Fossicking in the
By Alan Altmann, Warrnambool Gem Club, 2003
In July 2003, I
traveled from
I was driving a Toyota Prado (diesel), towing an A-van. After many years of using tents I had decided I deserved some additional comfort as ‘times goes by’. The combination worked well, being relatively fuel efficient (averaging 11.1 l/100km for the trip) for a vehicle towing a van.
I am a member of
the Warrnambool Gem Club in western
BILL ROGERS (95 years young in 2006) CAN STILL
PRODUCE MAGNIFICENT FACETED GEMS ON HIS 'FACETRON' FACETING MACHINE, WHICH HE PURCHASED
AFTER
WEARING OUT HIS 'IMASHI' FACETING MACHINE.
I
arrived in
Another plus I found with the park was the friendly group of facetors who were staying there. Quite a few AFG members were present, which was pleasing to see. As an alternative to Gem Tree, you can camp out at the ‘Mud Tank’ field itself if you wish. You basically need to be self-sufficient, though the Alice Springs Gem Club has constructed a toilet on site which helps overcome one problem!
THE PRADO AND AVAN
‘RESTING’ AT
On
my first full day in the
SOME TYPICAL GARNETS
‘SPECKED’ FROM THE
My
second outing was to the Disputed mine on Mt Palmer. This involved a
drive some
75km along the
Upon reaching the parking area at the base of Mt Palmer, I was not overly surprised to see two other 4WD vehicles parked there. After recovering from the drive in, I loaded up my back pack and commenced the 30 to 40 minute walk/climb up to the ‘Disputed Mine site’. The walk up to the mine will provide you with some good exercise, though a marked track makes progress easier than it would otherwise be.
LARRY AND HIS DOG
DIGGING IN THE MULLOCK HEAP OF THE DISPUTED MINE FOR SOME OF THOSE
BERYL
Halfway up the track, I looked up and could see a fossicker working on the large mullock heap below the disputed mine. I thought the person had a familiar appearance, even at that distance. When I eventually staggered up the mullock heap I was happy to see another member of the Warrnambool Gem Club hard at work. ‘Larry’ had been up to the mine on several occasions and has collected a significant number of beryl crystals from the mullock heap. The crystals are large, but invariably fractured into small fragments. However, one crystal can provide several good pieces of faceting rough if you are lucky enough to find such a crystal. The technique is basically to dig into the mullock heap until you reach the underlying natural surface, then slowly work your way up the slope. That way you tend to get into the larger rocks amongst which you are more likely to find the beryl. The difficulty is that the fine mica schist on the mullock heap invariably tumbles down into any excavation you make! You can dig for an hour, have a nice excavation underway and 10 seconds later it is all filled in with sliding debris. After this has happened several times you come to appreciate the amount of work involved in finding even one beryl crystal! You also come to appreciate the amount of hard work the original miners must have put in. Larry ended the day with several nice pieces, including a section of a blue beryl crystal from which he should be able to cut several stones. I had less to show for my efforts, but had some small beryl pieces and some mineral specimens
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SOME OF THE MANY
MINERALS THAT EXIST AT THE DISPUTED MINE SITE, JUST BE PREPARED TO
SHIFT A LOT
OF ROCK!
At Larry’s suggestion, I climbed to the top of Mt Palmer to have a look at the views. That involved a 1 hour round trip and was well worth the effort. The views are truly spectacular, with mountains extending into the distance, both east and west; while flat planes stretch to the north. The geology of the area is very apparent from Mt Palmer, with the tilted and folded strata and erosion patterns easy to observe. The trip to the Disputed mine provided a great day’s outing but is not one to be undertaken lightly. There are a number of deep open mine shafts near the summit, so take care if walking in that area.
THE VIEW FROM THE
My third excursion from Gemtree involved a visit to the Mud Tank zircon fields. I had tried to fossick here several years ago, but had arrived on the day it started raining for 3 consecutive days (after several months of drought) and had been unable to access the fields. This time I had been blessed with clear blue skies every day and so was looking forward to doing some fossicking.
One
of the good things about fossicking is the many lovely people your
meet. On my arrival
at Mud Tank I met a Kevin Boarer from
DIGGING FOR ZIRCONS ON
THE FLATS BETWEEN SPECIMEN HILL AND ZIRCON HILL.
SOME OF THE REWARDS FROM
DIGGING AT ‘MUDTANK’.
