Looking for a mentor (or just a little advice) - Central Qld

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Hi everybody,

Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Josh, I am 19 years old and live in central Queensland. I am an avid gold miner, its what I live for. People say find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life, gold mining is my passion. I am originally from New Zealand (no sheep jokes please) and have been living in Australia for almost 10 months. I mined in New Zealand as a hobby in my spare time, mainly using a pan, sluice and sometimes a dredge in the rivers of the west coast. The first time I saw gold in my pan I was hooked, I had the fever and an insatiable hunger to find more. Its not even about the money for me, if gold was $10 an ounce I would still be mining. Perhaps its the peace and tranquility of being in nature, or knowing that the creek I am waist deep in holds so much historical value, 100 years previous could have seen an old timer panning in my very spot. Anyway, I have decided that gold mining is what I want to do for a job so over the past few months I have done quite a lot of research about how I go about securing an Exploration Permit (EP) and organised the purchase of an 8 tonne excavator and the building of a 30 tph alluvial trommel plant. I have a few ideas as to where id like to mine and have studied Myminesonline to see where others have their EP's placed (dont want to tread on any toes!). These things are not to difficult to arrange, but they are not what I need advice on. I am seeking an old timer (it doesnt have to be an old timer) somebody who has a long history in gold mining and can maybe meet me (or email) to discuss a few things like potential spots around central queensland, what to look for in places that could contain gold and possibly a few secrets that would be nuggets of gold to somebody starting out in the business. I am the sort of person who firmly believes that I can shave years of potential failure off by listening to people who have been there and learnt from their failures. And of course if they helped me achieve my life long dream of running a gold mine, I would of course offer them a percentage of whatever I find, and possibly a position in my crew.

Thankyou to everybody who has taken the time to read this post and in advance to anybody who emails me.
 
Mate, If any one wants to email you they will use the ""Email"" icon under your Avatar. :) :)
 
LOL, No worries, You are not supposed to put contact details up in a post.
How about introducing yourself in the relevant section. ??
Good luck with your endeavors. :D
 
jbl622 said:
Hi everybody,

Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Josh, I am 19 years old and live in central Queensland. I am an avid gold miner, its what I live for. People say find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life, gold mining is my passion. I am originally from New Zealand (no sheep jokes please) and have been living in Australia for almost 10 months. I mined in New Zealand as a hobby in my spare time, mainly using a pan, sluice and sometimes a dredge in the rivers of the west coast. The first time I saw gold in my pan I was hooked, I had the fever and an insatiable hunger to find more. Its not even about the money for me, if gold was $10 an ounce I would still be mining. Perhaps its the peace and tranquility of being in nature, or knowing that the creek I am waist deep in holds so much historical value, 100 years previous could have seen an old timer panning in my very spot. Anyway, I have decided that gold mining is what I want to do for a job so over the past few months I have done quite a lot of research about how I go about securing an Exploration Permit (EP) and organised the purchase of an 8 tonne excavator and the building of a 30 tph alluvial trommel plant. I have a few ideas as to where id like to mine and have studied Myminesonline to see where others have their EP's placed (dont want to tread on any toes!). These things are not to difficult to arrange, but they are not what I need advice on. I am seeking an old timer (it doesnt have to be an old timer) somebody who has a long history in gold mining and can maybe meet me (or email) to discuss a few things like potential spots around central queensland, what to look for in places that could contain gold and possibly a few secrets that would be nuggets of gold to somebody starting out in the business. I am the sort of person who firmly believes that I can shave years of potential failure off by listening to people who have been there and learnt from their failures. And of course if they helped me achieve my life long dream of running a gold mine, I would of course offer them a percentage of whatever I find, and possibly a position in my crew.

