Coffs Harbour NSW information and questions

EL is Exploration License, Altius Mining holds the EL for most of the area below the range. If a mine isn't in state forest then you will need property holder permission to be there. Fossicking of any kind is not permitted in national park.

If you open this link in google earth (click the link then open) you will get a more accurate idea than Bonzle of the mine locations.
http://prospectingaustralia.com/forum/downloads/NSW_Gold_Google_Earth_Overlay.zip

Thanks heaps Ben, great information i appreciate it a lot. How long ago did u work the back of Coffs region?

Just another question Ben, you said Altius Mining holds the EL licence for most of the area so if i wanted to be in that area do i just get in contact with them? I dont need an EL do i, just a state forest permit ?

hi Taz

I grew up in that area and I am yet to see a map that has all the mines on it, there must be hundreds if not thousands, a lot of them are on private property and only local knowledge will find them, but that bonzle does a pretty good job.

I cant open the link so I dont know how accurate it is.

Taz92 said:

Just another question Ben, you said Altius Mining holds the EL licence for most of the area so if i wanted to be in that area do i just get in contact with them? I dont need an EL do i, just a state forest permit ?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be too concerned about it - by the way the guy on the phone was talking I don't think he'd ever been contacted for permission before. The State Forest Permit you can get from the Forestry Corp office in West High St. And, you only need a SF Permit if you are fossicking in SF - ie if you are doing it on private land or crown land (that isn't SF) you don't need a SF permit.

I last looked for gold at Coffs about 3 months ago right before I moved to Tamworth. If you are on Facebook do a search for Coffs Harbour Gold Hunters. I run a group there with around 45 members that live around or visit Coffs with the thoughts of gold on their mind. We just had a get together at Nundle.

Lids, a lot of the mines had multiple shafts for one lease so a lot don't get located on the maps. eg if you go to Beacon there is holes everywhere but only officially I think there was 3 leases so the map shows 3 mines. You also might find prospect shafts that never paid so didn't get formally claimed. Take a drum of water with you and test pan the spoil and see what you get. There is mines around Coramba that have more gold in the spoil that what I ever got panning creeks out there - just no water on site which makes it difficult. That said, I know folks that do well panning and sluicing the creeks. They are pretty hardcore and have been known to walk an hour+ from the car to get to a spot. The google earth overlay is reasonably accurate. Once you are on the ground it can be very difficult locating the actual mine. The blasted quartz is usually the first thing you'll find though.

Hi SuperPeter I am in the area and would be keen to have a look with you some time.

Thanks for the info on the Facebook page.

TAZ92 I would be keen to show you some spots if you are keen.

Does anyone know of any promising spots to find gold around Coffs Harbour. I will be heading out coramba way tomorrow to king mine, does anyone know if there is gold there...and also does anyone know the exact location of star creek or any other mines that are around that area. Cheers

Hey Blitzn, Check this site out, it has google earth overlays to download that show all areas for gold and gems. Im sure there is areas West of Coffs Harbour to fossick. Hope this helps. http://dwh.minerals.nsw.gov.au/CI/warehouse

Cracka

Hi,

I am brand new to gold prospecting and live near Coffs Harbour. I have read and research a bit about the old mines etc west of Coffs, but was wondering if it would be worth my while, or to look somewhere else.

Is this gold west of Coffs nuggets, (picked up with metal detector) or fine gold from panning. I am yet to buy a detector and am holding off until i work it all out.

I have been trolling the net and reading as much as I can on this forum also.

Thanks for your time.

Kind Regards
Tony..

Welcome to the forum Tony.

Hi there,
Although alluvial/placer gold of the floury kind and small pickers are the most common or easiest to find via panning, yes you can detect small nuggets in the Coffs goldfields. There are literally hundreds of mine shafts, as you probably know, where with a little research and some luck you could find small nuggets. I have seen nuggets found via detecting the old mullock heaps. With that said, the most common and easily accessible sites have been absolutely flogged, so the idea is to hunt for fresh unexplored ground. This is not entirely impossible as there is a lot of wilderness in those hills behind Coffs. I used to live near Dorrigo and tried around Eastern Dorrigo at the most southern extent of the fields without any such luck finding the elusive nugget. One hint is try detecting the mullock heaps after a tonne of rain. I have heard of stories where little nuggets have been spotted exposed after the rain, glistening in the sun, before the detector is even turned on!

Good luck!

BTW I hope you are ok with ticks and leeches!

rake the mullock heaps with a steel rake and detect as you go down thru the layers is another method..

star creek... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT6ZOi1BI0U

Found a great thread with some excellent advice and things to consider before venturing out into unfamiliar territory. You could easily get lost in the Coffs gold country if you don't do your research and go in unprepared. Also be very cautious when exploring near shafts.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4656

Hey Taz92, there is a facebook page coffs harbour gold, gem, coin and relic hunters that go out in the areas you are talking about. They are a great bunch of people who organise days out and camps. I hope this will help

I grew up in Kempsey, a mate and I used to go up to a creek at the back of Kookaburra and Daisy Plains and pan/sluice in the early 90's. An old guy told us about "old Chinaman mines" up there. We came across a few unmarked, uncovered and very dangerous shafts in the day. Figured we must have been in the right place once we found them.

Some of it is State Forest, a lot is National Park..... we had no idea of rules back then.

Bit of a learning curve but contains a lot of info.
You search by location name.
Have Fun and stay safe.
http://digsopen.minerals.nsw.gov.au/

My partner and I are new to Detecting but was wondering where a good place to Detect would be around the Coffs Harbour Region.

Thanking you in Advance.