Central Queensland Fossicking Locations

[Lefty]

Nice finds there Mick - the topaz from O'Briens looks different to the stuff from Mount Gibson. All the stuff I have from there is still in it's original crystal shape. I'd like to do O'Briens as well but Mount Gibson is an easy day trip when you're based in Mareeba, home in time for dinner and a hot shower. Gonna try and do three days at Glittering Star and check out Patricia as well, I haven't dug there yet.


I will start making it back into the club again, been once in about 5 weeks. Anniversery, then birthday, then I was in once and then the next Thursday i busted my arm trying to re-attach a tractor bucket. Di is going to teach me silversmithing but I'm still getting myself set up with the faceting gear - good laps are bloody expensive!

[Dig-in]

H Mick,
 Good to see you have been able to get away & a fair old trip it was by the sounds of it.
You have some nice stones there especially some of those blue ones. The last time we were at that hole (last yr) it was full of water. Has the tree come down yet?
We went to Tomahawk at Easter but decided to try a different area. We went up on the ridge past the old telephone box. On the creek side of the ridge. We found a few bits & that 1 bigger 1 which was all by its lonesome in the middle of the paddock. Still had a good time though.
It was a good shady area with good breezes when the weather is a hotter.
I have been looking into gold myself & may give it a go down the track. I can't really see any gold in the photo though.
You must be ready to go back to work for a rest after that trip.
Cheers
Brett

[mangomick]

G'Day Brett
The Gold in the Topaz photo comment was a joke . The photo is actually of all i got meaning I got  nothing . Plenty of nails and bits of rusty tin but no gold. Some of the other guys and gals camping at Flat creek station got a few bits though.
Tree still standing at the hole at Tomahawk creek .Can see where someone has carved a fair bit of soil away from around the tap root. We actually cleaned out all the gravel that had run into the hole and worked back further away from the tree.but most of the stone in the photo came from the bottom end of the same gully closer to where we camped this time. Only a few came from the hole by the tree ,we just got tired of driving up and back when all we had to do was walk about 30 foot and start digging.
Another week to go then back to work but starting to really think those days are numbered.
Cheers Brett
Catch  you out there again one day
Mick

G' Day Lefty
They have hot showers out at O'briens too you know
Was it you I heard who bought a VJ??? if it was you must be getting serious. i've still got the same bit of Topaz sitting in my machine  that was there 3 months ago.
Ran into Vic Dennis and Sue up at Flat Creek. Talk about a small world. He hadn't found any Gold either.
State of origin tonight so I guess my Mrs will probably start back at Gem Club on Friday. A few agates for her to cut. They are just like a box of chocolates. Never know just what you are going to get.
Cheers
mick

[snappa]

hi bluey

you still at sapphire ??

have you spoken to rick ?
does he still have his claim?

I will be at my claim within the next week for 2 months, you should come for a vist .

has the recent rain affected the digging ?

snappa


 

[Lefty]

Hey Mick, yep it was me who bought the VJ about a month or so ago. I'm on my 16th stone so yeah, I'm pretty serious about it   Some of the most satisfying stones I have cut so far have been crystals from Lowmead (yep, they definately are still there to be found), the stuff cuts and polishes easily, is hard enough for setting and looks good, varying from the palest tint of purple, to a bright mid-purple, to pinkish-purple and a shade that is halfway between smokey and amethyst (I call it smokey amethyst). Springsure labradorite and Mount Gibson topaz come up nice as well but some bits seem a bit trickier, especially the labradorite.


Where is Flat creek? Vic mentioned he was heading up to the Cloncurry area last I spoke to him.


Cheers

[Rusted]

Lefty
What problems do you have with the Springsure Labradorite? I love the stuff and generally give a bit to new cutters I am teaching at the club because it just cuts so nicely. I havent seen a bit give problems yet, (well not caused by the stone anyway,) but it would be handy to be forewarned.

Some of the other instructors use glass but I just can't see the point in spending all that time and effort faceting a piece of TV screen.

Paul

[Lefty]

Hi Rusted.

I agree the stuff looks great faceted and I want to get back out to Springsure while the weather is nice and cool and get some more.

I think the problem stems from the cleavage planes - since it's perfectly cleavable in three directions I'm not sure how to orient it for every facet on the stone to be well away from all of those. I'm only a novice and I understand what critical angles for different materials are and have adjusted a few pavillions form the angles given in a couple of designs to account for that but I'm still not 100% clear on the relationships between the pavillion and crown facet angles so have not attmepted too many alterations.

