Help please with Identifying gold bear Quartz veins and geology

[goldtrapper]

I am in the Central West NSW and during my work and travels I come across a huge amount of quartz veins. Mostly in or around granite and decomposed granit and soils. I have been studying Minview and the the associated ancient rock formations that follow gold bearing quartz. Some of the areas I have been searching are within a few miles of 1890's+ gold mines.
I have discovered a huge amount of quartz veins in paddocks in the middle of nowhere and very hard to access during my work. Some of these veins have all the hallmarks I read here that gold is associated with/ Rust, green stain, associated minerals, crystals, opaque quartz etc.
is there someone that would be willing to talk me through the geology without having to do a degree or is it a science that needs many decades to learn?
I feel I am so close to finding a gold bearing reef but am just lacking the skills to know if it just below ground or I just need to crack that next seem?
Also is loaming the only way to tell if there is gold in those reefs? And if no show then I guess those reefs are all barren?
Any help would be appreciated. I must have located over 150 quartz reefs in the last 3 months. There must be some gold in one of them.lol

 

[RM Outback]

Ask Goldierocks he's your go to man for the most accurate info. I was up that way recently and will definitely be back (brother and sister in law) it's great country :Y: good luck.

 

[goldtrapper]

Thankyou RM, will do.

 

[GypsyGoldAu]

It all depends on how you wish to attack it imo.

If you have a detector, the best way is to get on the ground and swing, and swing, and swing again..

Starting fresh, and retracing the 'ol timers method, I can suggest a little book (not encyclopedic) called "Loaming for Gold: By Sam Cash"

The latter is likely the cheapest way to foray into the hobby...and the book can be found at used book shops for $10-15, or new from about $20-25.

Here's just one link;.. https://www.reedsprospecting.com.au/shop/detail/loaming-for-gold/

 

[goody2shoes]

Run a detector over it, then you will no for sure

Goody

 

[goldtrapper]

I don't have a dedicated gold detector yet, it is in the winds though.

Thanks GypsyGoldAu that Sam Cash books sounds like good reading.

 

[goody2shoes]

Would you have a Dolly pot? At lease then you could crush some and pan it,

Just trying to come up with some idea for you,

Goody

 

[GypsyGoldAu]

No worries Trapper...it is an easy read & easy to follow...if you have the time to prospect that way, just lots of sampling up & down the reef/slopes.

I find detecting easier for nuggety ground, but loaming will catch the very fines that detectors may miss.

Washing/panning your test samples can be very therapeutic i find...slow, but efficient.

P.S... a cheap dolly pot can be made from an old empty fire extinguisher and use an old sash window counter-weight for your stamper. Most scrap yards will have the materials you need if handy in the workshop.

 

[goldtrapper]

Yes after reading the posts on here a dolly pot and rock crusher are jobs for the shed. Some of these areas history is not nuggety but fine gold so I guess there is going to be lots of intensive prospecting involved.
The old timers had to have gone over these areas at some stage as they basically went everywhere but you never know.

 

[GypsyGoldAu]

Gold is where you find it, and during the rushes, many ran over rich ground to get to the 'rush'... you never know what they missed until you try.

There are Y-tube vids how to make dolly pots from a range of items, but the fire extinguisher works a treat if you have a saw and a welder, otherwise any engineering shop can knock one up if you take the extinguisher to them. You'll also need a 3-5mm base plate about a foot square to mount to.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diy+rock+sample+crushing+dolly+pot

The old sash window counterweights are about 14" long (~340mm) and HEAVY with a semi rounded end where the sash cord tied, perfect for the 'bowl' of the pot..

 

[SWright]

G'day

There is an old saying. Almost all gold is associated with quartz but most quartz has no gold. Take samples and dolly as others have said. take some soil from nearby and pan. Look on old records to see if there has been any mining at all and for what. the old timers did not miss much that outcropped.

Araluen

 

[user 4386]

G'day

There is an old saying. Almost all gold is associated with quartz but most quartz has no gold. Take samples and dolly as others have said. take some soil from nearby and pan. Look on old records to see if there has been any mining at all and for what. the old timers did not miss much that outcropped.

Araluen

Well said. And in some areas quartz is abundant but not a trace of gold. Read a good book on prospecting and read up on your area. It is certainly not too difficult to learn, but more than can fit in a blog.

 

[Mike Marsupial]

Out at Nundle at the moment while waiting on matters unrelated to gold.
But what has surprised me is that there is barely any sign of quartz right near old very high yield mines in the area I have been exploring - below Hanging Rock itself. To me that means that the seams and veins were small but VERY rich. Other historically profitable mines within literally a kilometre have immense amounts of quartz.