Thankyou to everybody who has taken the time to read this post and in advance to anybody who emails me.

great to meet someone with the same interest and age but a bit of a bummer that your in Queensland bit hard to meet
 
Hi Hunting the yellow, yes a bummer for sure. I wasn't sure if there was many people our age interested in gold fossicking/prospecting. Personally, I cant get enough of it. Every weekend im out there at the crack of dawn with either my highbanker or my AT GOLD. Im always thinking that next shovel will hold the mother lode, once im in the creek, its very hard to get me to leave.
 
Welcome mate.

I have worked for the big mining boys most of my life and that involved working with the Kiwi's.

They are some of the very best miners i have had the pleasure of knowing.

Great operators, and great blokes.....one of them actually taught me most of what i know.

Love your enthusiasm for our great industry mate.

Look forward to your contribution to the forum.

Cheers
 
jbl622 said:
Hi Hunting the yellow, yes a bummer for sure. I wasn't sure if there was many people our age interested in gold fossicking/prospecting. Personally, I cant get enough of it. Every weekend im out there at the crack of dawn with either my highbanker or my AT GOLD. Im always thinking that next shovel will hold the mother lode, once im in the creek, its very hard to get me to leave.

yeah ill bet but there art that many spots up that way for the gold that I know of ill have to visit again as half of the family are up that way anyway lol

I couldn't get enough of it at the age of 10 let alone now lol both gems gold fossils mines and mining rock climbing are my joys
 
Big plans JBL, wishing you the best of luck with your adventures, here's a pic to whet your appetite (in QLD too). It's an old cassiterite trommel with a jig and knudson bowl, not a bad setup, but pain in the backside when all the trommel spray holes fill up with fish. A Gemini 1000 concentrating table was used for final cleanup before heading for the furnace. The biggest cost trying to keep this setup going was maintenance and having spares on hand, one of the 20 tonne excavators died only after a short while requiring a new engine which was a killer. This was only a sampling plant, and not the main production trommel plant.

1421668284_pa3.jpg


1421667728_pa2.jpg
 
Hi Goldpick, great photos, thanks for sharing. Is this your operation? and if so did the sampling plant provide sufficient information to warrant bringing in the main production plant? Yes I have owned an excavator in the past, only a 15 tonne and your right in saying the biggest cost is having spares like hydraulic hoses etc
 
Hunting the yellow said:
jbl622 said:
Hi Hunting the yellow, yes a bummer for sure. I wasn't sure if there was many people our age interested in gold fossicking/prospecting. Personally, I cant get enough of it. Every weekend im out there at the crack of dawn with either my highbanker or my AT GOLD. Im always thinking that next shovel will hold the mother lode, once im in the creek, its very hard to get me to leave.

yeah ill bet but there art that many spots up that way for the gold that I know of ill have to visit again as half of the family are up that way anyway lol

I couldn't get enough of it at the age of 10 let alone now lol both gems gold fossils mines and mining rock climbing are my joys

Let me know if your up my way again mate, i'd gladly show you a couple good spots I have discovered.
 
You're not the only one mate, if you can see it on top, you know its even better on the bottom.
 
It was a small company I worked for, and the sampling plant was probably used more for R&D on what was necessary re setting up of a larger plant, throughput, and how efficient the setup could be. Though at the time of that photo, it was being used to test bulk samples from costeans to test the depth of the gold bearing gravels.

Unfortunately the concentrations/consistency of the gold didn't live up to expectations (very fine), too much surface cover, and crippling maintenance and rehabilitation costs spelt an end to the project, and it was sold off to a private operator. It pays to have good gear from the outset, as one major breakdown on your plant gear can be crippling to the whole operation.

These sorts of operations are better off run privately, simply too many costs involved as a company and the obligations that go with it. The cultural heritage clearances alone ran into tens of thousands of dollars.

Despite that, it was good fun, and I learnt a hell of a lot during that time. :)
 
welcome aboard jbl622

looks like you're on the good path, i couldn't agree more about finding something you love to do and see if you can make a living from it. Its a great work ethic and promotes a happy lifestyle. wish you all the best and we look forward to seeing how you go along the path.

I might be back up in QLD next year/later this year maybe we can do some prospecting :)
 

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