Trees and Gold

[spottedgum]

Is there a relationship between te trees that are growing in an area and the likelihood to find gold. I think I read something somewhere on the forum about Blackbutt trees.
Thanks for any help

 

[Roscoe]

For sure spottedgum. The trees, termite mounds can change in heavy mineralised patches which could indicate gold bearing grounds.

 

[Ramjet]

There was an interesting news story on this recently.
Covered in this thread.....

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3136

And one of the news articles here....

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/eucalypts-reveal-their-veins-of-gold-20131022-2vzm6.html

 

[Roscoe]

Ramjet, i think he is more referring to the type of vegetation that grows in goldfields that could indicate gold bearing patches. I fellow told me not that long ago he was picking up some pieces around this particular tree. The way he described the tree it sounded like Quinine tree.

 

[Ramjet]

Hey Roscoe.
I am by no means an expert or even a competent prospector.
I just try to point others in the direction of information that may be useful or help them in their quest
If I see a query that has maybe been addressed in another thread, then I offer it for advancing knowledge of us all.
This forum had grown so quickly and is so full of info that I know it is hard to find the exact info people are seeking.
I just try point people at topics that may help them

Kindest regards

Rod

 

[Roscoe]

Ramjet, I should of put a smilie at the end of my post. Sorry mate i re-read my post and it sounded that it could be taken the wrong way. I like it that you take the time to do things like that.

 

[spottedgum]

Thanks for all your informative posts. That is interesting with the small amounts of gold found in the gums.

The reason I ask is because I am about to start my first hunt for gold an I will be as we'll prepared as I can. Loamer made a good topic that got the ball rolling.

I am looking for a reef that has fed a creek with some sizeable discoveries. I have maps of the area with the geological activity. I also have a map that shows which groups of trees are growing where because it is a proposed logging site. There is an old mine shaft. And I also think there is an area that we definitely do not want to disturb that is close by, not to close, that has aspestos written on the map. Could be an area of disposal I say. Where would you start searching? I will have a minelab, may be an older one of the PI's, 2200d or 3030 or 4000 or maybe be a garret atx.

 

[richo966]

pan up river till gold stops then check high country next to that area the old way of looking is often the best

 

[ACTGold]

This may be a little unrelated, but I remember reading somewhere (Perhaps here) that there is 1mg/tonne of sea water. If only we could process it!

 

[spottedgum]

pan up river till gold stops then check high country next to that area the old way of looking is often the best

The only silly questions are the ones you don't ask. Could i use my detector instead of panning? Tell me, is panning definately a skill i require to prospect?

 

[XIV]

pan up river till gold stops then check high country next to that area the old way of looking is often the best

The only silly questions are the ones you don't ask. Could i use my detector instead of panning? Tell me, is panning definitely a skill i require to prospect?

Panning is a skill, that is a must! especially when going up creeks and rivers looking for the source.
if you are looking for the reef, panning will most likely be the way you will find it
detectors will pick up the bigger stuff but none of the LITTLE gold ( less than .1g)
a 5000 with a small coil 5" will pick up .08g if on the surface
but a few inches under the ground and its missed.

If the ATX lives up to the hype, that may help, as its good in water but still wont pick up fly ****.

 

[G0lddigg@]

true that! you need to pan off your samples mate or you are just guessing where the load has shed from

 

[spottedgum]

Right.
What is the best way to acquire the skill of panning.
Gold is what, 19x heavier than water?

 

[G0lddigg@]

Right.
What is the best way to acquire the skill of panning.
Gold is what, 19x heavier than water?

all you need to know is gold is the heaviest thing that will go in your pan. That does not mean that it wont float bounce on top of or swirl over the top of lighter material because it will. Practice is how you learn the skill my friend that and find yourself a mentor makes all the difference but in the end you will learn in the creek. If your down near Ballarat i'd be happy to take you out and show you some sots and different pan to use if you want to muck about in your own shed you can throw some lead into a bowl of dirt and sand an try to separate it lead has a similar density to gold.

 

[G0lddigg@]

I should add youtube is your friend

heres a good instructional tutorial mate http://www.goldgold.com/gold-prospectinggold-panning-instructions.html

 

[Roscoe]

Spottedgum, Do you have the co-ordinates for this old shaft/workings? If i had the co-ordinates i would go have a good look at the area and find the old workings first, then work out your plan of attack. It would be a good idea to take your gold pan etc. as mention by the other fellows as well, this way you could sample the gullies that run off into the creek you mentioned.

 

[headbut]

I am sure that Loamer had a thread that showed tree species in ceratin areas indicates gold , one of them was a pine tree that the Chinese grew way back

 

[loamer]

HB - the reference was to certain pine trees that grew from seeds the Chinese chewed and spat out. the indication of the tree is solely that it is a possibility the Chinese had been in the area. The trees and gold gets a reasonable run - there are certain trees in the triangle people swear by that have gold close by - I don't and think its nonsense. All I do know that is box ironbark is abundant in the Vic goldfields as they have generally adapted to the poor and shallow soil conditions. Same as the relic hunters love seeing certain cactus plants as they were planted near pubs and the like for drink flavouring I think. what looking at vegetation does tell us is soil types, water catches, and the like. On a downhill run the growth in patches of vegetation can tell us that water is catching in that spot and therefore gold may be trapped.

 

[Roscoe]

Loamer, I have not witnessed my self curtain tree species growing in rich gold patches. But surely that if these rich shoots are exposed at the surface then the PH level of the soil would have to be changed in the immediate area? If the PH levels are much different to the surrounding area then different plant live as you know would grow? This is purely theoretically thinking, but is it possible?

 

[loamer]

Roscoe - absolutely. I was referring to a belief by some folk that a certain tree that grows sparingly on the Vic fields is a good indicator. There are a smallish conifer that grows in amongst the gums that some folk swear has big gold near them. Well, I have detected a lot near and around them for very little joy. The box iron bark has the right chemical balances to exist in these areas and I must take a photo of the ground to the east of Moliagul Vic. Within a matter of feet, the ground changes from gold bearing with box iron barks to yellow gum and sandy soil. In this case it supports your ph level observations as one area is a known field, the other an absolute duffer.