Rivers of Gold around Canberra

Like all commodities, gold costs fluctuate. Today, after quality of United States debt was questioned by Standard and Poor’s, gold commodities hit a record high, $1,500 per ounce. This continues the upward trend in gold prices, though experts are split on the meaning of this milestone. The proof is here: Gold prices touch $1,500 as some question inflationary pressures

Hi Peterh, the secret to finding gold is (pause for dramatic effect) ….. to look for it where others have found it.
Canberra is in the middle of a golden rectangle. Look up the local metallogenic map.
All the “easy” gold has been already got by our ancestors (my ancestors got it from those whom (sic) already did the hard work i.e. they were bush rangers).
There is lots more still out there, but you will have to be innovative.
Kinda like extreme geology (for nerds).

facet, I take it that the site is outside the ACT? looks like a favorite haunt of fossickers, the zircon and the sapphs are a real telltale.

always thought that gininnderra creek might be gold bearing, used to get a fair amount of pyrites from the creek up near charnwood and down on the sands below the falls. Then again, bywong still has some traces of gold, but not enough to retire on.

good to see that there is something to search for after the floods, but it depends on the water temp, I don’t enjoy standing in freezing cold water whilst being baked by the sun.

sexynotsmart said :

PS: how do you “Quote” with the new skin?

Little green quote button at the bottom right of each post.

cleo said :

Iv’e been told gold has gone up.

Nah, it’s too heavy.

Iv’e been told gold has gone up.

I look forward to the return of Ben Hall and Cobb & Co.

Gold price is usually quoted in troy ounces (different from the ordinary ounce) and in $US.
Best to talk in grams so one troy ounce = 31.1034 grams.
Australian spot price $US 1,369 about $AUS 1,388 (at this moment).
According to my maths comes to about $45 per gram. However never get full price because alluvial gold has a little bit of Ag and Cu.
Average weekly wage about $800 per week say $20 per hour. So for an 8 hour day $160.
In conclusion, don’t give up your day job but then again you might strike rich pay dirt.
If you do, don’t tell anyone.

Re: value of gold in the picture. It’s hard to tell how big anything is. Stones and grit comes in all sorts of stony, gritty sizes.

But assuming the scratches are the size of – well, scratches – I bid 20c.

A gold ounce is about 31g – a shade above the weight of a “Masterfoods” spice jar. Gold is denser than cayenne pepper, so you don’t need that volume of gold. The dimensions of an ounce depend on your dealer (insert your own drug pun here). Grandpa won a small QLD lottery prize in the 80s, and I’ve still got one of his ingots – it’s 15mm x 15mm x 4mm.

PS: how do you “Quote” with the new skin?

Out of interest, what’s that much gold worth? I assume you do this as a hobby, more than for the income?

Troll_sniffer you must be related to my gold buyer, he is forever telling me that alluvial gold contains silver and copper (and I should not expect him to pay for those) so I never get the market price for gold. Gold buyers have been con men since before the time of Archimedes.
This spot has nice “chunky bits” (unlike the Shoalhaven).
I like chunky gold.
Gold has a specific gravity of 18-19 compared to quartz (sg of about 2-3) – so it “sticks” in the bottom of the pan (making panning a bit easier).
If you look at the non gold bits you might see small sapphires and zircons (big hint their folks).
If I had arranged the photo I would have put the gold in a smaller tighter grouping, this would also have happened if I was a better gold panner.