Kiewa Valley - Victoria

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The Kiewa Valley is an area i visit a few times each year on fishing trips (Tallangatta, Mitta Mitta, Eskdale etc).
Im just interested if anyone has ever ventured out that way and tried their luck at gold prospecting?
There are many little streams and creeks ive fished in, but im thinking of taking my sluice with me next time!
It would be encouraging to hear if anyone has tried this in this area before.
 
There is certainly gold above Mt Beauty in the Kiewa West Branch and its head waters and tribs. It does take a bit of effort to get into the area however.
JML
Jeff
 
The Mitta River kept one branch of the family eating during the great depression - even found published takings in the gold reports of the Argus.

There is plenty of fine gold to be found in both the Mitta Mitta and Snowy Creek catchments. As a first time panner, found a speck or two in nearly every pan on a recent family trip (didn't know a whole lot about concentration on that trip). To make it worthwhile, knowing where the natural concentration occurs would be essential, from what I have heard from the locals. Also, from what I have been told, fossicking has dropped off a lot since the banning of dredging; achieving decent volumes may be more trouble than they are worth via manual excavation methods.

Have also see a small nugget or two retrieved from the area, but word was that they didn't come from surface material.
 
gday mate ive just bought a panning kit and live close by to mitta havent tried yet wouldnt be able to steer a bloke to a location near mitta for my first go thanks :cool:
 
I have since become aware of two possible issues with prospecting the Mitta Mitta, Snowy Creek, etc - that is their inclusion on the "exempted rivers, streams etc" list that arguably disallows prospecting in the bed or on the banks of said rivers, and the fact that the Mitta river Heritage area, definitely disallows prospecting in the bed, on the banks, or within 200 metres either side of the river along a fair whack of it that I will have to try and determine before the next family holiday in the area.

I am reluctant to advise others to try an area in case my understanding of how the rules are interpreted, enforced (or not) should be in error.

This is a shame, as the Omeo Highway south of the Township of Mitta Mitta follows the Snowy Creek a good distance, allowing several areas of easy access that I have seen. There is plenty of fine gold in the area that should at least give a colour or two in the pan to whet the appetite of beginner panners with only rudimentary knowledge of what material to gather and pan out.
 
Geday Marked,

You talk about exempted rivers, its funny you know I have sluiced the Mitta below Glen Wills around the Joker Creek area. A park ranger pulled up and we got talking and had a cuppa. All he wanted was to see how much color I was getting and told me to have a great day.
Dont know if he was just in a good mood or not, but I have always got plenty of good color from the cracks and know one has ever bothered me.
 
Personally, I think the key to escaping prosecution is to fully comply with your obligations;

Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 - SECT 58
Obligations of holder

58. Obligations of holder

(1) The holder of a miner's right acting under that right must not-

(a) use any equipment for the purposes of excavation on the land, other
than non-mechanical hand tools; or

(b) use explosives on the land; or

(c) remove or damage any tree or shrub on the land; or

(d) disturb any Aboriginal cultural heritage (within the meaning of the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006) on the land.

Penalty: 100 penalty units.

(2) The holder of a miner's right must repair any damage to the land arising
out of the search.

Unless you are making a huge mess with no intention of cleaning up, I would expect that a cuppa and a chat would see you free to continue, or at worst get moved on politely.

This is of course, only my opinion, and should not be taken as advice in any way.
 
Hi all,

Definitely a wonderful part of the country down there! I've done a small amount of prospecting down on Lightning Creek (Southern tributary of the Mitta Mitta) over the years. I think the second time out was just after the Black Saturday Bushfires in 2009. It was astonishing to see the area so charred and blackened.

We ran into many issues working down there so we struck it off the list. The gold is there but it's not easy to obtain. We were digging in two feet of fast flowing, snow meltwater to get it and it was freezing! :eek:
The small amount of flakes we got didn't really warrant the work we did. The track in was a total nightmare also. Very dangerous if maintenance hasn't been done prior to the season opening and there's really no where to pull off the track to park. We were in a group with a good Landcruiser and Patrol, both with about two feet of clearance so we ended up parking in the creek itself to avoid blocking the track for all the 4WD clubs that pass through regularly. Not ideal or safe by any means.

I always wanted to do a bit around Wombat Creek. I think you can access Wombat Creek from the camping area on the Omeo Hwy where it joins the Mitta if memory serves me. Might be worth a look? I could imagine it would be pretty rough going up through there when the scrub is thick.

Cheers,
Shauno.
 
Does anyone know of a good mineral chart or gemstone chart I want a pic of what they look like when they are dug up I've started mining in north east Victoria . thanks
 
there is a park across the road from the mitta shop, just downstream from the ford where the bend ends there is a gold line.
 

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