Came across this gem from days of old....
Hard rock gold from around the world...
- Thread starter Nightjar
- Start date
Help Support Prospecting Australia:
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
If I came across a reef like that I would let the whole Forum know in the hope some would help me carry it out. All for a very good split of course.
Not a reef from memory - a very large, open-cut bulk-tonnage gold mine that has been operating non-stop for at least 30 years. Average grade very low.If I came across a reef like that I would let the whole Forum know in the hope some would help me carry it out. All for a very good split of course.
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Seeing he was one of your students you wouldn't by chance have a pic of that nugget would you. 400oz of wire gold would be some sight for sure.
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Out of an open cut or out of an underground mine...still looks like reef gold to me either way.
Yes I do, somewhere among 10,000 colour slides. If I ever find it I will post it.Seeing he was one of your students you wouldn't by chance have a pic of that nugget would you. 400oz of wire gold would be some sight for sure.
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
That would be the best by far nugget of "wire gold" I would ever have seen out of OZ. Hope you find some time to find that slide. Cheers Wal.
This is the mine the photographed nugget is from - occurs in lava not quartz veins - more than 10 million ounces have come out of this pit so far.Out of an open cut or out of an underground mine...still looks like reef gold to me either way.
Only a small proportion of gold comes out of quartz reefs - for example, half the gold ever mined came from the Rand in South Africa - no quartz reefs there. A third of the gold has come out of these carbon rocks (perhaps 15,000 tonnes of gold from carbon rock).
USA is the world's fourth largest gold producer - 75% comes out of black shaley rock in which you rarely can see any gold specks, as in this high-grade ore from Nevada in these two photos - ore on the right was representative of ore that yielded 4 million ounces from this mine..
And a lot of gold comes out of breccia pipes without quartz veins - this is from the Mt Leyshon mine in Queensland that produced 3 million ounces.
And I never saw a pebble of quartz near gold in cave cavities in limestone at Long Canyon near the Utah border (3 million ounce reserve and increasing, more than 1 million ounces produced.)
And a lot of gold has come out of garnet-rich limestone (eg more than 10 million ounces around Fortitude mine, Nevada - not quartz veins). Examples occur in central NSW around Cadia - Browns Creek is an example.
It is worth keeping in mind, because often nuggets occur in the weathered zones of some of these (especially breccia pipes - I saw a 380 oz example, So far the breccia type and garnet-rich limestones are the most important non-quartz vein types in Australia, and most occur in Queensland or central-west NSW.
Last edited:
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
All very good information about gold from "around the world", and many of us have read and witnessed what and where the gold in those parts of the world was derived from. I remember very well when that lot of gold in the original pic was found, and it hit all the newspapers in WA.. Much of the gold from over there was associated with "quartz" and occurs as native gold. In fact the Golden Mile at Kalgoorlie contained over 1500 tons of gold with almost 75% being native gold. I still say that the gold in the original pic is quartz based as can be easily seen from the pic....but I'm always open to correction.
A very interesting "Australian Gold" read with pics is " Gigantic Gold specimens found in Kambalda, Western Australia...found in "Quartz" veins and worth millions.
The pic you show with the dozer...is that the one where the 400oz wire gold nugget came from...
A good new thread would be "How gold is formed around the world" and associated geology to go with it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-10/rich-gold-seam-half-a-kilometre-deep-in-kambalda/10219576
Last edited:
Goldchaser1
dave
Our young bloke was working at beta hunt when that huge pocket was found,im sure i posted something about it on this site then the media released it a cuppla days later,i was a bit skeptical actually,he was still quite young and what he explained sounded a bit far fetched.
Heard on good authority also a few of the blokes there suddenly had new fishing boats or a shiny new cruza a few months later,the bonuses must of been rippers
Heard on good authority also a few of the blokes there suddenly had new fishing boats or a shiny new cruza a few months later,the bonuses must of been rippers
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Our young bloke was working at beta hunt when that huge pocket was found,im sure i posted something about it on this site then the media released it a cuppla days later,i was a bit skeptical actually,he was still quite young and what he explained sounded a bit far fetched.
Heard on good authority also a few of the blokes there suddenly had new fishing boats or a shiny new cruza a few months later,the bonuses must of been rippers
I'm sure many small samples ended up in pockets as well before the security really set in.
Goldchaser1
dave
Yes apparently Wal.I'm sure many small samples ended up in pockets before the security really set in.
Nightjars photo i've seen many times,an ex work mate said it was found in a Kal or Kambalda site,leaning more towards Kambalda or south somewhere was what i was told.
Been at the superpit for near 11yrs now,usually rattling about in a dozer,still haven't found a bit of native gold or a speci,im on the floors quite a lot,id hand it in if i did but id like to find one bit one day,im not confident.
There is course gold there but it's rare,an ex supervisor had pics of a small pocket found yrs ago,pure white quartz riddled with the noble metal,biggest piece was about football size,shovel op spotted it while loading,it was in a waste block to,someone sent me pics of bits similar to while they were stick picking (getting the steel or old timber out of the high grade from old timers workings) it was pretty rich to,it pops up on occasions but it's not common...
Goldchaser1
dave
Electric Shovel,i'll take a stab at Boddington goldieriocks?
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Yes apparently Wal.
Nightjars photo i've seen many times,an ex work mate said it was found in a Kal or Kambalda site,leaning more towards Kambalda or south somewhere was what i was told.
Been at the superpit for near 11yrs now,usually rattling about in a dozer,still haven't found a bit of native gold or a speci,im on the floors quite a lot,id hand it in if i did but id like to find one bit one day,im not confident.
There is course gold there but it's rare,an ex supervisor had pics of a small pocket found yrs ago,pure white quartz riddled with the noble metal,biggest piece was about football size,shovel op spotted it while loading,it was in a waste block to,someone sent me pics of bits similar to while they were stick picking (getting the steel or old timber out of the high grade from old timers workings) it was pretty rich to,it pops up on occasions but it's not common...
Been to the "Pit" many times Goldchaser and always in awe at how much dirt and rock has come out of that place. The open pit mining began in 1989 and to produce 21 million ounces since then is just mind blowing. To think Paddy Hannon started the rush with his hundred ounce find in 1893 and to now have mined 58 million ounces since then from the pit is just astounding.
The gold in the current ore is mostly too fine so the chance of you picking up a few species is less than winning lotto
. The richest ore was unfortunately found at the top of the original shafts so one needed to be there in 1893 to have picked up what would have been eye opening species....old story, we are over 100 years too late.
When Kambalda Nickel mining kicked off many of the declines tunneled through gold bearing ground. These finds were boarded up while concentrating on nickel recovery. One such mine was the Otter Juan mined by Western Mining. Kambalda was born.
BTW, Have no idea where the original photo was taken, it was sent to me many years ago, certainly not mine.
BTW, Have no idea where the original photo was taken, it was sent to me many years ago, certainly not mine.
Bit of research and found the photo was sent to me by a US friend, and it appears the photo was taken here,
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&...|A197234854&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=6246f7b7
And yet another link confirming above.
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Natural_gold.htm
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&...|A197234854&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=6246f7b7
And yet another link confirming above.
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Natural_gold.htm
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Great bit of research Nightjar and good to see the origin of the original pic. It hit every forum and news cycle when it was found and the pics associated with the mine are spectacular, especially the pics of the crystalline gold.
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Great to see the origin of the original pic and that it wasn't in Australia. Was posted in most gold forums but never had a history of it's location associated with it. I myself even thought it may have been somewhere in WA but was never sure. Great to be informed and a good read associated with that mine.
Goldchaser1
dave
Thanks NJ,i was led to believe it was west oz 
