While jasper is a fairly common gemstone, the coast between the towns of Penguin and Ulverstone in north-western Tasmania is a particularly good place to find high-quality stones. There is even a dedicated Fossicking Area in Penguin, which is a great place to get started, and where you can still find some great quality material.
Continue readingLegality of metal detecting in Tasmania
As of the end of March 2016, using a metal detector for prospecting in Tasmania is a bit of a grey area, and there are some little-known issues about metal detecting that can catch you out. Read on to fn out more…
Continue readingTasmanian Prospecting Maps
A video on how to use two free, Tasmanian online mapping engines to research places to go prospecting. MRTmap and LISTmap can be used to prepare very useful prospecting maps with information on tenements, land tenure, reservation status, etc.
Continue readingCleaning gold nuggets
You’ve found some nuggets with your metal detector. You finally retrieve them from the ground. You can see they’re gold, but they don’t look very shiny! They’re covered in clay, mud, soil, perhaps with bits of quartz still sticking to them. Maybe it’s even covered in ironstone, the famed ‘black gold’! How do you go about cleaning gold nuggets to make them look as good and shiny as they can?
Continue readingGold in Cygnet and Southern Tasmania
Most Tasmanian gold is found in either the northeast or the western part of the State. Gold in southern Tasmania is more elusive and harder to find than in the north-east and west of the State. The Cygnet goldfield was the main occurrence, but there were minor finds in other locations as well elsewhere in the Huon Valley.
Continue readingNews and Merry Christmas!
Recent news: Radio interview, trip to the Golden Triangle (Victoria), upcoming PMAT field trip to Back Creek.
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