Wee Jasper

This is how you eat goat: https://www.google.com/search?q=sat...gWbqIDgAg&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1548&bih=957

after they've eaten the blackberries that is.

Dirk=Gem said:

Going to head to wee jasper this week end maybe one full day I'll be able to let you know what it is like with the scrub? Wish me luck

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Whats the low down on Wee Jasper....???

Fossicking is no longer permitted on McPhersons Swamp Creek in Wee Jasper even if you have a NSW permit. Please check forestry maps.

Anyone been to wee jasper recently..?

Hi Wal - Gavain here - we chatted at detect a den on Friday RE mcphersons creek. Went out there on Saturday. I had a few questions I hope you don't mind answering?

Hey guys, any one have some recent info about wee jasper? Is it still good to go to?? Thanks

Hello all,
I'm looking for somewhere to go looking for gems near North Canberra.
As We jasper is the closest I would like to go there but I'm having a little trouble determining were I can go.

It was stated above by bushchick that "Fossicking is no longer permitted on McPhersons Swamp Creek in Wee Jasper"
I trying to confirm and find another spot from the NSW Fossicking forestry map or any other source.

Any help to locate a spot for a newbie ?

much appreciated =)

If you want to check where you can go in the state foests use:
http://fcnsw.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=db08e563e1b6403fabde1ce901389fa2

It will give you boundaries for prospecting in state forests and no go zones in state forest. It does seem there are 2 no go zones and one leasehold in the area.

Hi guys
Sorry to revive an old thread (for the second time)
But I have just started down the long road of fossicking and am dying to actually know what I'm doing!

My name is Emily and I'm a vet living in Sydney

My partner Tom studied geology at uni (but does something totally different these days) and loves his rocks and minerals, but we are both stumped when it comes to fossicking.

We were up in Wee Jasper yesterday, however I have no idea if we were even in the right spot

We followed some old instructions to Macpherson's swamp creek, but the area was very swampy and we only found two holes dug by previous visitors.

The blackberry problem is pretty insane but we managed to find a dry creek bed a little further up the road

How deep exactly is this wash layer that everyone speaks of?
I think we might have gone a bit high because the few little sieves that I did just showed up a lot of little 1/8 quartz and clay minerals

Do you have to dig deep in to the creek bed itself?
We were digging in to the wall just above what we think was clay

Anyway, we're heading out to Vulcan state next weekend and would like some pointers for two totally clueless people with a vague idea of what they're doing.

Honestly I wouldn't even know what I rough sapphire looked like in real life!

We have our two sieves, a gold pan, some tweezers and a magnifying glass

We're frequent campers/4WDers from Sydney so aren't afraid to get dirty and can byo our own water, tubs, etc if you guys have any pointers about where abouts to visit and dig!

Thank you so much in advance

Black Springs or Porters retreat near Oberon are good easy places to start with fossicking for sapphires,

If you stop in at the visitor centre in oberon, the staff there can fill you in on where to go and will show you some sapphires so you know what to look out for.

the also have some maps to help you find the spots. this map is similar to the one they provide at the visitor centre although the one they will give you has a legend as well as brief driving instructions to get to each of the numbered locations.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/2684/1522991239_vsdfossickingmap.pdf

Black springs is good when there hasn't been much rain as when it is wet it is very boggy and all the dig holes fill with water.
On our first visit there we just jumped in someone elses hole and extended it out and followed the wash layer.
you have a good chance in coming back from there with some small sapphires or sapphire chips or zircons as we have found some almost every time we have been there.
if you look at all the unfilled :N: dig holes there you will get an idea of how deep the wash layer is, if you are lucky some of the bigger holes might have water in them for panning otherwise you can classify your material into a bucket and take it down to the dam down the road to wash it - or bring your own water.
there is a campground nearby, note; if you want to venture outside of the designated fossicking area here you will need to get a State forest fossicking permit online before you go. there are some productive spots away from the main area once you are a bit more experienced with what to look for in finding the wash layers.

Porters Retreat is a bit further out from oberon but is another nice spot, known for bigger sapphs however not as numerous, i have been here a few times with limited success although you can also get some gold here too. porters retreat is a bit of a puzzle as it has been dug and filled so many times and can be hard to find the wash layers to work and they can be quite deep. All but one of my sapphs from here have come from within the creek itself, in winter this creek can freeze over and is very cold so i suggest taking some gloves for washing. i have a pair of neoprene fishing gloves that work well. classify your wash over your pan here as there is a chance of gold.

Isabella SF is another spot that you can get both sapphires and gold however you will need to buy a state forest fossicking permit online before you go as it does not have any designated areas for fossicking. you will need to drive on the state forest roads and it is a fair bit further again away from oberon.

Check out the Adventure Gold channel on youtube, Andrew has posted some good videos of the areas up there and also shows what areas to look for once you are there and you will get an idea of the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6BxZ0fqRx0

good luck and remember to backfill your holes when finished :Y:

Thank you so much for the info!

I've trawled all of the topics here and Ive watched lots of Wal and Liz's YouTube videos

I've always been a make it yourself kind of person so the idea of fossicking won me over instantly and now I'm all swept up haha

We've got our 4wd and aren't strangers to offroading so bumpy roads won't be an issue!
Also, we already have a fossicking permit each as we didn't realise designated fossicking areas even existed until after the event!

We brought a bucket of what we *think* is wash home from Wee Jasper and are about to sort through a bit tonight- it crumbled down to little pebbles in our hand and rested above the bedrock along the edge of the dried out old creek bed

Cross fingers we have the right stuff and find something to spur us on!

Thanks again

I am of the opinion that McPhersons is closed to fossicking. I am very interested in any other sites .
Mackka

I'm fairly certain where we were was ok to fossick- from what I've read the no go zone is signposted?
We were in a super swampy bit of Macpherson's swamp, it was knee deep in places, then we walked past some fresh holes to a place where it was quite dry and lots and lots and lots of blackberries

We found absolutely nothing except clay minerals so I'm assuming we were in the wrong spot/ not in *the* spot

Hi EmilyKate.

My sapphire fossicking experience is limited to Queensland so I'm not sure about how wash distribution might work elsewhere but sapphires and especially zircons both have a high specific gravity and are heavy for there size, causing them to accumulate in low-lying spots. Around boulders and rocks bars in the creeks and gullies are good spots to scrape out and run through a sieve.

That's still very helpful, thank you!