The following 2 days I decided to give my back a rest and went ‘specking’ for garnets north of the Plenty highway, opposite the ‘Gemtree lease’. The first day I got a number of small clean stones (4 to 5mm) close to the Plenty highway. The second day I ventured further into the shrub and found some larger garnets as well as many clean smaller stones, varying from the deep dark red to the light purplish-pink tones. Once again the GPS came to the rescue as the terrain I was fossicking in was flat with 4m high trees in abundance. With cattle tracks leading in all directions, and many small dry stream beds in the area, it is very easy to become disorientated.
IT IS VERY EASY TO LOSE
TRACK OF YOUR POSITION WHEN SPECKING IN THE FLATTER AREAS NORTH OF THE
One
of the good things about the Harts ranges is that it is the home to
many
different types of minerals. It is also a great place to visit if you
simply
wish to get out of the city and spend some time in natural
surroundings. I only
spent 2 weeks fossicking in the area and appreciate that I still have
much to
learn about the minerals/gemstones in the region. Next visit I will be
better
equipped for my fossicking and I will allow extra time for exploration
of the
many mining sites through the ranges. Larry,
who was getting towards the end of some
9 weeks in the ranges, has become familiar with the area over several
years.
Generously he showed me the location of a rutile mine where we spent a
few
hours and collected a number of small rutile crystals for our efforts.
Nearby
we spent some further time digging up some quite attractive sunstone.
There are
many deposits of minerals in the area, but most are small in area and
if
exploited/abused, could be quickly ruined for the amateur fossicker!
However,
if treated sensibly, the
A FEW HOURS DIGGING ON
THIS SITE YIELDED A NUMBER OF SMALL RUTILE
SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON FOSSICKING IN
THE
FOSSICKING PERMITS: If fossicking in the N.T., you require a permit which should be carried with you at all times. There is no charge for a personal fossicking permit and they can be obtained from:
Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development, Minerals House, 58 Hartley Street, P.O. Box 8760 Alice Springs, N.T. 0871., Ph. (08) 89515658, Website: http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Minerals_Energy/index.cfm?header=Minerals%20Home
Central Australian Tourism Industry Assoc. Inc., 60 Gregory Terrace, P.O. Box 2227, Alice Springs, N.T. 0871, Freecall 1800 645199, e-mail: visinfo@catia.asn.au, Website: www.centralaustraliantourism.com
‘Outback
Gems’,
More information is available at: www.fossicking.nt.gov.au
FOSSICKING EQUIPMENT: basic equipment would include 2 sieves (6mm, 12mm), 2 large plastic basins to wash the sieves in, a shovel and pick, containers for carrying water for wet sieving, containers for holding the minerals, a portable table or board on which a sack or similar can be placed when sorting the sieved material and a geological hammer. Recommended additional equipment would include: a large magnet for separating the magnetite from the zircons, gardening gloves and eye protection plus a ‘shaker’. If you plan on doing more than a single day’s digging, a shaker is highly recommended! For those only planning a quick visit to the area for one or two days fossicking, ‘Gemtree’ provide the necessary equipment as part of their guided tours.
It is also important to consider your safety when fossicking in remote areas. Always carry additional supplies of water, wear suitable footwear and protection from the sun. A well prepared vehicle and first aid kit are essential. Notify people of where you are going and consider the use of a G.P.S. and emergency beacon, they offer cheap insurance in an emergency.
SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL HARTS RANGE MINERALS THAT ‘LARRY’ FOUND!
By Alan Altmann (2003)
In July/August
2003 I traveled up to the
Larry has visited the Harts Range 6 times to date, traveling in his 11 year old Ford Courier 4WD, generally with the company of his dog ‘Belle’. He has got to know many of the locals in the area and uses a combination of their knowledge/assistance, and basic hard work on his part, to track down the many minerals in the area. He has traveled extensively in the ranges, searching in many areas for the gemstones we all desire.
Larry emphasized to me the importance of obtaining permission prior to entering many of the areas he visits. He has found locals helpful, providing you do the right thing in the first place (asking permission, not leaving a mess, not disturbing the stock, not lighting fires during hot periods etc.).
Recently I had the opportunity to view some
of Larry’s finds and I have recorded these pictorially in this article. I am
sure that the sight of (this small selection of) Larry’s minerals will
encourage some of you to pay a visit to the
The first group of minerals, which are shown below, are variously coloured beryl crystals from the Disputed Mine on Mt Palmer. The crystals vary enormously in size, the 20 cent coin in the photo giving you an idea of the scale involved. The crystals are invariably heavily fractured from the explosives used in the original mining processes last century. However, many of the crystals contain pieces of beryl suitable for faceting, with the colours ranging from golden yellow to orange to green to deep blues.