I made sure the table of this piece was well away from the cleavage, as were the four big pavillion facets (Lighthouse design) but one of the crown facets must have ended smack on a cleavage - it simply would not polish with any combination of lap speeds, hand pressure, wetness of slurry - I even tried cerium on a cd as suggested somewhere here I think, but to no avail. The surface just kept pitting and peeling. Through the loupes you could see it was covered in perfectly paralel striations. An adjoining facet on a similar angle was also affected, though not as badly.

The rest of the stone took on a very nice polish (cerium on typemetal). Do you use this or something else (plastic lap etc). I tried polishing the first piece I cut on #100 000 diamond and the finish was ok on most facets(it also suffered from a few peeling facets) but the cerium really put a brilliant shine on the second bit - all except these couple of fiddly facets.

It's probably a little on the soft side for finger rings and bracelets but I reckon it would look schmick-o in earrings and pendants - if only I can crack the polishing problems.

Cheers

[mangomick]

Lefty
Flat Creek turn off about 30 km outside of Georgetown on the Forsyth Road then in about 30km from the turn off. Couple of properties down the road leading into Flat Creek that have camping for fossickers. Western Creek the property before and Flat Creek both have areas for campers with toilets and showers. Flat Creek $10 P/P per day.
Vic had been chasing Peridot at Chudliegh and also he was out at Fullerton river chasing garnets. He was going to do a "recky" with his mate just for the day down to Agate Creek to see if the road was o.k for his van but we never sighted him. If he though the road was o.k he was going to spend a couple of weeks there.
Cheers
Mick

[Jimnyjerry]

Hi Mangomick.  Just got back from FN Qld.
You need to bring your own drinking water if you go to Flat Creek as there is only dam water there.
 
Western is $100 pp per night and the pony paddock is off limits for a month as the owners (?) 33yr old son was buried there recently.
 
Track to Agate Ck was OK 3 weeks back.  Just a bit corrugated near Forsayth.
 
The weather should be cooler that it was back then ... up to 35 during the day and still hot a night.
 
Back home now got chased south by the rain at Tomahawk.

[Lefty]

Yeah, Vic mentioned to me that he was going to check out the Fullerton river garnet site. Hope he ends up with some nice faceting material.

[mangomick]

Hi Jimnyjerry
Didnt see your out at Tomahawk Ck so i guess you decided to go straight up North first.  Flat Creek has good water for drinking at the camp site. Comes from a bore but pretty sweet. They pump it up to a couple of tanks on the ridge above the shower block.
Came back last Friday from Agate creek and a bit of corrugation south of Forsyth like you said. Camper trailer frame completely cracked on both sides but I don't think i can blame that on that bit of corrugation. It had a bit of fatigue in it for a while and probably getting skull dragged into Bungle Bungles and across Plenty highway a few years back didnt help.
How did you go out at Obriens Creek. Think you said you were in a white Mitsubishi Pajero. Kept my eye open but didn' see a white Mitsubishi out there while we were there. As you can see from photo earlier in this post we didn't do too bad for a couple of days digging. Thankfully the jump up keeps a lot of fossickers down in the lower part of the field.
Best time to be out at tomahawk creek is after rain. You can just go round the various holes that have been left specking them in the floor and walls and finding the odd ones that people who don't change their wash water often enough have missed.
Cheers
Mick

[Tripz]

Hey MM,
Whats the track going into Tomohawk like these days, I pulled the caravan in 5 years ago, and intending to camp out this year during gemfest is it busy out there at that time?

[Jimnyjerry]

Yes Mangomick I shot straight up to Agate Ck. Went to Tomahawk on the way home.
 
My car is a Gunmetal blue Pajero but at that stage it probably looked a dusty red. 
 
Was about 18 people in at Tomahawk when I was there. Did not check Featherbed or up past the lodge so there could even have been more people. 
 
Too crowded for me and with a crook gut and the showers for 2 days I bugged out when I heard real rain was on the way.  Speck a small blue/green.
 
Track in to Tomahawk was good in contrast to what I was told before I got there which was that it was closed and that by someone who should have known better.
 
Genalva had only a few people.
 
Watch out for the camels between Rubyvale and Sapphire.
 
The strudels at Sapphire are yummy.
 
 

[mangomick]

Tripz
As Jimnyjerry said track in good but if they had rain the track may be cut up a little now as the vans were just starting to head in as we were heading out and it doesnt take much rain to stuff the track up although usually if there is a bit of traffic the ruts made when it's wet flattens down o.k . There was about 6 vans that I saw come in while we were there.
jimny, I'm thinking gut may have been crook because of too many strudels 
 

[Tripz]

Will have a gander for a day trip first when I get there I reckon, intend to camp out there while the gemfest is on for a week or so

Strudels will do that to ya.