Old Test Holes/Costean Trenches

[Masooo]

Hey guys long day out at Heathcote today, the usual bullets/ 22 casings. I have question regarding the assortment of holes I came across. When the old timers dig a hole were they trying to reach bedrock and find the vein? Example theyve come to a gold bearing area see a minor hill or something with quartz thickly spread across in small pieces. Did they first test pan where they dug? Or dig it straight down to bedrock and test it there? also I found a massive trench dug maybe about 30meteres uphill from a mine with no sign of a shaft anywhere, theres a couple small heaps close but nothing major. Being surrounded by other mines is it possible this vein just wasnt rich enough?

 

[Masooo]

I forgot to mention in the trench wall there were quite a few quartz veins

 

[madtuna]

Hi Masooo,
hard to give a definitive answer without seeing the holes but your trench sounds like a costean, looking to intersect those quartz veins or a reef.
The heaps aren't old dry blowing heaps are they?

 

[Masooo]

I cant find any photos of a dry washed pile, Im assuming it wasnt because of the amount of dust in the heap, I think it is a costean. I was just curious because the other mine I mentioned had its own costean that finishes about 1 mtr before the shaft.

I will be making a basic dolly from an old compressed air tank soon, so I will be able to satisfy some more of my curiosities haha

 

[Masooo]

Although thinking about it, old highbanking piles and such are generally just piles of stones, this did have more of a dry look if that makes sense, Ill take my phone out next time and snap a few photos. I also came across some ground that looks similar to pink cliffs, it was what I think is sandstone with multiple veins about the width of my finger, nice and purple pink (from how I remember) you could see the top had only been exposed by some erosion, a fair distance from the place of my original post

 

[madtuna]

Dry blowing heaps will usually have a pile of fines (dust) as well as a pile of stones.

 

[Masooo]

made into two seperate piles Im guessing? Or did they dump the dust on top of the stones?