Gladstone northeast Tas

[Firepanther]

Just wondering if anyone has been here looking for topaz or quartz? Is the designated fossicking site any good or are there better spots to look around?
Cheers

 

[Dave79]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

 

[Firepanther]

Cool thanks Dave. Might pop up there while down that way when i head down in 2 weekends time. Did you look on dry land or in the creeks too

 

[Dave79]

Mostly around a few of the old tin workings on the mrt map. Pretty overgrown tracks getting in there but did see a few creeks that would have been worth a seive. Apparently the south side of Mount Cameron is better for clear and smoky quartz.

 

[Firepanther]

Really. Guess the only to find out is too look. Yeah i will down that way looking for sapphires again but some smokies would be nice. Might have to get looking around at the old mining maps

 

[user 4386]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

Topaz usually occurs in the tin veins

 

[Lefty]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

Topaz usually occurs in the tin veins

Every topaz occurance I've fossicked in far north QLD has been associated with an abandoned tin working.

 

[Lefty]

My wifes cousin (an avid fnqld fossicker) advised us that if we started turning up smoky quartz crystals in the vicinity of an old tin working, topaz probably wasnt far away. He was right, the first thing I located was a nicely formed smoky crystal (I actually faceted it) and the topaz was in conjunction with the smokys.

 

[Firepanther]

Thats awesome info guys. Definitely lots of old tin workings around there by the looks of it. Will have to go and have a dig around. May sieve some creeks too

 

[Lefty]

It would be one of the first places I would scope out!

 

[Firepanther]

It would be one of the first places I would scope out!

So scope the creeks Lefty?
Could get the missus to check on land while i go sieveing the creek.

 

[Lefty]

If you can locate the old mine dumps thatwould be the go - i dont think the miners had any interest in topaz or smoky cystals. But I would work the creeks as well.

 

[Firepanther]

I've seen quite a few smokies faceted and they are awesome. So hopefully get a few. I'll try locating the old workings and dumps and go from there. :Y:

 

[user 4386]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

Topaz usually occurs in the tin veins

Every topaz occurance I've fossicked in far north QLD has been associated with an abandoned tin working.

There is a sound geological reason - hot water cannot dissolve much tin, but if it has fluorine in it a lot can be dissolved and deposited elsewhere. The tin drops out as the oxide, cassiterite, and the fluorine crystallizes as things like fluorite and topaz (both fluorine minerals) at the same location.

 

[Lefty]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

Topaz usually occurs in the tin veins

Every topaz occurance I've fossicked in far north QLD has been associated with an abandoned tin working.

There is a sound geological reason - hot water cannot dissolve much tin, but if it has fluorine in it a lot can be dissolved and deposited elsewhere. The tin drops out as the oxide, cassiterite, and the fluorine crystallizes as things like fluorite and topaz (both fluorine minerals) at the same location.

Yes, I found a few small bits of green and purple fluorite at one of the topaz sites.

Is the presence of fluorine the reason behind the scaly, beaten-up looking surface of the smoky crystals I found inside a hydrothermal pipe about a metre and a half long? The crystals inside the pipe had the look of something that had been dipped in acid (though many were very clean and clear inside) while the crystals just a foot away outside the pipe had bright, shiny faces like most of the Lowmead crystals. I read somewhere that fluorine can become concentrated in some hydrothermal pipes and attack the surface of quartz crystals in late-stage formation. Is this correct?

 

[user 4386]

Been up there once. Headed up around the fossicking area and found heaps of water worn quartz but nothing was very good. Mostly dark, cloudy or fissured. Hundreds of old tin mines all around the area and apparently most of them can turn up nice quartz if you dig through the mullock heaps, not sure where the topaz is found.

Topaz usually occurs in the tin veins

Every topaz occurance I've fossicked in far north QLD has been associated with an abandoned tin working.

There is a sound geological reason - hot water cannot dissolve much tin, but if it has fluorine in it a lot can be dissolved and deposited elsewhere. The tin drops out as the oxide, cassiterite, and the fluorine crystallizes as things like fluorite and topaz (both fluorine minerals) at the same location.

Yes, I found a few small bits of green and purple fluorite at one of the topaz sites.

Is the presence of fluorine the reason behind the scaly, beaten-up looking surface of the smoky crystals I found inside a hydrothermal pipe about a metre and a half long? The crystals inside the pipe had the look of something that had been dipped in acid (though many were very clean and clear inside) while the crystals just a foot away outside the pipe had bright, shiny faces like most of the Lowmead crystals. I read somewhere that fluorine can become concentrated in some hydrothermal pipes and attack the surface of quartz crystals in late-stage formation. Is this correct?

Yes, that can occur.

 

[Firepanther]

So just a follow up on this thread. Found some nice amethyst and smokey samples. No topaz though. The creek was totally gone last time i was there so made it harder to look. Would recommend going here to anyone in tas.