Hello from Manly

[firegirl]

Gday folks,

So good to discover this forum. Stumbled across it after watching WalnLizs videos on YouTube I love their vids, Liz sounds like such a fun lady, so cool watching her pan, such a professional!

My name is Teresa, my partner Shane & I live in Manly we have a little water taxi business doing transfers on Sydney harbor, plus do a bit of film, photography & web design. Shane has recently gotten prospecting fever, has been researching metal detectors and hi-banks for the last 6 months. Hes the sort of bloke who will window shop and research for months and months before making a decision he has his eye on a GPX 5000, but I suspect he may be dreaming.

My dad was a gold exploration geologist, so I grew up around rocks. I was born in Mt Isa, my dad was a geologist working for the mines, it was his first job after finishing Uni, and my mum was a secretary for Mt Isa Mines. He wood her with beautiful crystals and rock specimens, and eventually a diamond ring :lol: My mums parents were fossickers and did lapidary as well, so mum is a sucker for rocks and anything shiny. She turns 70 this year, has the most amazing collection of minerals, she also designs jewellery & is a silver chain maker. Im building a website for her at the moment for her jewellery designs, will hopefully have it up in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, after watching a heap of videos on YouTube, and reading through this forum, were dead keen to get out and start prospecting and panning. Were planning a trip up to Hill End next week, a mate of ours has a residency singing & performing at the Royal Hotel, so well camp out with the locals and take our time looking around. Im keen to do some sapphiring (especially after watching WalnLizs most recent video at Grabben Cullen Creek!!). I doubt Shane will have time to build himself a hi-bank by the time we head off (haha), so will rely on pans & sieves. Someone mentioned leechs elsewhere on this forum, so Ill have to invest in some knee high gumboots too! I read the area north of Hill End, on the way to Dubbo, has some good spots for sapphiring, am looking forward to doing lots of exploring during our week away.

My mum gave me a little jar of gems at Xmas time the card with it read ...may the 'glass' of your life spill over with precious moments". Shes such a sweetie. Anyway, I opened it last night and picked through the gems, coz I figured we should get familiar with what were looking for next week. I discovered, amongst all the zircon, shed popped in a dog tooth sapphire crystal, and some gorgeous little faceted aquamarine, citrine and tourmaline, and a tiny faceted topaz. Would never have realised, if I hadnt opened it.

I know the darker reddy brown stones are zircon, was wondering if someone can tell me if the champagne coloured stones in the top left is zircon as well?

Thanks, looking forward to exploring this forum and learning more


T

 

[Prospector steve]

welcome Teresa and Shane,and good luck!

 

[Jim.]

Hi all,

Teresa and Shane, welcome to the forum. What an interesting introduction

Jim & Kerrie

 

[Gold miner]

Welcome aboard Guys!
I was in The Isa for a few years!!!

 

[Mystyk59]

Welcome to the forum, Teresa and Shane, Well you are in the right place here, a great friendly bunch who are more than willing to share their knowledge ! Look forward to seeing your future posts
Regards Bill

 

[Palmer Digger]

Gedday There Teresa and Shane,
Thank you for the wonderful, newsy background information in your above introduction .. Welcome to you both and I'm sure you'll get all the assistance you need over time from your new brothers and sisters here on the Prospecting Australia site .. Crikey there Ms T, .. I was eagerly awaiting for the line where you were ready give up all and move to remote location in Cape York! .. Dammit! .. So I guess it's up to Shane to provide you with the gold .. In that case, you'd better let him dive in the deep end and get the 5000 .. No point messing around, ay.

From you immediate family background and Shane's interest detecting, it sounds like we will be hearing from you a fair bit in the future .. Let us know when you've got your Mums' web site up and running .. A jeweller in the family, so to speak, may provide some handy 'value adding' to the end product for those of us who are full-time gold miners and prospectors .. (Sad and very recently impoverished lot that we are).

Good Luck to You Both,
The Digger

 

[axeman]

G'day Teresa and Shane, welcome. Mick

 

[WalnLiz]

Welcome to the forum Teresa and Shane. Glad to have you both on board and, you've picked the best forum out there to both learn and share your adventures with. Liz has already offered to share the finer points on gold panning and gem identification if you need any help. The stones on the top left look from the pic to also be Zircons. Zircons range from clear right through to dark reds and cut into brilliant stones.

Again welcome and hope the upcoming trip has luck following you around both the gold and gem fields...Cheers Wal & Liz.. and glad you enjoyed the vids.

 

[firegirl]

Gedday There Teresa and Shane,
.. Crikey there Ms T, .. I was eagerly awaiting for the line where you were ready give up all and move to remote location in Cape York! .. Dammit! .. So I guess it's up to Shane to provide you with the gold .. In that case, you'd better let him dive in the deep end and get the 5000 .. No point messing around, ay.

hehe thank you all, for the warm welcome! I reckon you're all a bunch of cool folk, am so excited to find this nook of happy people, with whom we can share stories, and learn. Just love it.

To Palmer Digger, I DREAM of coming to Cape York someday. Sounds magic, my dad did heaps of exploration up your way when I was a kid. In fact, his last wish was his ashes be spread across the Gilbert Range ... that is his home country, just north of Hughenden.

Dad's alluvial gold exploration was mostly around the Einsliegh Inlier / Mareeba district. I'm talking 1983 - 1985. He was employed by stock market mobs (Central Murchison Gold, Tenneco Oil & Minerals .... other boutique mobs most of whom are now bust).... to go map the geological structure of the land. Dad was not a prospector, he had no interest in gold .... oh, actually, yes, he loved Gold (that was what he was searching), but his primary love was the rocks, crystals, lay of the land. He was strictly geology ... his love was the science, rocks, and exploring the land. Not the colour. But he did find plenty of colour ... in his time!!!

He'd go bush for six months a year - my whole childhood memories are of Dad being gone, for months and months ... then he'd re-appear, and we'd suddenly have Dad back again. He was a funny old fella, if you could image Fred Flintstone in kakhi's ... that's my dad. Greek fella too, to add to the complexity. hehe.

 

[franma]

Hi Teresa & Shane
missed you yesterday but hopefully we will catch up again in the near future. Hope you enjoyed the weekend
cheers
ranma & bob

 

[firegirl]

thank you Franma & Bob ... we ended up playing around and panning behind our campsite the following day ... had all good intentions of coming up to see you & Bob, but the day got carried away. Found a little colour in our pan, nothing to brag, but enough to give Shano a touch of gold fever !!

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Welcome aboard. I am sure your collected knowledge and experience will be a great addition to the the site. Impresive collection of gems there.

 

[Heatho]

Hi Teresa,

I'm from the local area also, great family story. I'm a new GPX 5000 owner, If you and Shane would like to
check it out sometime at a local beach just send me a PM, none of my mates seem that interested, lol. Hav'nt struck gold
yet, hopefully later this week.

Heath

 

[firegirl]

Hi Heath, that would be awesome, Shane is dead keen to have a look at one! We live on The Corso, I'll send you a PM, would be great to meet you