Some finds from Lowmead

[silver]

It could even have positives if that pitch range is the same range that nagging occurs at or that kids ask for money at

It's good to see some positives come out of it all Lefty.
I'd even have a crack at it myself now,... if the same results were a proven that is. :/
Might wait for all the research to be done first though. :lol:

 

[toogoom trio]

The hearing in my right ear is perfect up until a certain pitch range.

i have the same prob lefty

i always put it down to terminal marriage syndrome lol
only comes in effect when she wants something
only jokes
glad yr on the mend

 

[Mungoman]

My dear old Dad was right handed, and that's why I'm deaf in the left ear...

 

[DirtyDigger]

Watalgan Range mineral fossicking near yandaran is there any info or any finds from there. Any info would be gr8.

 

[Rockhound]

There is agate at Watalgan.Been there a few times found a few small pieces of agate.I haven't been able to find the actual diggings though.

 

[AtomRat]

Glad your ok after the near miss Lefty. I've had a few close calls but no injuries yet from anything, though I've had to help mates out a few times. One bloke was digging under a huge granite boulder which dropped onto half of his body and his nose and mouth just out of the water. Needed to lever it off with a branch so he could climb out and he had a few bad scratches and some bruising from the crush, but ok in general.

I'm not a fan of surgery in sensitive spots. I copped damage in my right ear when a feedback speaker shot high decibels into it while my boss was tuning the equaliser. Its never been the same since and have about 48% hearing in it since my early 20s. Never really caused an issue except for needing someone to repeat at times but I try to keep the conversation on my good ear side. Oh.. and the fact that I get severe pain diving underwater and in airplanes now...but I wouldn't want no surgery there even if I had 0 percent hearing. I know some sign language so I'm already up one step there lol

Hope your recovery has been fast and it must have been some knock mate and happy your still here to tell the story. Go kick that rocks ass when you go back digging :lol:

 

[AtomRat]

By any chance can you ( or someone ) post the sort of ground your talking about that slipped or has chance to slip?

 

[Lefty]

By any chance can you ( or someone ) post the sort of ground your talking about that slipped or has chance to slip?

She's just decomposed granite sand at Lowmead AR - so much easier to dig than the near-concrete ground at the gemfields, but so much less stable and prone to collapsing.

 

[Rockhound]

Went to Watalgan again today.no joy.I,ve been there a few times but haven't seen any diggings.Has anyone got any info on where to start looking

 

[DirtyDigger]

Hi been told there was an area in bundy to digg geodes near a bridge a long side a creek has anyone heard of such place?

 

[Lefty]

I've heard of amethyst at either Watalgan or Winfield, as well as thunder eggs. Never been there though.

Went back to Lowmead on Saturday, didn't find much. But father-in-law was there for the first time and found a piece that will facet quite a nice purple-tinted smokey I think.

Finished a bit of dark Lowmead amethyst last night in a cut called "Squaretugese". It's a semi-Portuguese cut pavilion with a step-cut crown. The look, is very effective! I actually stuffed it up and there are a number of technical imperfections but the stone looks so nice you would never know unless you knew exactly what you were looking for.

 

[silver]

A photo of it would still be thrilling though Lefty.

 

[Lefty]

A photo of it would still be thrilling though Lefty.

I'll be even more thrilled when I get my new computer so I can post photos again! :/

Old one is cactus, just found out a new one will set me back two grand But I have to have it.

 

[Owen]

Hey Bundy Ben. I am based in Bundy also and coincidently was at Watalgan yesterday trying to find the old thunder egg patch going off my memory from last visiting it 30 years ago. Explains all the fresh diggings we spotted where you had been !!!. Also went out to native dog creek after that and was surprised at the amount of shafts over a vast area that I was completely unaware of. Definitely worth going back again to spend more time. Pretty sure it was Tungsten mined there.

Do you need to dig or are they on the surface and where abouts in watalgan can you fossick like the address of the place

 

[Lefty]

While teenage son sat home and played Minecraft, I took my 11 year old niece to Lowmead yesterday for some real fossicking, her first dig for anything. Straight away she found a citrine crystal about an inch and half across. No good for faceting but a perfectly formed six-sided point so still a good specimen. We got quite a few small crystals, mostly smokies or very pale amethyst, none of the deep purple. But I made a convert and now she wants to go fossicking every time I go somewhere She got some well-formed crystals to start a collection and a few crystals that will cut nice little earring stones.

