Suggestions of where to detect in souther NSW

HI All,

im looking for for places to go Gold Detecting in the Southern half of NSW where there is a chance i may find some gold! not sure where to start i am traveling around so i can see my children each fortnight and in my spare week want to go detecting where there is some chance of finding a few nuggets or my own patch.. currently im near Wollongong and travel to pambula every other second week so looking for an area within 500 km of here to visit.

thanks in advance,

fossicker12

You'll want to go further south towards the border if you're after "nuggets" and there's not many patches close to Woolongong because the gold deposits there are of the 'placer' type.... usually smaller and finer gold washed there from their source. Most of which is the remnant alluvial material from ancient river beds. There's certainly plenty of finer material down that way but remember to stay out of National Parks and to carry a permit with you if you enter a State Forest. The source of the nearest areas to you is around an area called Captain's Flat although most of the property surrounding may be owned by someone. The ground gets more nuggety as you head closer to the Victorian border. Nuggets have been found closer to where you are but we're talking about small bits of gold compared to what you would dig in Bathurst or down closer to the border. In areas where there are detectable nuggets (large enough for a detector to respond to), people are fairly secretive about their source points. I know of a couple of areas further South that have given up multiple ounce nuggets to friends that have been that way a few times although I was asked not to divulge the location lest others turn up in droves (hence few people will give good advice on an open forum). The Shoalhaven River itself is almost entirely gold-bearing but most of the gold you will find there is very fine. You will need to dig down to bedrock to get to any gold deposits there. A member of this forum once said that the richer deposits were about 30 feet down from the surface. There are packets of coarser material and larger bits (usually up to a half gram max) that can be found in various creek-bed crevices there but mostly it's fine gold. Locals call it Flour Gold or Mustard Gold since it's so fine. I find that the larger bits of gold tend to be in the districts outside of the Shoalhaven with only the really fine stuff making an appearance in the river. Places like Mongarlowe lie just to the South of Oallen and may be worth exploring. There's very few people that will openly tell you where to go if they think they might find gold there themselves. You could join a detecting club in your area and learn from them or you can research the gold deposits near Woolongong and try to explore some on your own. Woolongong sits on the lower end of the same sandstone and coal deposit that Sydney sits on... it runs all the way up towards the Hunter Valley and there's really no gold to be won on this layer. You have to head South-West of where you are to be finding gold.

Yes, here's the odd small nugget that gets found that way, but the areas directly South of you are more famous for their pannable and sluiced gold than their nuggets. If you head towards Bathurst, you end up in nuggety areas again and if you head further south to the border, you start to pick up on nuggety gold from the Victorian goldfields. If you go to Pambula you could stop by literally hundreds of areas on the coastal region but again, they are known for their pannable placer gold rather than nuggets. Since you are hoping to find your own Patch with a detector, you'll need to travel to the most remote locations you can gain access to. The gold seems much finer towards to coast and appears to get lumpier further inland. A lot of club members head down towards Oallen Ford and Windellama districts to pan for gold but I don't think I've ever seen them using detectors down that way. Yes, they do find bits the size of your little fingernail but those are rarer than the finer material.




Some books you can obtain from your local prospecting stores that cover these areas include:
"Bungonia to Braidwood" and "The Golden South", both by Barry McGowan and both of which are recently discontinued. These books cover everything in the area worth looking at. There should be a few copies left on the shelves at the moment. These books have illustrations and photographs of the area and discuss the amounts of gold won there. You will want to get these books if you intend to research and seek gold in these areas.

You might also want to get a Metallogenic Map for the Shoalhaven (again, from your local prospecting store or from the Dept Of Mineral Resources). This will show you a 1:250,000 scale of the mineral deposits and gold mines of the area and costs about $12.50. I'm not sure of the name of the Metallogenic map you'll need but it has Braidwood and the Shoalhaven river districts on the right hand side of it.

Good luck!

G'day fossicker12

Welcome and I am sure you will find plenty of info here to get you going. Nero has started the ball rolling with some good info.

Also use the DIGS web site, it is part of the DEPARTMENT of MINERALS NSW http://digsopen.minerals.nsw.gov.au/ Just type the name of the town in the location box and see what come up in the reports.

Also Pambula is a gold field as well.

cheers dave

G'day fossicker 12
Done alot of sluiceing at ollen ford lots of fine gold..
About detecting the only place i could surggest is a
place just out of nowra Yalwal they found a bit back in the old
days...
Welcome and good luck...
Goldrocs...

Hi, Thx Dave , Nero, Goldrocs, thankyou for your advice keep it coming people

i relise people dont wont to disclose locations where to look for my fortune in gold but if any 1 out there has a location they have flogged to Death i would be happy with that! or an approx location of where they found bits just to get me started would be appreciated.
Email fossicker12@gmail.com
i found 7 little bits weighing total of 11.1 grams in creswick Vic thats all i have found tho and to help people i will even give the exact location of my finds
all came from an area of 200 square meters.
Corner of Cabbage Tree Road and Standards Road Creswick vic oppisite pine plantation

i wont be back there and im sure i missed Gold as i have only been detecting for 6 weeks so i am giving this location to anyone to try there is more there!
Does anybody have locations they wont be returning to they could tell me Maybe?
email me please.

Thankyou again
fossicker12

hi fossiker12 just browsin a few older posts and came across yours.. i see your from the gong..im in shellharbour. i too like fishin fossickin and being free, i also enjoy time on my 27ft yacht ive gotn at woolamia...Huskisson.I have a cheap detector but it works well enough in the field.further than that i come from a long line of old miners and some of their techniques still work well though i have'nt got a lot of yellow to show for it. I have an idea of a good spot just west of Mogo so if you are of a mind in teaming up for an exploritr dig call me on 0433303146...cheers Rossco