Termite mounds

[Colmaca]

Last weekend my mate said the termites loaded top there mounds with gold 8) I said what a load crap so I knocked the top off 2 mounds in a area that I'm shore has gold everywhere. soaked it overnight and washed it next morning until I got a small amount blackish sands left. I panned this and found 1 flower gold partial.
Man I would have to crack many mounds to get a Gram :lol:

But I did get a sample 8)

 

[Redmanti]

It's a bush story that has a basis in truth.

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Want to know if you're literally sitting on a gold mine? Get some termites, a new study suggests.

New experiments in West Australia reveal that termites "mine" and stockpile the precious metal while they're collecting subterranean material for their nests.

For the study, entomologist Aaron Stewart, with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and colleagues took samples from several termite nests and compared the nest material to nearby soil samples from varying depths.

By using a mass spectrometeran instrument that measures molecules' chemical makeupthey discovered that the termite nests were richer in gold than termite nests farther away from the metal, Stewart said in an email. (Also see "Battling Termites? Just Add Sugar.")

"That social insect colonies can selectively accumulate metals from their environment has been known for some time," Robert Matthews, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Georgia, noted by email.

"Some have even suggested that ant and termite nests could be analyzed productively when searching for potential mining sites for precious metals" such as gold, he said.

Those are Stewart's thoughts exactly. Gold deposits are usually hidden a few meters below the surface, making them tough for people to locate. But insects could essentially act as indicators of this buried treasure, said Stewart, whose study appeared recently in the journal Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis.

"Drilling is expensive. If termites can help narrow down the area that needs to be drilled, then exploration companies could save a lot of money."

Termites Worth Their Waste in Gold?

In a related study published in 2011 in PLoS ONE, Stewart and his colleagues set out to find if termites, like many animals, accumulated metals within their bodiespotentially another way to pinpoint valuable mineral deposits.

Just as mammals accumulate calcium to maintain bones, some insects stockpile zinc and magnesium to harden their exoskeleton, particularly their jaws. Metals such as zinc act to reinforce those body parts.

But insects are also really good at excreting metals they do not need or that are toxic to them, Stewart noted. For example, insects shed metal either during molting or as tiny stones, much like kidney stones in humans. (Also see "Rock-Eating Bacteria 'Mine' Valuable Metals.")

When Stewart started to investigate insect excretory systems, he made a "fascinating" discovery that certain organs in the termite's excretory system contain varying amounts of metalshinting at unknown processes going on inside the termite. That's important, he said, because it means that termite waste is a "driving force" for how metals get redistributed in an ecosystem.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com....s-gold-metals-bugs-weird-science-environment/

 

[Colmaca]

I did find 1 speck near the top I would think there be more lower down as Mr White ant would say way carry this heavy **** to the top I'll dump in in the bottom this is bloody heavy yellow crap

 

[dwt]

This might explain why i found a single 1grammer on its own and nothing else around for miles.........hate to think what the poor buggers butt might be like after pushing that one OUT............Hrrrrrrrraaaaaagh 8.(......"pop" "plink" :lol:

 

[Paulmarr]

Well I know plenty of places to look!

 

[Hunting the yellow]

gee that's a tall one

 

[penfooey]

How interesting....there are thousands of these mounds around Onslow in the Pilbara WA. We'd tell the Yankies from Chevron and Bectel that they were prehistoric dinosaur sh#t - the response generally went 'ya'all gotta be kidden right - man what a gewd jarb - ya'all sure?'

 

[GoldCheddar2005]

That theory may explain this, when I found this over near happy valley, they perfectly spherical shaped mounds, of quartz/pyrite/iron sand.... however the weren't home LOL! None... There is a lot of Gold flecks as you can see... Does that mean happy valley is possibly a very good field

 

[GoldCheddar2005]

And it does fall immediately to the bottom in that sealed bag. Correction on last post the ants weren't home. LOL!

 

[marcowilson]

Hello all members

Litchfield National Park. The Termite Mounds.

We landed in Darwin at 2 am toward the beginning of the day. We were extremely depleted after the 5h departure from Melbourne, so we got the auto, went to the closest calm suburb and spent a night there dozing in the auto.

The morning was delightful: brimming with tropical scents and fowls tunes. Also, it was calm wherever - it was early Sunday morning, so there was no anybody on suburbia lanes - no children, no grown-ups, no autos. We googled a place with great espresso and breakfast (much obliged, Tripadvisor!) and talked about our plans for the main portion of the day. The designs were very straightforward: to get some sustenance, water, gas for the outing and to get a few maps and street notice the Visitor Center.

We spent first 50% of the day driving from the strip mall to Visitor Center, at that point from the Visitor Center to Bunnings (as it was the main working store where we could be purchased gas on Sunday) and afterward, at last, we made a beeline for our first goal - Litchfield National Park!

Litchfield National Park is only 90 minutes drive from Darwin and highlights a heap of different situations including rough sandstone ledges, enduring spring-nourished streams, storm rainforest, attractive termite hills, cascades and memorable vestiges. This 1,500 square kilometer stop was the first home of the Wagait Aboriginal individuals. The Finniss investigation was the main European association with the territory and the Park was named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, an individual from the endeavor. For a long time until 1955, the region was the middle for tin and copper mining. It at that point fell under a peaceful rent until the point that it was assigned a national stop in 1986. In spite of the fact that the recreation center isn't so enormous and its real attractions are connected by a fixed street (see stop's guide joined), you can spend as meager as one day in the recreation center, taking a brisk dunk in every one of the dive pools and rockholes on the drive-through. However, to truly encounter the genuine excellence of Litchfield it's best to remain no less than two days, swimming and bushwalking.

With respect to me, the perfectly clear swimming openings were a genuine amazement in those hot days! Before we went to the recreation center I read a great deal about it, yet believed that its primary attractions will be cascades and termite hills. Concerning the swimming, I knew about crocodiles and hadn't any expectation that we will have a chance to swim a considerable measure. It was incredible that the truth was completely unique in relation to what is said on the web, as we invested a great deal of energy swimming in pools close cascades. I will inform you regarding swimming and other water exercises somewhat later, with respect to currently, I'd get a kick out of the chance to demonstrate to you some photographs from our first stop at Litchfield NP: the termite hills.

Australia, Northern Territory, Darwin and Surrounds, Litchfield National Park. The Termite Mounds.,

From a separation, they look like gravestones and you ponder what sort of memorial park this is. In any case, what you see aren't gravestones. They're really 'attractive' termite hills which ascend to as much as three meters in stature, look moderately level and they all face a similar path with their more slender edges confronting north-south and wide backs east-west. This angle limits their introduction to the sun, keeping the hills cool for the termites inside. The extensive house of prayer termite hill adjacent at a data protect that gives an intriguing knowledge into these striking animals and their natural surroundings.

 

[Gem in I]

I read an article over 20 years ago sorry can't post link I didn't have a computer then that termites produce their mounds upto 50% quicker when heavy metal is played lol true article.

 

[user 4386]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/2663/1397341119_2014-04-13_08.18.23.jpg

That theory may explain this, when I found this over near happy valley, they perfectly spherical shaped mounds, of quartz/pyrite/iron sand.... however the weren't home LOL! None... There is a lot of Gold flecks as you can see... Does that mean happy valley is possibly a very good field

I don't see the gold flecks

 

[user 4386]

This is a new resurgence in termite mounds for prospecting. Termite mound geochemistry was used in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) 45 years ago and a small gold body was found there that way. I don't know why it took so long to re-kindle interest (although CSIRO has been looking at it for more than a decade here (through now-defunct CRC-LEME).

 

[Soupfor1au]

Gday Colmaca
I noticed youre in the Isa!
I was hoping you could point me in the right direction for anyone who is fossicking friendly around here that might show some colour. Happy to pay station fees if needed.
Any advice would be great but heading to check out Mica Creek this weekend.