Father-in-law has converted me as to the digging day routine - the day is now finished off on the veranda of the Lowmead pub, an excellent way to finish up

 

[silver]

Certainly is getting hot enough to end up there,... nice of the old fella to drive for you too lefty(I am assuming here) :lol:
it is amazing to see that youthful enthusiasm and intrigue once that first formed crystal is found and seen to be straight out of the Earth, even if they've seen hundreds of others before, it's the being there and digging it that is the moment.

 

[Lefty]

nice of the old fella to drive for you too lefty(I am assuming here) lol

We talked about how it was a shame that niece is not quite old enough to have her drivers licence :lol: So I had a couple of pots of midstrength and stopped there.

It's actually really nice on the back veranda of the Lowmead pub, nice and breezy and it looks out across nice green paddocks and to the mountains beyond. I could have very easily have just sat there swilling schooners - maybe the next trip will have to be an overnighter

Just went through all the stuff. Most of it is just specimen grade of course but there will be some nice enough stones that can be cut. One little smokey crystal that niece found is basically the perfect piece of rough - totally flawless and crystal clear and an ideal shape for a hexagonal cut. Should make a nice little ring stone, mebbe a small pendant stone.

 

[silver]

I recon once you get those stones cut and set for your niece, that would be some nice keepsake she would end up with Lefty,.... she'd still be talking about them and showing them off when she's an old girl.
I like the drive up through lowmead,... the sandy creek beforehand helps the build up a bit,... first time we went up there we drove all the way to Clarkys down clarks Road, that was a nice drive too,... only been in the pub to buy Fizzy for the kids and say gday to the locals inside on our way through(and to gaze upon the beauty behind the bar " the big one up on the shelf " ). I recon you'll be right for some ice coldies once your teenager gets his liscence.
I said about going up through the holidays for a dig,...Mrs silver recons it'll be too hot to do any digging,.... but I think a nice big tarp overhead would take the sting out of it.

 

[Lefty]

The temperatures actually haven't been too bad Silver. There was a nice breeze the whole time we were digging.

I've recently started venturing out to dig in summer and have been surprised by how bad it usually wasn't. Three times at Lowmead this month, usually the hottest month of the year and it hasn't been that bad at all. Father-in-law and I went to Mount Gibson twice this time last year and were again surprised that the temperatures were in fact not lethally hot, even there in Far North QLD.

As far as I'm concerned now, the only things likely to put a spanner in the works are fair dinkum heatwave conditions or rain. You can check both on BoM before you consider going. I check the temperature and rain forecasts for both Gladstone and Bundaberg before going to Lowmead, gives me a bit of an idea since the place is between the two. I also check this handy BoM page. There are hundreds, possibly thousands I guess of these little remote rainfall recording stations dotted all about the place, seemingly transmitting a continual stream of local data back to BoM. They appear to be meant to supply rainfall data to the bureau for the purpose of flood/stream level monitoring. Any one of them close by to the place you intend to go digging will tell you how much rain - if any - there has been over the past 24 hours: very handy thing to know since if we get there and the ground is just mud after 3-4 inches of rain the trip is wasted and small creek crossings might be impassable that day anyway.

Move the mouse pointer over the dots on the map, each one is a remote station. The one close to Lowmead is Mimdale and I see this morning it has had 2mm of rain in the past 24 hours - not enough to bother fossickers. Give it a go

 

[silver]

Good on you lefty,.. that was just too easy mate, what an easy way to check on the ground conditions(as to wet or dry).... No1. digger (eldest son) recons he's not digging till winter, even coaxing, saying he could bring his girlfriend didn't change his outlook at all,....I thought he might have liked to show off a bit by exercising his muscles for her,..... might end up having to wait till the home brew has matured and camp out up there somewhere,.....I'm sure if P305 would be up for a trip nearing the end of the holidays,.. a few home brew beers will help swing the deal and make digging a bit more fun in the long run,.... he's never been up there before either,.... and who knows who else might be there for a drink dig around then,... I'll put something up in the members meet up thread when I have more concrete plans(and mature beer). :lol: