Gold Country

We left Cue in central Western Australia having been instructed and inspired in the art of Gold fossicking and detecting, we were now headed for the serious stuff further south towards Kalgoorlie. Whilst in Cue however we had heard that there were quiet a few good finds happening around Sandstone in the lower Murchison district, famous for its bronzed landscape and breakaway rock formations and flocks of wild Budgee's.
So hard to photograph!

We found Sandstone to be like many old gold mining towns once supporting as many as 8,000 people in 1907 latest figures put the shires population at 119. And like Cue many of the buildings have been restored   to their former glory and service.

But it was the Sandstone gold we were after, so with fresh supplies on board we headed out along the Menzies road with our mud map in hand.

We were looking for a certain spot and a very well worn track, but hey there were so many well worn tracks and pulling a 20ft caravan through the bush is no easy task, so our first night we set camp in the first open space we found. The green grass which attracted us to that spot turned out to be a succulent ground cover plant which releases water when trod upon, in turn attracting the bush flies for its moisture, not a good decision, we were inundated with flies.

The next morning early we took of to find another camp spot, but found instead another prospector, who I will call "the pilot", in order to protect his identity, you'll see why shortly. Anyway the pilot knew the area well having visited on many occasions and was happy to have some company. He took us to a spot were he had previously found some gold and we all took off in different directions with our detectors. Even here fly nets were standard uniform and such a pain when you want to have a drink. The day did not produce anything but rubbish and its quiet amazing just how much rubbish is out there in the Australian bush almost as much as the abundant wildflowers.

After a hot sweaty day detecting its great to have a hot shower, made possible by a solar bag, which had been heating on the bonnet of the car. Privacy is not usually a problem when bush camping, but having company we made a few modest alterations to our set up.

The pilot however didn't feel the need to be private with his ablutions' but it was over looked that first night.

The next day took us to another camp spot with a few less flies, and yes finally some gold, nothing major but this was a promising indicator hopefully of things to come.

When we set camp this time we took the factor of privacy a little more seriously, parking our van some distance away and with our backs towards the pilot's van, however this seemed to encourage his nudity even more, to the point that unless he was detecting , or chatting around the campfire at night he was in his birth suit. His behavior certainly put a new incentive into wearing our fly nets I can tell you.

But it takes all sorts to make the world go around and besides being a nudist he was a very knowledgeable fellow, and a good conversationalist as well as a pilot and a character we will always remember.Not to mention the difficulty we had leaving the area, bottoming out on the rear end of our rig on several steep river banks.

Our 5 days produced four smallish nuggets weighing around 4 to 6 grams each and a Quartz with gold specimen, so we now have a grand total of just over half an ounce from our west Australian endeavors'.


It was time to head further south to Leonora and specifically a place called Murrin Murrin half way between Leonora and Laverton. I had read about this place in a prospectors guild to metal detecting called "Gold and Ghosts" volume two Western Australia by D.W.de Havelland. This book is a history of gold prospecting and I felt sure that we would find that football sized nugget at Murrin Murrin . http://www.nqminersden.com/Gold_&_Ghosts.htm

We certainly found the tracks and directions just as the book had described, and with in a few minutes of starting the detector I had my first piece 1.5 gramer, what a way to start fathers day. But that was as good as it was going to get, not long after a Ute appeared and the old fellow told Laurie that this was his active lease and we were steeling his gold so get going! Now what Laurie didn't know, was that I had heard rumors that sometimes fellow prospectors state your on their lease, just to move you away from a good patch. Anyway a trip to the mines department in the morning would clear that up.

 

They were very helpful in the Lenora dept of mines and we came away with topographical maps and lease title maps so that we would not stumble upon active leases again. We then headed for Malcolm dam just out of town to digest all this information and work out our next location for prospecting. That night a huge storm hit the area with gale force winds and hail stones, standing in side the caravan one felt you were in a boat, rocking violently from side to side, with dust blanketing everything in its path.

What a scary time, parked on the dam wall we thought we would end up in the dam, it was far worse than cyclone Yasi had been to us.

Before moving on we needed to fill our water tanks, so we pulled in to the Lenora pigeon shooters club were we met Gail an indigenous Australian. She had lived in the area many years and never been prospecting so did not know were we should go. Her passion was rearing Dingo's and she had three beautiful dingo's she introduced us too, and several other dogs she had adopted, a real animal lover. Another real life character 60+crippled with spinal arthritis her animals, her job as caretaker, and her love of the bush kept her going, it was a real pleasure to meet her.

Feeling like the pioneers of old we headed out just north of town with our maps and GPS to find virgin ground, and our big strike . We set camp beside a gravel pit an area with no lack of Mulga wood for the camp fire, just a pity the gold wasn't as prolific. We found that most of the free area's marked in white on the lease title maps were not gold producing land, anything that was, was leased, which was very disappointing.

Heading south again we stopped at Niagara Dam an area steeped in gold history but which also produced Chrystophase, we could do with a little gem hunting to boost the spirits. We had learned of this disused Chrystophase mine at Yerilla from Ed an old timer we had met up near Port Hedland. Ed has been traveling Australia in his search of gemstones for many years and was a wealth of information. We found the mine just as Ed said and we were like kids in a lolly shop , slabs of the Chrystophase everywhere and a huge hole in the ground were we could see it and dig it with in the ground, mother nature is remarkable.

We stayed in the area for about a week, with a visit to Kookynie a "living ghost town" were its only the Pub and publican's house still in use, and a carton of beer costs $60, the diesel sold there is $1.95litre.

There were several great bush walks we enjoyed, taking you around the dam , the falls , and many breakaway rock formations, and as in many other area's the wild flowers were prolific. Bye the way we did find a few more pieces of gold nothing to really write about, but adds to our first ounce.

Kalgoorlie was our next port of call and with supplies running really low, the sight of a decent shopping centre sent the blood pressure rising.

Kalgoorlie a bustling metropolis from mining, mostly gold but as the slogan says' "a great place to work rest and play". And boy how big is the "Super pit" which can be seen from space and is expected to keep producing well into 2020's. and is in fact producing more gold the deeper they dig. But its not all gold there are 800 different minerals to be had from this never ending hole.

Were massive earth moving trucks look like Tonka toys from the viewing platform.

 

But again like elsewhere one can not go detecting on any viable land as its all leased , and we were told people have leased every thing in the hope that big mining will buy them out, as is what happened with the Super pit, it came about by Mr Bond buying up leases back in the eighties, to facilitate one huge mine, and small people made a lot of money.

So our next gold fossicking expedition will have to wait till "The Golden Triangle" in Victoria, lets hope its not the same story there, or there will be two gold detectors for sale when we get home, its been very disappointing.
For now its off to Perth to catch up with family and friends, so stay safe , and may the wind always be behind you!
Alan & Laurie
http://www.gemseek.com.au/
alan@gemseek.com.au