Some of you may have noticed that Philski’s old Tasmanian Prospecting Forum stopped working a little while ago. The Prospectors and Miners Association of Tasmania have set up a new forum, called Prospecting Tasmania.
Continue readingReproduced from an article published in the Mount Lyell Standard and Strahan Gazette (Queenstown, Tas. : 1896 – 1902), Saturday 28 November 1896, and detailing the story of the original discovery of the Mount Lyell Mine, and gold around Queenstown in general.
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This condition has been discussed at PMAT meetings, and I am aware that PMAT has sent correspondence to the Director of Mines specifically addressing this issue. However, it still remains in the official rules of prospecting licences as of September 2017.
Continue readingMost visitors driving through Moina today are on the way to Cradle Mountain. They would probably be surprised to know that the area, especially Bell Mount, was a bustling alluvial and hard rock mining field in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Continue readingThe area of the West Coast Range from about Lake Margaret down to Macquarie Harbour was home to a series of gold rushes starting in the 1880s: the Queenstown goldfield. Still today the Queenstown area is one of the best alluvial prospecting locations in Tasmania and nuggets continue to be found.
Continue readingThe recent close call of a prospector who got lost in Tasmania’s west coast is a good wake-up call to sit down and think about your safety plans when you go out in the bush. A lot of safety planning is just common sense, but there are a few things you can do to minimise your risk, especially if you go out on your own. Here’s a list of the main things I do when preparing for a trip, as well as during the trip.
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