Hi there!

[thetribalbowerbird]

Hi everyone this is my first post

Recently I have refound a spot on our land that has a small pocket of smokey quartz and a bit of purple coloured quartz *could be amethyst. that I first found as a kid. I have dug a little of it and seem to have run out - I'm not sure if I should dig a bit furthe - I have only got about 40cms down.
 I am sure there is more about I just don't want to dig heaps of holes willy nilly in order to find my next spot. Having no idea about where to be looking seeing as I just stumbled upon this spot in the first place is there any signs I can spot or clues on where to dig?

Anyway here is what I have been finding plus lumps of it that I am thinking of tumbling when I get a machine



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[thetribalbowerbird]

 some points
and the purplish stones

[thetribalbowerbird]

more little ones

[steveo]

Very cool finding on your own place.

[thetribalbowerbird]

Yes! very lucky and I can use the crystal as a setting in my jewellery- studying silversmithing at COFA as a major Bach. of Fine Arts

[marty]

Hi there Bowerbirb, awesome stones ! bit of a greeny in this area, someone correct me if i'm wrong please, but I thought in that situation you would try to follow the reef along and look for more colour unless it's just a blow ?  Goodluck.  MARTY

[pegatha]

Hello and welcome Bowerbird. I agree with Marty I would be looking to see if the reef continues, and what direction it is taking. Do you have any rock outcrops that hold quartz. After I had finished dancing that is. Wow lucky you. 

[thetribalbowerbird]

Oh cool I think that's what I have been doing I'm not sure what a reef is but- I have widened out the layer they are in but haven't found anything new really. We have a 24 acre block and it actually had an old granite quarry site...I was thinking I might have a bit of a scratch around there see what I can find any other tips? I am not sure what to look for in an ideal spot?

[calxoddity]

I think we should come out and do a survey or your property.  You provide the bbq and the beer, and we'll do the digging.... ;-)

[Bucket]

Welcome to ALF, bowerbird, you have what a lot of us can only dream about.  What state are you in?  I'm sure that calx and any number of others here would be only to happy to help out (I personally hope you're in Tassie, where I would be only too please to assist). 

Chasing the reef would be what I would be looking at, sounds like the ones you have were at or near the surface.  They must have come from somewhere, so the reef is where I'd be looking.

Garry

[MakkyBrown]

lol Bucket, If in Tassie count me in, it would be very interesting just to see. I'm in pretty good digging form atm after Agate Creek.
Talking of Tassie&digging I think there might be a Milton Lapidary trip on on the w/end got some big bits of wood last trip there, keen to continue on from where i left off.

Your very lucky tribalbowerbird  having your own land to fossick on.

[thetribalbowerbird]

I think we should come out and do a survey or your property.  You provide the bbq and the beer, and we'll do the digging.... ;-)

ha ha ha ha I'm not too sure my parents would be too happy about that 

[thetribalbowerbird]

Welcome to ALF, bowerbird, you have what a lot of us can only dream about.  What state are you in?  I'm sure that calx and any number of others here would be only to happy to help out (I personally hope you're in Tassie, where I would be only too please to assist). 

Chasing the reef would be what I would be looking at, sounds like the ones you have were at or near the surface.  They must have come from somewhere, so the reef is where I'd be looking.

Garry

I'm about 3 hours away from SSydney west of the Blue Mountains beautiful countryside
What is the reef?

[calxoddity]

If you're in the Oberon area, you're certainly in a spot where we've found smoky quartz previously.  There are a few possibilities regarding your find:
- it's loose crystals mixed with pieces of granite or basalt or similar, dug out and left behind on completion of quarrying operations
- as above, but it's been dumped on your property as fill some time in the past
- it's the decayed part of a seam of quartz in hard rock, which you should be able to determine by digging deeper and also seeing if it follows any direction in particular.  Should progess to hard rock as you dig down
- it's the remains of a cavity that contained quartz crystals, so will be isolated but may have cousins under the ground in the area
-it's been deposited by water action in the past from a location that probably doesn't exist any more.  Water worn crystals would indicate this.  Is it in water worn gravel? Or soil with the occasional water worn rock/pebble.  From the look of it, any rocks or pebbles won' be smooth, but just not totally jagged.

[thetribalbowerbird]

I think it could possibly have been fill as well as it is fairly close to a culvit dug highway- no water worn rocks really around.
But on the other hand, my uncle used to find large 30cm long crystal points which I would love to know where he found them I know it was in the same general 2k radius as where I have found my little pocket but it was a long time back and I'd say it is long forgotten about. If it is nearby it may also be someone's private land by now (could still be on our land perhaps). I will be looking and hopefully I can get in touch soon.