Jump to content

Fossicking Around Australia


Bobj

Recommended Posts

Guest littlesarah

This thread is fascinating! One of the very few regrets I have is that hubby and I didn't get to go fossicking with his dad before he became really ill and died. But I think we might take his mum up to some of the places in NSW where they spent a lot of time fossicking and panning for gold.

 

They found some lovely sapphires - FIL had 3 set into a ring for MIL for their golden wedding anniversary. They're so pretty - yellow, green and a parti coloured pink/blue one.

 

I have an opal set into a necklace - the stone was found, polished and set by my in-laws, and given to me in lieu of an engagement ring when OH proposed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 183
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

This thread is fascinating! One of the very few regrets I have is that hubby and I didn't get to go fossicking with his dad before he became really ill and died. But I think we might take his mum up to some of the places in NSW where they spent a lot of time fossicking and panning for gold.

 

They found some lovely sapphires - FIL had 3 set into a ring for MIL for their golden wedding anniversary. They're so pretty - yellow, green and a parti coloured pink/blue one.

 

I have an opal set into a necklace - the stone was found, polished and set by my in-laws, and given to me in lieu of an engagement ring when OH proposed.

 

Love it, our lass...I mined sapphires south of Glen Innes, NSW on and off for a year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest littlesarah

I'm looking forward to having enough time to get out there and find some treasures! In the meantime, I keep finding pretty shells on the beach, and the house is getting rather full of them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

And I was in that area 30 odd years ago...:arghh:

 

The diamond is supposedly going to sell for better than $1m per carat when cut.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

 

PS. Getting "lost" a few times on Google Earth, looking for a few more gemstone localities in the Harts Ranges, Northern Territory desert, about 170 km NE of The Alice.:laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
bobj where would you recommend good fossicking areas in Queensland?

 

G'day mate, the Richmond site is about the best for fossils. Almost every rock you pick up has fossils!

 

If you want to fossick for gemstones then Mount Surprise and O'Brien's Ck for topaz...Fullarton River (Cloncurry) for garnets and The Willows near Emerald for sapphires.

 

You need a fossicking licence to do any of these activities.:yes:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bobj i have found a amethyst with lots of scratches in when i wet it it is nice and purple then it dries all dull and you can see the scratches.do you know a way i can get them out?would you recommend buying a rock polisher?

 

G'day mate, it is very difficult to remove the scratches from hard mineral specimens and no, I would not recommend a rock polisher, which, I suppose you mean a rock tumbler. They are fairly expensive to buy and run for little reward.

 

The rocks in my cabinet were about 85% found by me. the rest were swapped. I only have a few small specimens left of amethyst, because I used them to swap for other minerals.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

is it hard to find a good specimen in Queensland?

 

G'day mate, I have never found any amethyst in Queensland because I have some from Western Australia and don't need any more. There is a place near Cloncurry, but you would be better informed by looking it up in your computer.<label for="rb_iconid_14">icon14.png</label>

 

Cheers, Bobj.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Guest AKA63029
fossil.jpg

 

hi bobj i found this in a riverbed near Richmond do you think it is a fossil?

 

 

Hi Pants.

 

I thought at first you had found one of my dads ears, apparently the older you get the bigger the ears:yes:and believe me, with my dad being 80 odd his ears have a different post code to the rest of his body.:err:

 

Shame it's not a fossil, but keep plugging away mate.

 

Cheers Tony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

fossil.jpg

 

hi bobj i found this in a riverbed near Richmond do you think it is a fossil?

 

Odd spot, when I saw your photo, I thought that I had seen it before and went to my pile of jun...er good fossils and rocks that I had just unloaded. I found one similar to that rock and look what I found on the underside:

 

Nautiloid002.jpg

 

A 100 million year old nautiloid fossil! These were once at the bottom of an old sea that covered most of outback Queensland.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...