had a lot of rain over the last few years so prospecting is prospecting. The only thing that pisses me are the leaches, my mate woke up with one in his eye in the 80s. Not a pretty sight.
 
Yeah those leeches are a pain. It is similar in the eastern Victorian forests - I had three bites that ulcerated and took up to 4 years to heal. Despite carrying a salt shaker in my pocket...

I don't have to have much of an economic reason to head for western Tasmania (in good weather).
 
Economically it costs an arm and half a leg to get there from Melb, but the air is therapeutic, there is good gold, apparently, sapphires in the Weld, nephrite around Pine Hill and the topaz in Cradle Park area is said to be the most striking in the world, according to a gemmologist/miner.
 
I plan to go after the osmiridium later in the year very difficult to get i have one nugget but very keen to get a lot more
 

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