Newest Big Nugget Found..........

[Steve Herschbach]

Can't blame you at all Reg. As you say, the mining world is full of scams. It is the big mining company stock scams where people really get taken.

A mine is a hole in the ground. The discoverer of it is a natural liar. The hole in the ground and the liar combine and issue shares and trap fools.— Detroit Free Press 1881

In Alaska back in the 80's gold rush staking and selling worthless ground was big business. It never got quite so bad this last go round, but between stock in worthless companies and sales of worthless ground worldwide many people have been fleeced for billions of dollars. The big example of course being Bre-X.

A Review of Recent Mining Stock Scams

ARIZONA MINING SCAMS AND UNASSAYABLE ORE PROJECTS OF THE LATE 20TH CENTURY

Gold From Water (and other mining scams) (look for free download link)

 

[Steve Herschbach]

30 minutes ago, delnorter said:

Very interesting post and reference Reg. What is the earliest date nugget found in this report?

Thanks Reg,

Mike

Mike, you can download the list along with many other early Australian reports for free as part of this huge collection I found online...

http://earthresources.efirst.com.au/product.asp?pID=49&cID=15

Edit - found Memoir 12 separatly online at http://docplayer.net/27532332-Geological-survey-of-victoria.html

[Reg Wilson]

Mike, mate, you have set me a bit of a task, as the list starts with the biggest nugget, and works it way down.

'Found in alluvial. Gross weight 2,520 ozs Net weight 2,284 ozs 16 dwt 22 grains. Found at Black lead Moliagul at a depth of 1". "The Welcome Stranger'. 5.2.1869 By john Deason and Richard Oates, witnessed by F. Knox Orme, Warden, Nugget Book. The site of discovery is marked by a stone obelisk. The gold in this nugget was associated with 68 lbs of quartz.

Down to

Alluvial 20 ozs from Back Creek diggings, Talbot, Amherst. No name or finder recorded, Feb. 1859 authenticated by W. E. Adcock. 

Somewhere in between will be the earliest nugget recorded. I will find it for you.

PS there is a list of 31 nuggets found after the turn of the century, (1900) and some of these are interesting as they were found in odd cases by accident. eg. Being turned up by a plow.

[delnorter]

Alright, thanks Steve. What a great resource.

Mike

[delnorter]

Thank you Reg, Please don't take a lot of time with this search. I assumed it would be in chronological order. Steve has provided a link to this publication as well as others. I'll take a look see when I have more time.

I was a land surveyor (not licensed) for about 30 years. We performed many, many surveys between public and private land here in the western US. A lot of it being retracement  of the original surveyors of the 1800's. Imagine being paid to traipse all over hill and dale of the west and not yet be a prospector. Only late in my career did I become interested in gold and as such, geology. What a great deal to learn with limited time.

Thanks to all who contribute here,

Mike

[mn90403]

Reg,

Thank you and Steve thanks for the link.

I was reading your website and under Tuition you listed some research sources.  They are:

 

Research:

We can suggest the following resources:

• For gold history - "The History of Gold Discovery in Victoria" by James Fleet

• For gold social history - "Nothing But Gold" by Robyn Annear

• For modern gold detecting - "Metal Detecting for Gold and Relics" by Douglas Stone

[Clay Diggins]

15 hours ago, delnorter said:

Very interesting post and reference Reg. What is the earliest date nugget found in this report?

Thanks Reg,

Mike

I parsed the pdf and came up with this entry as the earliest:

Alluvial 300oz found in Billy Goat Gully, Kingower 6 ft deep in August of 1801
Remarks: W. Birkmyre, p. 366 R. Brough Smyth's Gold-fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria

There are several listings that just state "prior to 1808". I'm not up on Australian history but I imagine that might be about the Rum Rebellion"?

Barry

[Reg Wilson]

Clay Diggins, I feel there must be some mistake regarding a 300 oz nugget at Kingower on that date. Captain John G. Meschock, who also discovered the Maldon goldfield was awarded the sum of 1000 pounds for the discovery of the Kingower field in August 1853.

1801 was way too early for a discovery of that size at Kingower. The earliest reward of 476 pounds and 4 shillings, for a major gold discovery was made to William Campell in March 1850 for the finding of the Clunes goldfield. Whether a nugget (over 20 ozs) was found there is not recorded, but in 1851 the Ballarat and Castlemaine (Mt. Alexander and Forrest Creek) gold fields were discovered, and yielded huge nuggets. My guess would be that the first nuggets of any size would have come from Ballarat. Maybe Canadian Gully or Black Hill.

Small finds of gold were reported before 1850 in many places, but the major rushes took place after that date.

[Clay Diggins]

Hi Reg,

I have no personal knowledge. I'm a bit young to remember that time. I could ask my older brother but I seem to recall he was in Mongolia around the 1800 era.

There are quite a few entries on that list that date before 1850. I have no reason to doubt your timeline but I was questioning the early dates I was seeing there. I guess I was right to doubt those early nugget entries.

In any case I was just using my skills to answer Mike's question, I was trying to save you a "bit of a task".

Thanks for pointing out the reference material Reg and thanks to Steve for finding the source. These are new to my Library so I guess I've got some more study materials.

Barry