The beryl crystals
from the Mt Palmer area range significantly in both size and colour.
The ‘gemmy’ nature of
some of the material is clear from these beryl crystals and pieces of Golden
Beryl and Aquamarine.
A beryl crystal,
tourmaline crystals and muscovite in Albite.
When you are digging in the mullock heap at the disputed mine, you will frequently find that your progress is slowed as cubic metres of the finer material collapses/pours into the hole you have patiently dug over and hour or so. Generally this is a cause of significant frustration! However, while digging on the heap this year, during one such ‘cave in’, Larry was pleasantly surprised when a large Smokey quartz crystal (see photo below) rolled down the slope and stopped at his feet! Some people have all the luck!!!
Larry holding the
quartz crystal he found on the mullock heap. It is smokey quartz with a white
coating over much of the exterior.
Near the ‘Kong Bore’, Larry has obtained
some very nice sunstone during the last two visits. Like most deposits of
minerals in the
An example of the
sunstone from the Kong Bore locality, showing the lovely play of colours
characteristic of this material.
Not far from the sunstone locality, Larry found an old ‘Rutile’ mine where you can obtain small rutile crystals by sieving through the dump material.
Some rutile crystals
displaying some of the beautiful red sheen characteristic of these crystals.
For the more energetic (and well prepared)
individuals, another area to visit is the ‘
Larry obtained some nice minerals from the Entire valley and some of these are shown below.
A cluster of Epidote crystals
Some amethyst
scepters from the
Some attractive
hessonite garnets.
Hessonite Garnets and
Chrome Diopside crystals.
A Ruby crystal in a
matrix of Albite and Tourmaline.
Sphene crystals on
Albite
One of the comparatively
‘common’ minerals in the
This Limonite
psuedomorph displays an interesting crystal structure.
An attractive garnet
crystal (measuring 30 mm wide, approx. 4mm thick) in a biotite (mica) book.
For many of us, the main reason for going
fossicking is to obtain material to enable us to pursue our lapidary pursuits. Larry
is a keen, and competent, facetor. He has faceted many of the minerals he has
collected and a small sample of faceted
Some of the gem
material from the Harts Range which Larry has faceted. (top row L to R, 2
garnets, 3 smokey quartz; 2nd row, 3 garnets, 2 iolite; 3rd
row, zircons, 4th row, beryl)
Those gems and minerals are still out there
to be found in regions such as the
By Alan Altmann (Warrnambool Gem Club)
In February
2008 I headed off to
As I intended to fossick at a number of locations, I decided to take my vehicle over on the Princess of Tasmania. This was more costly ($340 return for myself plus the vehicle) than flying, but offered extra flexibility, particularly when it came to getting to some of the fossicking areas. I chose to cross Bass Strait on a day trip, as I had found previous day trips on the ‘Princess’ to be quite pleasant experiences, with some dolphins and other ships being spotted en-route.
I was one of many ‘mainlanders’ making the trip to Tasmania that day, February seems to be a popular time to visit Tasmania, particularly for Queenslanders and New South Welshmen!
PENGUIN
My
first full day in
The beach at Penguin Point is a nice place to spend several hours as you can access pebbles at most times of day providing the sea is not too rough. Obviously choosing low tide gives you access to a greater area to fossick. On the beach you will find pebbles of Jasper, Breccia, some agates and petrified wood, although the last two are rare. A significant portion of the jasper is porous and you should aim to avoid such material as it will not polish successfully without extra grinding/preforming to remove the worst areas. Generally, the ‘Penguin’ material is good for tumbling as it has been ‘tumbled by nature’ and is ready for the 400 or 600 grit stage in the tumbler. It is possible to achieve a good polish in a week using a vibratory tumbler! The breccia in particular polishes up very well. The polished pebbles shown below spent two days in 500 grit and 3 days in the polish stage. That produced a mirror finish on the stones.
On a previous visit to
While
driving back to Devonport at the end of my trip in
The
Tasmanian Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources website at www.mrt.tas.gov.au/ provides a useful guide to fossicking
areas in
The Penguin beach fossicking area with the town of
Tumble polished jasper pebbles from Penguin beach. These stones took 5 days in the tumbler to complete the tumbling process!
ZEEHAN
A short drive down the west coast brought me to Zeehan, the home of Crocoite and many other lovely minerals.
