info about coffs harbour gold fields?

has anyone had any experience detecting around the old gold fields behind coffs harbour in NSW?

No, but you used to get a good banana milkshake at the big banana.
Almost worth going there just for that !

Cheers, Ferris.

Good tip there ............ had a look at a metalurgical map of the araea recently and there appeared to be a sizeable area that was gold bearing.

Obx creek and adjacent mines around Nymbodia state forest was an interesting area
When I was in there 20 years ago with a dish.
I would be looking in there with a detector now if I lived a bit closer

Ron

new member malcolmmclean moved up to coffs approx six years ago haveinfo re gold mines metallgenic series sheet sh 56 10 11 showing all mines and there upwards of 220 also have a book re dept of mineral resources 1992 telling you the number of mine and what it produced if it of any use to any members this book and map was bought at miners nsw appox 6 years ago go the all blacks this weekend v aus cheers mal

very keen on your book and info,, let me know how I can find out more please,,,, agree with go the all blacks, not that they need the good wishes lmao

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

Hi all I'm new to this forum.
I have lived in coffs for 20 years and know quite a bit about the place, the biggest alluvial discovery was in the head of clay gully around 1900, George Ellis claimed to have got 900oz's, 600oz's in the first few days, no records what other men got in that creek, many have tried to find the source of the rich alluvial for the last 100 years or so which probably doesant exist, Kangaroo ck, Towulum river and back ck which are behind Glenreigh and most tributaries
carry gold but not that much, you need the glenreigh topo map. the old timers worked the major bends and got to the old wash where the creek used to go long ago, mostly flood gold in the creeks now, a few dredgers have got small nuggets up to a few grams but its mostly fine gold.
According to the Coffs Harbour and Dorrigo Metalogenic book which comes with a huge goldfield map showing the main mines that were registered, over 200, the average grade from the reefs in the area was 39g/ton, somes grades went to 460-1500g/ton, they only worked the rich stone because of the high cost of cartage over steep thickly bushed and ruggered terrain, and crushing charges, records in the book are not accurate as much gold wasan't declared. there is many tons of quartz around some mines and putting 40-50kg through our hammer mill proved low grade, we tested 50 other reefs in the area where foresty with bulldozers uncovered them and 49 carried gold but not enough, our best reef had visible gold but was right on the edge of a new forest rd that was made to get logs out and the bad news was their is an EL (exploration licence) over the whole of coffs, we wrote to them and they wanted gps details of the reef and maps etc so they could send their geologist up to inspect the reef before they would grant us permission to lodge a mining claim. we didn't follow this through.
So sorry but Coffs is not a nuggety area and their is to much overburden, lantana, jungle, ticks and leeches.
cheers tezz

any new of possibility sounds good to me,, tis all about the exploration and experience,, your info intrigues me though, will just have to do more research and get down there for a looksee and who knows

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

try old grafton road google old convict tunnel google also google the map of area shows a few state forests

I'm selling all my gold field maps, coffs-dorrigo and grafton- maclean metalogenic books which also cover dalmorton and go out to west of glen innes,
covers all mines and alluvial deposits and workings, also gives gold grades and gps co-ords, plus 30 topo maps, some laminated, grafton book comes with cd as their are to many mines. $70 the lot, cost me $400, moving to vic in 4 weeks
cheers tezz

hi tezz why go to victoria we get enough rain here in coffs ha ha did you do any prospecting / detecting up here what is the name of the bookes you have for sale good luck down there mal

Hi mal,
best gold I got was in the towalum river about 250 metres down from clay gully ck junction, gold was in the bank in bedrock, not a speck below in the creek, just a small patch. picked most of it out with a knife, largest piece 1.8gm, got a 1.3gm with detector in kangaroo ck, got gold from nuggety gully behind woolgooga as well. the last 12 months have been crushing quartz with a hammer mill, Ill be taking this machine to vic.
The 2 biggest alluvial discoverys in coffs were found by accident where they saw gold on the ground, one in clay gully when he rode his horse down to the creek for a drink and the other taylors creek when they stopped to boil the billy. coffs has a huge gold bearing wilderness area, you could spend a life time in there,
I think I have sold the books and maps, the coffs/dorrigo metalogenic which comes with a massive gold field map might still be available from mines dept, wouldnt know what it would cost now
cheers tezz

G'day tezz,

Just wondering if you ended up selling all your books/maps etc. If not, I might be interested.

Cheers,

Goldy

he did sell the maps and books, I bought them lol, have yet to vebture that way but working on it

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

lol, no worries guys. If we can get a local club going maybe you could give us a yell when you make it.

All the best,

Goldy

How did coffs look?
If you guys are setting a day here id love to join in we are new to the prospecting and just set up with a T2 & garrett pinpointer- still working things out but thought no point dreaming, just do it
Anyone getting a club together here give me a buzz

Hi all

A friend of mine who lives in Coffs Harbour tells me he has been out there panning just recently and has found some colour. He has asked me if I'd like to bring out my detector and try for some gold while he pans. I've taken him up on the offer and will report to this forum about our success/failure.

stufire_smoky wrote:Hi all

A friend of mine who lives in Coffs Harbour tells me he has been out there panning just recently and has found some colour. He has asked me if I'd like to bring out my detector and try for some gold while he pans. I've taken him up on the offer and will report to this forum about our success/failure.

How did you go Stufire ?

Chookfoot wrote:

stufire_smoky wrote:Hi all

A friend of mine who lives in Coffs Harbour tells me he has been out there panning just recently and has found some colour. He has asked me if I'd like to bring out my detector and try for some gold while he pans. I've taken him up on the offer and will report to this forum about our success/failure.

How did you go Stufire ?

He hasn't got back to me yet, still down in Sydney, his twin brother has cancer and he put it off till end of March. Will let all know when we have it going and done.

Hi all

He took the death of his twin brother pretty hard, no doubt, and hasn't been in touch much since, but it's still on when he gets his urge back so will let all know how I go. I'm planning on going up there and looking around in November so will also let bods know what I find (not where) but what...

I’m planning on a visit late November, any info will be invaluable.