Magnetic Island - Gold Diggings

[Erik Oostra]

I've been having a looksee at some of Magnetic Island's known goldmine sites.. from what i've have researched so far, between the 1870s and 1920s there were 8 active goldmines on the island that produced gold (albeit all under 500 kg). I've had a look at Hawkings Point and Bolger Bay (the blue dots on the map below).. there was no evidence of any old goldmine sites.. although i didn't really expect to find anything i was still looking for anything that looked like a mount or maybe a filled in shaft (needless to say i found hundreds, as a newbie i'm seeing gold diggings everywhere)..  although i've been send a map with all 8 sites by Doug on Australian Prospector, unfortunately the lat/long coordinates he's given me are way out (they put me on the mainland).. 

Nonetheless, I took out my Chinese Gold Bug Pro and worked out as close as i could where the sites might be.. i've only used the CGBP on the beach so far and straight away i noticed that the 'ground phase' was different, on the beach it hovers around 79 whereas at both these sites it jumped between the 80s and 90s.. also the the CGBP squawked like mad over certain rocks (they are all over both sites), these all had high 'FeO' readings.. I'm guessing these are the famous 'hot rocks' i've been reading about..

I've tried the suggestion of members on this site to bury pieces of mashed up lead in the soils i'm encountering.. also a thin gold earring.. both reading for these hover around 40 on the 'speed dial'.. as i've said i'm learning as i go along.. i'd love to be searching these sites with someone who knows what they are doing.. still, if i find anything i'll probably end up like one of those cagey old blokes who won't tell anyone where he's found his little nugget..     

I'll keep posting photos in this post of what these sites look like on the ground..  

[Erik Oostra]

This is what the old goldmine site at Hawkings Point in Picnic Bay looks like.. I've swung the Chinese GBP along the dry creek and the beach it flows into.. I'm not expecting any nuggets but i'm keeping a close eye on the geology of the area to get a feel of what a gold bearing site is all about.. those 'grass balls' in the second photo are waist height.. am using a stick to lift up the bottom to sweep the CGBP underneath (a bit like one does on the beach, when you get people to lift up their legs as you as you search for coins)..   

[Erik Oostra]

Phrunt, this is the site mentioned in the 1886 article you posted to me previously.. it's the Bolger Bay site at the foot of Goldmine Hill (as it's known today) a 'stone's throw from the sea'.. where quartz was found 'showing fine gold freely'..  

The first photo is of a rock outcrop which marks a swing in the topography on the map (see above) where i recon the old goldmine site was.. The second photo shows where a small dry creek flows into the site (the island's creeks are dry for most of the year, except for our 'wet season' - which hasn't happened for a while).. The third photo shows some of the quartz crystals i've found along this creek (none showed any fine gold, freely or otherwise).. 

[Lacky]

I dont know how it works in Australia,  but in the US you can look up info on old, expired mining claims. That could help in finding the old locations. 

[Erik Oostra]

Lacky, this is what Doug has done for me.. he's got access to some mining website which tells you about old goldmine sites in Australia.. I'm not sure where these sites are on the island.. I've been trying to find them on google but no luck, maybe they are on 'pay to view our gold maps' internet pages?  

I've been trying to work out exactly where these places are.. all i've got to work on is the google map below with the blue flags that he send me along with dodgy lat/long coordinates.. having said that, his blue flags do match historical records and pub gossip, especially the two goldmine sites along Butler's Creek and Chinaman Creek (which i'll have a look at over the next few days)..     

Happy days it's a small island and the known goldmine sites are scattered all around the place..   

  

[Erik Oostra]

Although the lat/long coordinates are wrong, where would you get this sort of detailed information? This is regarding the two known goldmines along Butler's Creek, named after Harry Butler who was the island's first settler (early 1870s).. 

[Lacky]

What I was talking about is here when you "file a claim" it is filed with a government office and you can go in and ask to see the paperwork,  even if it was filed 100 years ago usually.  There are sites, including pay sites that compile that kind of information for the internet,  but walking into the government office and asking to see the paperwork is where the information comes from.

[Erik Oostra]

Lacky, from what i can gather nobody ever laid claim to any of these goldmines.. this part of Australia's coast was only just being settled around that time.. as far as i can tell they are only known because they produced gold..  

[geof_junk]

Around 2002 I looked up every states mining data and filtered out every  historic non gold mines and set up a site were they can be accessed.

..................Link..............

Read the first post and select the state you want and see if your area has any historic gold mines.         Hope this gets you started. 

[Lacky]

6 hours ago, geof_junk said:

Around 2002 I looked up every states mining data and filtered out every  historic non gold mines and set up a site were they can be accessed.

..................Link..............

Read the first post and select the state you want and see if your area has any historic gold mines.         Hope this gets you started. 

Brilliant awesomeness