Finding new gold

[Hurg]

Hey

I know I'm living up to my newb tag here but thought I'd ask this (although I think I know the answer).

I was wondering if all the location of gold in Aus has already been found or if it's possible that new places will be found. So, from my perspective, coming from Tas, it seems like there is a lot of gold on the west coast and north but aside from an isolated pocket near Cygnet, the south and middle seems pretty barren. I live in the Derwent Valley and am at least 2 hours drive to the nearest known gold bearing location, but I was wondering if it's worth my time trying out some of the creeks and rivers up my way or would it be a complete waste of time?

Cheers

 

[gcause]

To quote David Cooper of Treasure Enterprises:

"In Queensland there is over 28.5 million acres of gold-bearing country. For a person with a gold/metal detector covering 1 acre per day ... it would take over 78,000 years to complete!"

David's been researching gold bearing areas across Australia for over forty years.

In Febrary this year he reported that:

"Another "old customer of ours" has just found and detected a new Queensland gold deposit which appears to have never been worked before. He found dozens of gold nuggets ranging up to 6 ounces in weight. Even just one nugget is valued at over $8000.00"

Never believe anyone when they say the ground has even flogged to death. I've seen large nuggets come out of areas people have said has been flogged to death. It's out there you just have to walk over it and detect it.

 

[The Green Wanderer]

Hi hurg,
Not to worry mate, asking questions is how we stop being newbies.
I dont have an on the ground knowledge of tassie but ive been checking things out with regard to gold deposits as my other halfs parents have a holiday prooerty down there. First thing I asked was what the country side was like. Most of the responses I got were "alot like the victorian highlands before industry got to it". We all know how much gold has been found there so that plus the fact that when gold deposits were formed tassie was attached to the mainland there is high probability of gold being all through tassie, getting to it will be the challenge.
On my long list of things to do is sit down and look at the geology of tassie, faults, rivers, earthquake frequency and geological makeup.

Hope you this helps you some or gives you some clues/ideas. TGW

 

[G0lddigg@]

mate gold is where you find it, learning the geology of the area and understanding how gold is formed and distributed are key, once you start to get your head around that start testing likely spots test test and test some more. Personally I like to dig where other people are not.... nough said

 

[Tassie Daz]

Hurg, I was in the Golden Triangle a couple of weeks ago and came across a great guy and his wife who do a heap of detecting and the wife said something that stuck with me after our short discussion was over. I was complaining I hadnt found anything while I was there in the Triangle and she said this, "what you have to do is cover the ground with your coil. No matter where you are, and what's been found before just keep working away at 'covering the ground with your coil'."
I walked heaps of kilometres while I was in the GT and found nothing, but was it a waste of time? Not on your life mate. I had a great time and would be back there tomorrow if I had the chance.
Just keep swing mate, cause they keep telling us newbies, that gold is where you find it.
I live in SA and the occurence of gold here isnt great, but hey even though I know I may not find gold I still have a lot of fun trying to unearth gold in other forms - 24carat rings and the cherished half and full soverigns, .1177g of 24 carat gold. In Tassie you never know where some wealthy pioneer has dropped a half or full SOV. Golds, gold, mate in whatever form you find it. Keep swingin'.

[spent 20 years in Tassie, and as my forum name suggests, Tassie by name, and nature. Its a great place to live. You are a lucky dude]

 

[Goldtarget]

Effort = reward. Anything you can do to enhance your ability to discern a likely piece of gold bearing land will put you ahead of the game. The more we learn the more we discover how little we know. The above posts confirm this. If i was to advise a brand new fossiker i would say three things....ask the pros, spend time in known areas and learn why it's there and where it is, and buy the best equipment you can comfortable afford or build and learn how to use it to it's potential. But to answer your question there are guys here opening up new areas and successful hunting in known areas (i mean they are still getting results) To address your question you need to assess the likely nature of discovering something. But even if you come up empty handed (no mining or suitable info on geological make up) just put a shovel in or swing a detector. Even if the chances are next to zero if you did find something well you may be on virgin territory and the gold may flow. I don't want to give any false hope here, but until you sample you are just guessing. Concentrating your efforts in the most likely ground is your best bet. I'm afforded the luxury here in the gt that the old timers rushed in dug long and hard and disappeared but by no means took the lot. Im willing to bet the gold here will still be dug a hundred years from now.

 

[Hurg]

Ha, thanks for the advice guys. I have to travel a fair bit around the DV and I keep looking at the different ranges and find my self trying to calculate how ancient rivers and creeks would have flown, but then there's that voice in my head that says that no one's ever found gold in the DV (according to the maps and reports I've looked at). Guess I need to know if it's worth testing places if there's no history there.

I would love to have a portable drill so I could run around the state taking core samples.

 

[Goldtarget]

Btw so you don't feel to out of place let me relate something. About a year ago i was visiting relatives in nsw. I asked around about gold deposits, searched the net and came up empty handed. The nearest place that sold prospecting equipment pointed me to the north. Turns out that within a two hour drive of them there are at least 6 separate gold bearing areas, one just 20 mins from where they live. I've seen on here some of the gold that has been recovered from these areas and can only guess how much is left in these remote areas not to far from civilisation. I drove through three Towns that are known for gold without a clue. This forum has opened up another world for me next time i go interstate, because for me i would consider a high probability that there are "virgin" areas just waiting to be dug. You've come to three right place it's the point I'm getting at, and you may be very surprised.

 

[rc62burke]

Hey Mate
Tassie is very interesting!!! there was a new discovery found in the central North last year by a prospector, do your homework & try to work out the best places to sample, all deposits have NOT been found.
Talk to Philski on the forums.
cheers
Lee

 

[richo966]

Tassie has big history of mining there is museum on mining very interesting Tassie is a place of great upheaval and massive deposits the old timers did a lot of panning to find ore bodies but I doubt the they found half of what Tassie has to offer it will continue to amaze people for a long time to come the museum is called West Coast Pioneers Memorial Museum it is well worth a look I spent a long time there and could spend more time checking it out