The Zeehan museum in the centre of town is well worth a look, as it has a very impressive display of minerals from both the local area and overseas. It also has a great photographic record of mining in the area. (N.B. unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the museum).
Opposite the museum, Richard Wolfe has a shop
where he sells a wide range of crocoite specimens and many other local and
overseas minerals. Richard is a very experienced miner and mineral collector
and a valuable source of information about the region. At the time of writing,
Richard was mining a beryl deposit, as well as Crocoite from the
At Richard’s
suggestion, I visited Michael and Eleanor Phelan (of ‘Dundas Extended
Minerals’), who live in the ‘old town of
In addition to the material Michael donated, I decided to purchase some of the better quality material he sells commercially. Michael normally charges around $8/Kg for such material, but tends to be very generous when dealing with lapidaries or lapidary clubs. If you are looking for nice carving material for your club, it may pay to contact Michael/Eleanor at P.O. Box 132, Zeehan, Tas., 7469 (or phone 0408 578 973 or e-mail ephelan@tassie.net.au). Obviously you will save on freight costs if a club member is passing through the area on holidays and can collect the material directly. The Zeehan Gem & Mineral Fair in November is a good excuse to be visiting the area!
Michael Phelan (at ‘
Slabs of Serpentine and Stichtite
showing two of the shades of green.
A close up photo of the serpentine
stichtite slab, showing the fibrous nature of the material.
Richard
also mentioned a quarry where I could collect serpentine myself. After some searching,
I found what I believe to be the quarry Richard mentioned. The ground was
‘green’ and there was serpentine in abundance, but of highly variable quality.
Much of it was prone to breaking up very easily, so you have to choose what you
collect with care. Look for solid ‘nodules’ of the material which occur amongst
the more friable material. To add to the ‘fun’, I passed a 1m long black snake
as I drove into the quarry, and upon entering the quarry I discovered a large
number of commercial bee-hives set up in the middle of the quarry. Needless to
say, I stayed well clear of the hives which were very active! The quarry is
some 16.8km south of the Rosebery Police station, on a winding hill section of
the highway, so care needs to be taken when accessing the quarry. If
approaching from the south, the quarry is 5.2km north of the
One further warning regarding the quarry! There is a small amount of white asbestos in one section of the quarry. However, the asbestos should not be a major problem as most of the quarry is ‘clean’ and I have been told by locals that the asbestos that exists is in a form/situation where it is very difficult for it to become air borne. I am not expert on asbestos, so if you have any concerns, I would suggest you just purchase some material from Richard; then you can be sure you will have no exposure to any asbestos!
The green serpentine in the quarry
is obvious in this photo
On my
second day in Zeehan, I drove to
In
Just before
you reach
The
The poor condition of the ‘bridges’ on
the 4WD track limited road access north of
Tourmaline schorl is common in this
area.
After 2
days in Zeehan I decided to head over to the north east of
On my way
to
I ended up only spending 2 to3 hours at this site, and would be unlikely to visit it again.
This area is an old tin mining area which is well known for its smoky quartz crystals. I had visited the area some 5 years prior, with limited success, obtaining some smoky quartz, but only in the form of heavily waterworn pebbles.
Wet conditions at Cameron’s Creek
near
Some of the smoky quartz from
Cameron’s creek.
The area
had some 70mm of rain over the two days prior to my arrival, which was apparently
the first decent rain they had had in a long time. I started the day by walking
up and down
As I reached the creek area the rain intensified and I spent the next four hours digging in mud and water. Fortunately, it was not cold, just very wet! I removed a significant amount of soil from the edges of the creek where it was apparent others had been digging recently. However, all I got for my efforts was one low grade, water-worn, Smokey quartz crystal plus a small piece of facet grade material.
As the rain
was continuing, I decided to call it a day as conditions were poor for fossicking
and the weather forecast was for further heavy rain (which did continue for the
following two days). So I retreated down the coast for some ‘slack time’ at
All up I
enjoyed the time I spent fossicking in
Peridot and gold pendant
Peridot and diamond ring in gold
Peridot gold ring
Peridot and diamond gold ring
Amethyst and peridot gold ring
Peridot and sapphire ring
Peridot and citrine gold ring
Peridot and diamond gold ring
Peridot and sapphire/diamond gold ring
Peridot and sapphire gold ring
Faceted Mortlake peridot
Faceted Mortlake peridot
Faceted Mortlake 'olivine', orange!