Qld. Which was the riches gold field
- Thread starter Ward69
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Help Support Prospecting Australia:
Up to the 1970s Mt Morgan was probably the largest, with around 250 tonnes gold produced, and after that Cracow, then Charters Towers. However there have been a number of significant producers since then (e.g. Cloncurry region), although none would exceed Mt Morgan.Ward69 said:
From https://www.goldoz.com.au/australian-gold-rush/
Queensland was the next State to join in the gold rushes of the 1800s. Queensland first separated from New South Wales as a independent colony in 1959. However it was after much of the booms in New South Wales and Victoria that the State became known as a popular destination for miners.
Gold had actually been found there as early as 1858, in a township named Canoona , which caused quite a stir. A prospector known as Chapple found gold there in July and the news was widely publicised. Thousands of miners heard the call and left the heavily worked fields in Victoria and headed north. Many threw caution into the wind and spent all their savings on a passage to Canoona with high hopes.
However, the reports hadnt let on that there was only enough gold there for a few hundred diggers. When the hopeful multitudes arrived there via Rockhampton, the area was in chaos.
The tiny settlement was now overflowing with prospectors. There was nowhere near enough food to feed them all and prices exploded. Tent cities had appeared all over the landscape but little gold was to be found. Many walked away with nothing except for a hard lesson learnt.
It took over a decade before any truly profitable fields were discovered in Queensland. The first was Gympie which was a small agricultural town 160 kilometres north of Brisbane.
A man named James Nash found gold in 1867 and triggered the Gympie Gold Rush. Queensland was in the grip of a crushing depression at the time and James Nashs find perhaps saved the entire colony from bankruptcy.
The event was so welcome it is still celebrated today in the week long Gympie Gold Rush Festival.
On Christmas eve 1871, a 12 year old aboriginal boy found gold in a creek at the base of Towers Hill (about 137 kilometres inland and south west of Townsville) by accident.
His name was Jupiter Mosman and he was travelling with a group of prospectors who were searching the area. Legend has it that a bolt of lightning scared their horses from their camp. While searching, Jupiter not only found the nervous mounts, but also a nugget of gold in the creek.
The rush to the area was as swift as the first diggers arriving in March. A camp had been quickly set up known as Mosman Camp but that swiftly grew into a small town with shopkeepers, blacksmiths and butchers. After that the town boomed as the gold kept flowing.
Twenty five years after the discovery, 20,000 people called the area home. The township, known as Charters Towers, is still alive today despite the fact the mining eventually dried up in the early 1900s. This mining activity has since re-started in modern times due to the reemergence of gold.
The Charters Towers goldfield still carries off the title of richest Australian gold mine. Most of the gold was concentrated into rich veins of up to 34 grams per ton. Thats double what was seen in Victoria and 75% higher than that of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Mount Morgan, Rockhampton was another famous Queensland gold mine. It began work in 1882 and closed in 1981. One man, William Knox DArcy, made a fortune at Mount Morgan and reinvested in oil exploration in Iran. His company was known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company but now exists today as British Petroleum (BP).
Queensland was the next State to join in the gold rushes of the 1800s. Queensland first separated from New South Wales as a independent colony in 1959. However it was after much of the booms in New South Wales and Victoria that the State became known as a popular destination for miners.
Gold had actually been found there as early as 1858, in a township named Canoona , which caused quite a stir. A prospector known as Chapple found gold there in July and the news was widely publicised. Thousands of miners heard the call and left the heavily worked fields in Victoria and headed north. Many threw caution into the wind and spent all their savings on a passage to Canoona with high hopes.
However, the reports hadnt let on that there was only enough gold there for a few hundred diggers. When the hopeful multitudes arrived there via Rockhampton, the area was in chaos.
The tiny settlement was now overflowing with prospectors. There was nowhere near enough food to feed them all and prices exploded. Tent cities had appeared all over the landscape but little gold was to be found. Many walked away with nothing except for a hard lesson learnt.
It took over a decade before any truly profitable fields were discovered in Queensland. The first was Gympie which was a small agricultural town 160 kilometres north of Brisbane.
A man named James Nash found gold in 1867 and triggered the Gympie Gold Rush. Queensland was in the grip of a crushing depression at the time and James Nashs find perhaps saved the entire colony from bankruptcy.
