easy fossick areas

[Teenz]

Hey there,
Wanting to go fossicking with kids so something not too treacherous would be great.
I deally looking at going to Glenn Innes as have been their briefly before and it has been good.
Wondering if anyone has any other suggestions within 4 hours of Newcastle? Also has anyone had any success at Barrington area?
Thanks in advance

 

[Ramjet]

Nundle. Easy access to the river but it's not a very rich gold field. Camp at Chaffey dam.I

 

[shivan]

Uralla is another nice spot with easy access.

 

[Teenz]

Thanks! Great suggestions Ramjet and shivan. I googled and they look good. Is there lots of access points along the river at Nundle Ramjet?

 

[Heatho]

Billabong Blue Sapphire park at Inverell, you will certainly find some stones there, very child friendly, lot's of parents take their kids there during the holidays. Perfect place for an intro to fossicking. The other spots mentioned are great also.

 

[Teenz]

Thanks Heatho, looks good!

 

[Ramjet]

Thanks! Great suggestions Ramjet and shivan. I googled and they look good. Is there lots of access points along the river at Nundle Ramjet?

Yes there are quite a few places to access the river between Nundle and Chaffey dam. Be aware that there is some private land and one pretty irate land owner. 8)

You will see car tracks leading to the water in some places. There are also quartz and other crystals to be found around Hanging rock.

Good luck.

 

[Teenz]

Hey guys I ended up taking myself to Uralla for the day. No gold and very little to show for my days effort but thought I would post a pic.
I think I have some low grade star sapphire material? either quartz/citrine/topaz? a little smokey quartz? not sure of the iron metallic looking stuff, some has the kind of gunmetal sheen of garnet. There are a few little pieces of something milky opalescent? and a couple of tiny shards of amethyst :lol:
If anyone can comment on ID that would be great!

 

[Heatho]

Sorry to say Teenz, no sapphire there or any other gems . Can see 1 small piece of Spinel, the black shiny bit near bottom left, maybe a couple of bits of garnet bottom right. Rest looks like quartz and ironstone.

If you go an hour and a half up the road to Inverell and hit say Billabong Blue fossicking park you will get sapphire and zircon for sure.

Top effort though, those creeks are hard work.

Don't worry though I asked all these same questions and picked many rocks just like yours when starting out, you'll get some good gems with persistence.

 

[Teenz]

Dang!! lol Thanks Heatho

Yes, worth going the extra distance. I had a bit of a pick around at Glencoe years ago, got much better results.

A nice blue sapphy, and I'm guessing green tourmaline?

 

[Heatho]

Hey Teenz, yes could be Tourmaline or Enstatite. Nice finds.

I reckon it's definitely worth the extra drive, there are a few gemfields within 3 hours of Sydney but I usually prefer to drive 7 hours to Inverell.

I'm really keen to get back up there, has been way too long between digs.

 

[Teenz]

Have not been to Inverell yet, I'm keen to get up there soon too, when I have free weekend

 

[Heatho]

You'll love the place.

 

[shivan]

Keep at it and it only gets better. Research and talking to people in the field will get you headed in the right direction.

Here is a little gold i got panning at Uralla for a couple of hours on Monday.

 

[Heatho]

That's chunky for Uralla Shivan, onto a good spot mate, well done.