Turon River NSW information and questions

Thanks Wal, I am not sure where they are but next time we talk I will find out. Hey FK they are there for 2 weeks I think. It's great that people on this forum take the time to help where they can, Thanks to all contributors on this site.

Was there this afternoon met 4 people camping they had a turbo pan and a couple of other pans. Then there was two blokes that were there also who had a sluice and some pans. But I don't think I met your friends kemjak.

WalnLiz said:

G'day Rick,

The Turon itself is that full of buckshot and lead slugs that detecting the rock bars and exposed slopes will drive them mad. If they've got Gold pans with them they will be a lot more productive and pretty well guarantee some gold.....and some of the gold is quite detectable if you can handle a 200:1 ratio lead to gold.

Pity that the water will still be quite cold, with the best gold being generally in the middle of the river, as the edges get quite a hammering. Not sure which section of the Turon they're on, but if you have their exact location send me a PM as it may be near sections I have had reasonable success at.

Cheers Wal.

Click to expand...

Hey Wal,

You seem to know the turon quite well. 8)

I'm heading to sofala in a couple of weeks,with my old man, he used to take us there when I was 10-11yrs old we stayed on a private property (he and the owner filled a vile in a day) we'll be staying at the road bridge. Do you have any suggestions??

I wanna show him good colour again.

Thanks mate.

Doesn't much matter where on the Turon you are these days, the edges have all had a good work over out there. We have had two separate floods recently that would contend for one in one hundred year flood status. They have redeposited reasonable amounts of flood gold into the usual stream edge bedrock bars.

These floods however weren't severe enough to strip overburden from the more central section of the rivers gold line, and as such the mid stream sections still hold by far the best gold, including some quite reasonable nuggets. You need to be able to access these mid stream sections and this is best done once the water levels are low and warm enough during the summer months.

You do not need to find bedrock bars in these sections as the gold falls out with the larger boulders within "current lines", and hangs with these boulders, so current lines are what to look for, and not necessarily structure. Remember the current lines during a big flood are nothing like you will see with the low water current and can take a vastly different line. It's the edge of these strongest current lines that you need to firstly find and focus on, then work for the heaviest and richest gold which will be within this line.

I generally find these by a system I call "in stream loaming", and though some will tell me it's not actually loaming, i pay no attention. . Start from where the strongest current can be seen, and pan a sample, then sample 1/2 metre intervals toward the inside bend of the river in a strait line. Do this at five metre intervals down current for about thirty metres.

Take note at which point the most flakes were found in the pan and join these best test samples in a line. You can do this in a strait section of the river as well as in the bends. You do not need to dig more than thirty centimetres deep for your test pans. This will get you pretty close to the rivers' gold line and that's the point of the exercise.

Note that your samples do not need to show a great amount of flakes, as being surface wash will only contain the finer flood gold. The heavier gold will be in same line only sitting closer and on the bedrock. Can't put an X on the ground for you, as this can take a little bit of time and practice to master, but if you follow these principals you will generally reap better rewards. Hope this helps.

Cheers Wal.

Thanks Wal, you're a Champion. Your knowledge and willingness to help is inspiring. You set a great example for the rest of us. Thanks, Rick

Wow that's a boat load of info. Thanks heaps Wal.

PS. you should wright a book on gold and the the different regions, you certainly know your stuff.

Cheers

Are there any good technics for gold panning at Turon river?? Please let me know Angus

Wal gives a great rundown on the Turon here:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=104149#p104149
post #9

What mbosko said.

Thanks

Hey Guys!!! Where's the best place to go gold detecting along the Turon river?

Where there's gold. Seriously though do some research Im still pretty new to detecting but would never ask where's the best place to go.

http://users.tpg.com.au/dtdan/sofala.htm

http://www.rareaussiebooks.com.au/?...keyword=Sofala&searchby=keyword&offset=0&fs=1

http://www.minersden.com.au/sofala-wattle-flat-goldfields-map-doug-stone/

As above mate you have to research the area and study. No one will tell you where to find it.
Cheers Jaros

Mate I live just above tthe turon river and i can tell you hundreds of spots where there's no gold :lol:

Seriously... I have been going along the Turon for the last 35 years..and with multiple types of detectors since the late seventies... sure you may get the odd bit of colour in the gold pan but unless you can access some private land, the whole area on public ground has been well and truly done over (like every time a new detector comes out).

Having said that, I did find a half soverign just near the river bank on public ground on the site of an old inn but that was a few years ago now (2006). I also managed to find a small nugget with my 2300 last month near the river, but alot of dirt was covered in between.

In my opinion as far as detecting is concerned you have to think outside the box and put your search coil in an area that no one else has done before and I am aftaid that is getting extremely hard now.