The event was so welcome it is still celebrated today in the week long Gympie Gold Rush Festival.
On Christmas eve 1871, a 12 year old aboriginal boy found gold in a creek at the base of Towers Hill (about 137 kilometres inland and south west of Townsville) by accident.
His name was Jupiter Mosman and he was travelling with a group of prospectors who were searching the area. Legend has it that a bolt of lightning scared their horses from their camp. While searching, Jupiter not only found the nervous mounts, but also a nugget of gold in the creek.
The rush to the area was as swift as the first diggers arriving in March. A camp had been quickly set up known as Mosman Camp but that swiftly grew into a small town with shopkeepers, blacksmiths and butchers. After that the town boomed as the gold kept flowing.
Twenty five years after the discovery, 20,000 people called the area home. The township, known as Charters Towers, is still alive today despite the fact the mining eventually dried up in the early 1900s. This mining activity has since re-started in modern times due to the reemergence of gold.
The Charters Towers goldfield still carries off the title of richest Australian gold mine. Most of the gold was concentrated into rich veins of up to 34 grams per ton. Thats double what was seen in Victoria and 75% higher than that of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Mount Morgan, Rockhampton was another famous Queensland gold mine. It began work in 1882 and closed in 1981. One man, William Knox DArcy, made a fortune at Mount Morgan and reinvested in oil exploration in Iran. His company was known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company but now exists today as British Petroleum (BP).
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hi Ward, Lucky valley is quiet good for panning, where
the Lime works is , is where you need to go, interesting
place. Tried to do compass bearing on that place,
unknown to me at the time i was standing on a
small deposit of magnetite. You should be able
to google up a map of the gold areas. You will
need permission off the current lease holder who
is processing limestone.
the Lime works is , is where you need to go, interesting
place. Tried to do compass bearing on that place,
unknown to me at the time i was standing on a
small deposit of magnetite. You should be able
to google up a map of the gold areas. You will
need permission off the current lease holder who
is processing limestone.
Beautiful written , I knew this forum was about education and not bagging each other. That was. The point of topic. Research research I know of. Creek just outside of Brisbane you can get flower gold. But can't camp and have the same feel of waking up in morning with the mrss when your surrounded by houses. Boy we live in a lucky country. Thanks once again. Bring back mateship the Aussie way. Not care what colour, what religion, if you drink or not. Stop and give the other guy a hand. I go broke But beers are on me. Thanks
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Ive heard Coen was very rich...
I'll try again. "Richest mine" is very subjective because the larger the tons mined, the lower the average grade will be (down to a certain level). So a million ounce plus mine like the Long Tunnel at Walhalla would probably beat Charters Towers, as it averaged 58 g/t overall for the total tonnage mined. The Tarnagulla gold mine was much smaller than either of these and averaged 90 g/t Au during the 19th Century. And once you get down to mines that only produced a few tens of thousands of ounces, some averaged "pounds weight of gold per bucket". But of course "total number of ounces" for the total tonnage mined is different to "richest" - that would probably still be Mt Morgan for Queensland.
hAyyoUinAU
Rick
goldierocks said:
Happens a lot on here. I wonder why it was removed to? I like to check stat data with what I have, sometimes figures are different.
Oh well.
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Ward69 said:
Hi Ward69,
I can't understand why Qld doesn't treat fossicking like other states such as Victoria, NSW and Western Australia and open up all State Forests and other unleased crown lands. It would cost them nothing, we already have the most expensive Fossicking Licence scheme that I am aware of. Regional communities need every possible boost to their economies and this would be one way for Qld Govt to create without spending a penny. New GPA signage should be financed out of increased Fossicking Licences. Roads etc. in State Forests are maintained anyway.
This system of very limited access via a few GPAs at Warwick and those at Clermont is not exactly a statement to anyone that Qld is "open for the Fossicking business". The Qld Govt likes to portray itself as being interested in promoting tourism in the regions, but locals and interstate visitors alike are getting somewhat disheartened by having to go over and over already very well trodden ground.
We met a lot of interstate visitors this year at Clermont who aren't in any hurry to return despite the opening of "new" ground which it turns out has been illegally prospected for many years and most of which never contained much anyway. This negative experience will influence their future travel plans and rural and regional Qld towns and businesses may not benefit from dollars being spent.
Cheers,
Graham :goldnugget: :goldnugget:
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