Proston garnets

[rooster]

Apparently there was a farm owned by an elderly couple where good garnets were found. I think they closed the property after fossickers undermined a bank in their search. The couple were trying to sell the property and it was hoped the new owners might open it up again. Any updates on any of this?

[Jimnyjerry]

As I understand it the new couple looked at the insurance costs and decided no way.  The local council tried to buy the field to use as a tourist fossicking spot again it did not happen.

A pity as I went near the area a year before it closed and decided dig next year as I was tired and needed to head home.  Bad choice. 

Sadly a fossicker died there while a group were tunnelling under a bank.  It was written up in an old fossicking magazine I have. 

[Gem Ranger]

Its a shame alright and I'm surprised it happened as I was there once many years ago and the owner used to supervise the dig well. I recall the dig being a large square pit with the overburden bulldozed off. The floor of the pit (perhaps 20X20m) was undulated from previous diggings. We dug the deepest corner and it wasn't until we hit a gravel layer that the garnets really appeared. The layer was about 2.5 to 3m down and only 10cm thick but it held a lot of garnet - a good 6 to 10 cutters in every aluminium sieve. The largest we got was fingernail size but the owner showed us a lychee sized monster garnet he had found. The garnets were unfortunately dark but very clean and holding the course sieve up to the sun lit them up nicely. The gravel layer also contained petrified wood and other dark, barely transparent minerals. The overburden took a lot of effort to remove and without understanding the dangers I can in hindsight see why someone might be compelled to undercut chasing that seem.
The owner also told us that drilling had been done in the area and that diamonds in good quantities had also been found, but were down quite deep.
I'm sure if the council had bought the field it would have generated a steady income stream for the town but perhaps the insurance issue couldn't be resolved.
Perhaps one day the area will open again. I can only hope.

GR
 

[col]

I remember my dad and grandfather taking me there when I was about 10/11. We found garnets but I don't think there are any cutters, but as a kid I loved finding them and thought it was the greatest. I still have the garnets in my collection. My old man has some sapphires from there too. I would of loved to of made a trip up there with my young bloke and let him experience it, but I guess that will never happen, unless I won the lotto and I bought the place. hahaha..

Col

[C.W.KOY]

Hi all. so some information regarding "proston garnets" …

My grandparents were the owners of Leura-joy gem fields, 20-30km outside of proston.

My grand dad sold the farm in mid 2000's. Which is now a forestry. he was trying to sell the mining lease with the land but, the dept in charge of the mining leases etc told him to either keep the lease himself or forfeit the lease. this prompted the new owner to not take part in trying to buy a new lease.

there were accidents and whatever because ppl would not listen to the rules. there were a number of times myself, my father or grandfather would drop the high walls because of undermining and only 2 times I now of where ppl were removed from the site all together.

As for re-opening the site for public use..... I have looked into this and the costs are astronomical. I am no longer in the area but I have expressed my interests in re-opening this site.

if anyone wants to reply or chat about the garnet fields please email me at chriskoy84@icloud.com

happy digging guys and girls

[Jimnyjerry]

Welcome C.W.Koy     and thanks for the information on Proston

[FlashGP]

Welcome CW Koy,

I understand where you are comming from as to costs.  I have a client who bought a working quarry and have had to inject about half a million bringing it up to the standard the Dept of Mines want.  This includes putting yellow crash barriers around the walls of the tailings dam in case some front end loader drives up over the wall and into the dam.  Safeguards against behaviours that to me seem incomprehensible because common sense would dictate otherwise.

Regards
Flash.