Grampians Gemstones?

[Average Joe]

So i live in the Grampians region and im interested in members experiences with gemstones and were to find them.
I'm 15km from Halls Gap, so were would my closest place be to find some gemstones?

 

[Dughug]

G'day Average Joe,

One of the nearest places to you is Mooralla where you find a lovely smoky quartz in the decomposed rhyolite. Mooralla is a declared fossicking area that legally you can't dig down more than 6 feet. There are a couple of cowboys that are digging far deeper and have been stripping the area for years essentially they are mining it. Even so it is still a great place to fossick.

Also there is cut-able Rhyolite at Rocklands reservoir at the old quarry near the caravan park. Check with the rangers for permission to collect there.

Not too far away is the council quarry at Mt Shadwell famed for its olivine and facetable peridot.

Contact Brian Mann the President of the Horsham Lapidary Club for details of fossicking in this area.

http://www.lapidaryworld.com/horsham_and_district_lapidary_club.html

Don't forget to look in at the National Gemboree being held at Longrenong over Easter next year - It will give you an opportunity to see one of the biggest gem & mineral shows in Australia and buy some nice specimens etc at very reasonable prices. Check out the AFLACA site for more information.

http://aflaca.org.au/

 

[Average Joe]

Thanks alot for that Dughug, I will let you know how i get on

 

[Bigbarra]

Just adding dughugs comments about Mt Shadwell at Mortlake (near Warrnambool), Average Joe, you're now only allowed to fossick for peridot there on Fridays and you need to go to the council office first to fill out the necessary paperwork. The guys at the quarry put aside an area to fossick in and look after the fossickers very well. Well worth a look! Thanks for the tip of Ryolite at the old quarry near Rocklands, might have a crack!

 

[Average Joe]

thanks Bigbarra, i'll be passing through Mortlake in a couple of weeks. I will have to check it out