Research

[Pirate pete]

Hi all just thought I would ask what kind of research you do before you go to an area I normally have a good look at google earth then try to find out what went on in the area. I also have GE KMZ file on google earth so I can see the old mines what they dug how deep they went , shaft or open cut how much gold it produced and what the host rock was etc. PP

 

[shakergt]

I do just about every thing I can. Google earth. Mindex, thengraph you name it

 

[StoneTheCrows]

Minview for sure

 

[tuner]

whats mine view?

 

[Mackka]

A thousand years ago (well that's what it seems like), I would go to the Dept. Minerals and Energy and buy the geo maps and the typo maps and spread them out on the kitchen table, take a magnifying glass and look for possible spots. No drones, no google earth, no vic maps, just hardcopy.
The research was probably the most exciting part of the adventure because when you hit paydirt you mentally congratulate yourself for a job well done.
Whatever your source of information, enjoy the journey and celebrate your victories.
Best Wishes
Mackka

 

[user 4485]

First thing I do is try to establish access - private/leased or publically accessible etc.
I usually do this via NSW Resources ArcGIS (shows crown land but not status) &/or land titles sites (NSW LPI, SAI land - these can charge a fee). Accessible public or crown land I will usually follow up moreso as private or leased land can be hard to get permission nowadays.
Not using Minview much at all these days as I just use the NSW Resources Google Earth overlay which provides the info with the benefit of seeing it directly on the satellite image. There is also a lot of other info/overlays like geology etc. It's a really good resource for NSW researchers as is ArcGIS when working properly!
Google Earth is also good for zooming in on likely looking areas that may not have past mining marked but still worth a look. Even if just for tracks in to enable a closer look at the ground.
I also use topo maps & some of these can contain some great info like marked alluvial areas, tracks + the names of properties.
I had been researching an area recently & wondering why the gold hadn't carried that far north. Some parish maps I had a peep at showed an area of old gold diggings (all now private property) where I was looking - they're not marked on Minview, NSW Resources overlays or anywhere else I've looked so far so Parish Maps can be very helpful too. The NSW Historical map site isn't real user friendly though IMO.
Trove is a great resource as well once you're drilling down on an area. Some great historical info to be had there.
Best research is getting out there if you can. Every step you take is a step closer - so I'm told.

 

[StoneTheCrows]

https://minview.geoscience.nsw.gov....7181420752&lon=-32.22016476844516&l=mg9:y:100

You can add or remove whatever layers you want.

This for nsw viewing.

 

[More Leadshot]

Great topic Pirate Pete, only new to prospecting and am struggling with where to search for information especially in NSW
Cheers Jamie

 

[Heatho]

Trove is great for researching what was going on at the time.

 

[Mike Marsupial]

Great topic Pirate Pete, only new to prospecting and am struggling with where to search for information especially in NSW
Cheers Jamie

I have minview (Stone the Crows put a link a couple of posts earlier) on screen almost always. My default layers are gold (of course), Nat. parks, State forests and I regularly take a quick look to see who has exploration or mining rights. One feature I really like is being able to easily flick between the NSW base map, NSW Imagery and Google Globe imagery on the right hand side of the screen.

I guess a lot of us here could happily scrutinise maps all day long if it weren't for other things that need doing. Before the internet I used to buy the topo's and study them for hours looking for out of the way places to take my bike camping. Used to nick off by myself for four weeks every year. Great for the soul! Oops... getting way off topic.

 

[ProspectorPete]

I use Google Earth with mines overlay, Geovic, John Tully maps and any hint or sniff of a good area I overhear or read on a forum or comments detecting related, whatever it takes lol
I usually head out for a day or weekend to suss and area out but since I don't get out much this is a long process to finding a good area that's remote and not too much detecting pressure from others.

 

[Bobh]

In preparation for WA trip in May, June & July I've spent fair bit of time comparing info in Gold & Ghost to GeoMapWA, Tengraph, Mindex and so on. Can now overlay pending and live tenements as well as google earth tracks onto Ozexplorer / Hema HN7. Lot of preferred sites are on live tenements so here's hoping mining companies will look favourably on my request to do a little detecting. Live tenements are mainly unsurveyed. If that fails hoping pastoralists will be cooperative with my back up sites. Menzies region mid to end May then onto Laverton.

 

[Dron]

+1 Trove!

In NSW, DIGS! http://digsopen.minerals.nsw.gov.au/

Both free and mind blowing amounts of information.

Books!

Poke the locals with a stick until they tell you where the gold is! Find some locals and ask them nicely for information.

Also for NSW:

HLRV - for old maps
SixMaps - for finding property boundaries to ask for permission
GSNSW Overlays for Google Earth - same data as MinView but in Google Earth
State Library
Google Earth Historical Imagery - go back to a drought year and look for the diggings, old tracks, anything unusual, mark locations on GPS and then ground truth.

 

[madtuna]

Google earth and damn good pair of redbacks :Y:

 

[HippyProspecting]

Ive been using trove, Google, google maps and geovic.
I will then jump in the car to take a look, only to find out the creek is fenced off or majorly overgrown with blackberries
I have found a couple of spots i can get too but no luck yet.
The hunt is half the fun though

 

[Ship of fools]

Ive been using trove, Google, google maps and geovic.
I will then jump in the car to take a look, only to find out the creek is fenced off or majorly overgrown with blackberries
I have found a couple of spots i can get too but no luck yet.
The hunt is half the fun though

One of the few things a fossicing license allows you to do in Qld is roadside, I get frustrated by following gazetted roads to locked gates and reserves surrounded by private property.
Matt T

 

[roddosnow]

Google Earth Historical Imagery - go back to a drought year and look for the diggings, old tracks, anything unusual, mark locations on GPS and then ground truth.

That is a pearler :Y:

what website do you use to work out what the drought years were for a particular region? BOM?

Cheers,

 

[Dron]

Google Earth Historical Imagery - go back to a drought year and look for the diggings, old tracks, anything unusual, mark locations on GPS and then ground truth.

That is a pearler :Y:

what website do you use to work out what the drought years were for a particular region? BOM?

Cheers,

Just click the '2004' next to the little picture of the clock with the arrow in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, next to the tour guide button. Then use the timeline slider bar to browse through available imagery sets until you find one that looks drought-like. Droughty? Depending on the area you might have 10 image sets or only one or two.

Sparse vegetation sometimes indicates shallow ground or surfacing. Dark green usually indicates a gully, creek or valley.

Six maps sometimes has different aerial photography than Google Earth too, and so does National Map http://nationalmap.gov.au/ so sometimes it's worth checking too.

 

[Stix]

I find digs invaluable, plenty of maps, geology reports and history on there just have to trawl through every result. Cheers

 

[Matt80]

In preparation for WA trip in May, June & July I've spent fair bit of time comparing info in Gold & Ghost to GeoMapWA, Tengraph, Mindex and so on. Can now overlay pending and live tenements as well as google earth tracks onto Ozexplorer / Hema HN7. Lot of preferred sites are on live tenements so here's hoping mining companies will look favourably on my request to do a little detecting. Live tenements are mainly unsurveyed. If that fails hoping pastoralists will be cooperative with my back up sites. Menzies region mid to end May then onto Laverton.

I'm not sure what the regulations are in WA, but in Queensland tenament holders have few if any rights to stop you or to allow you access to land. I've had a guy turn up on my land claiming to have spoken to the mines department if it was ok to prospect on an EL and they said it was. They neglected or he happened not to hear that just because it's ok to prospect on an area covered by an EL you still need landholder permission on private property.