Fossicking for Gold and Diamonds

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creampie
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Fossicking for Gold and Diamonds

Postby creampie » Sun Sep 14, 2014 11:41 pm

Southeys Diamond Mine Project (101):

State: NSW

State ID: 101095

Commodities: Dmdg, Au, Cor

GR: [35397418]

Location :-34.477°,150.541°

Datum:GDA94

Source: Barron L.M., Barron B.J., Lishmund S.R.,

Oakes G.M.,(1994), MacNevin A.A. & Holmes G.G.(1980),

GS1986/105, McIlveen G.R.(1980b), GS1972/211,

Department of Mines New South Wales(1890),

Barron L.M., Lishmund S.R., Oakes G.M.,

& Barron B.J.(1995), Barron L.M., Lishmund S.R.,

Oakes G.M., Barron B.J. & Sutherland F.L.(1996),

GS1998/437, McIlveen G.R.(1980a),

Department of Mines New South Wales(1891),

Department of Mines New South Wales(1892), Rose G.(1960)


Approximately 10.5km southeast of Mittagong and close to the Nepean River is Southeys Diamond Mine (101) [GR 35397418], which also produced alluvial gold. The alluvial gravels overlies a volcanic breccia and was worked from shafts and pits of unknown dimensions. At least thirty three diamonds, the largest 0.55 grams had been found by 1890. They were described as well-formed octahedral of the ‘first water’. The total production (1884-96) is not known and the amount of gold won is not recorded. Approximately 5km north-north-east of this occurrence, is another diamond/gold deposit of similar character.

Another unnamed (100) [GR 35247380] alluvial deposit yielding mostly diamonds and small amounts of gold are located about 2km north of (101). Worked by the Kangaloon Diamond Mining Co. between 1887-95 from shafts up to 30m deep, it has left no further records.

An unmapped (102) [GR not plotted) alluvial deposit yielding small amounts of gold and semiprecious gemstones, occurs in Tertiary gravels along the Wingecarribee River. It was worked between 1883-85 and produced an unknown amount of gold - but thought to be small.

Approximately 16km south-south-west of Mittagong and 4km south-west of Mossvale is an unnamed (104) [GR 335730] group of workings sunk on multiple quartz veinlets striking east-west. Thought to have been worked around 1907, no production records are available. According to the Mine Data Sheets, “Assays of 1.65 g/t gold and 1.65 g/t silver were obtained. Free gold can be seen in hand specimen. The quartz shows ‘banded’ texture, suggesting that it is secondary”.

Several deposits of auriferous high level gravels, rements along the course of an old riverbed to the southeast of Mittagong, were well prospected in the 1880’s and 1890’s. During mining operations much of the gold, which occurs as extremely small flakes, was lost while treating the wash. Through this area the find of an occasional diamond gave some stimulus to the prospector. Some gold has also been found in the Wingecarribee River and Bundanoon Creek.

An alluvial diamond mining area 80 miles southwest of Sydney, Australia. The Mittagong Diamond Mine (Southeys Mine) operated in this area from 1893 to 1895. The recovery of Diamonds was very poor.

Somewhere between 2 km & 20 km north of Mittagong situated on either Gibbergunyah creek or the Nattai River
is a spot that produce fine alluvial gold along with saphirres & possibly diamonds.
The gold is fine & widespread which indicates that if indeed it did weather from a reef the reef is either a quartz out crop with no visable signs of gold or a small reef that used to exist in the Tertiary period but the large amount of rain destroyed the reef and washed any nuggets to the bottom of the sandbed.
The most likely explanation is that the gold is in the bedrock and when the top layer of the rock weathered away to create dirt the gold was washed in streambeds that could only exist in the tertiary period due to the heavy rain these streambeds were then cut accross by Gibbergunyah creek or the Nattai river or perhaps both.
The old streambeds would then act as regulators much like reefs to prevent all the fine gold being washed away in one flood.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/34 ... !1s0x0:0x0

Gold. A little gold has been found in the Wingecarribee River, Bundanoon Creek and elsewhere derived from patches of old transported gravels of ancient drainage channels. The country rocks of this district are not. known to be goldbearing.

Minerals. A number of brown ironstone deposits occur in the district and one of these provided ore for the pioneer iron smelting in Australia conducted at a small blast furnace erected at Mittagong in 1852. Ferruginous bauxite deposits are located in the Bundanoon-Wingello area.

Of passing interest is a specimen of good quality bentonite once obtained near Exeter, probably representing only a small. pocket in clay or shale beds.

Coal is mined in this district and kerosene shale was formerly worked al. Joadja, 13 miles west of Mittagong.

Gemstones. A limited number of diamonds have been found, principally from a locality at Digger's Creek, 7 miles south-easterly from Mittagong. They were found, with fine alluvial gold. in a patch of old gravels overlying a volcanic formation. A few stones were also found in gravels near Kangaloon. A general search in the Wingecarribee River had little success although some sapphire fragments of fair size were recovered.

http://www.whereis.com/nsw/mittagong-25 ... -fields-rd
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