Turon River NSW information and questions

[vic]

Question about the Turon river, went out last Thursday high banking for the yellow stuff and while doing my clean out of the high banker noticed a light green see through stone, my question is there any gemstones in the river or do I have a piece of glass?
Tried uploading a pic but only lets me get halfway through it so gave up.
Cheers Vic

 

[Guest]

Diamonds have been found in the Turon but near Bald Hill @ Hill End. Diamond colours found at two mile flat near the Cudgegong River where described as , "passing from perfectly water-clear through various shades of yellow, pale green, and brown to almost black; a twinned octahedron of a beautiful dark-green colour was once found". In 1851 Government geologist (Stuchbury) also reported seeing finely crystallized diamond from the Turon.
http://www.minelinks.com/alluvial/diamondGeology43.html

Wouldn't surprise me if there are other gems if diamond has been found in the area. The diamonds in the Cudgegong were associated with gold, topaz, sapphire, ruby etc. Someone with more gem knowledge may be able to tell more if you can get the picture to load?

 

[vic]

Hope this helps

 

[dezman]

Hard to tell from that pic maybe place the stones on a flat surface.

Great read mbasko, how interesting our diamonds are hard and small.
I found two near hanging rock last year and I must go back for a proper dig.
The local that put me on to it after he found a big piece that was sold in SA for $5000.
I did't put much value into them then but now come to think about it, small diamonds are worth something.
Plus it's dead easy digging as they carry in a fine sand with very little material to sort through.

 

[Heatho]

G'day Vic, the stones in your pic pretty much look like Quartz to me, one 2nd from Left looks a bit like Topaz in the pic but I'm pretty sure it's not. Don't ditch them though just in case....

There is a marked Topaz and Ruby deposit on the Upper Turon, 5km West of Ben Bullen, on private property though.

Details from map.
208672 - Upper Turon River (Upper Turon River Ruby Occurrence)
Coords: -33.212910,149.967704
Comm_type: Gemstones
F_prefix: BA
Met_prefix: Unknown
Geo_province: Lachlan Orogen
Metal_dist: not assigned
Op_status: never worked
Op_method: no workings
Lga: Greater Lithgow
Compiler: JR Reynolds 24/08/1999
Last_update: 1999-08-24
Occur_size: Occurrence only
Notes: Small, pale pink, inferior quality rubies in alluvial gravels. Gold and rare topaz also present.
Commodities
ruby MAJOR
topaz - gem MINOR

 

[Twapster]

I would have said a piece of green glass as my first thoughts, hope i'm wrong.

 

[Heatho]

Could be glass, hard to tell though.

 

[KarlS]

In had panned piece of green glass twice from Turon river. Hard to tell, but it looks like glass.
Karl

 

[vic]

Might be glass but how do I tell

 

[Heatho]

Clear stones are sometimes the hardest to tell apart. Specific Gravity test is a good start. Though Glass and Quartz are both around the same SG.

http://johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles/specific_gravity.htm

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Hey guys going up to Hill End next weekend and was going to stop by the turon river before a full day at Tambaroora. Now I know about Coles bridge spot but was wondering if there was any other spots along the turon river. Thanks

 

[Twapster]

Mate Turons a big river so plenty of spots to explore. Which way are you coming from? If you go thru Bathurst and up Turondale road its a nice drive to Coles bridge on your way thru to Hill End, or you can go Lithgow, past Capertee and take the Ilford turn off to Sofala and stop somewhere there. For a bit more adventure theres the Turon Gates road which takes you to Sofala but its pretty rugged but a great scenic route through gold country. That's a couple of hours driving if you take that route! Also you could do the Bridle track when you get to Hill End, takes you to the junction where Turon meets the Macquarie. That's also a fun drive

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Nah I'm coming from Bathurst so up turondale rd and have been up that way countless of times and only have a 2wd so I don't think the bridle track will go well with the car.

 

[jimnyjerry]

As far as I know the Bridle track is still closed at Monaghan's Bluff. Part of the road went down the hill and the rest has boulders on it so you best go Turondale Rd. Have fun in Hill End.

 

[Twapster]

Nah I'm coming from Bathurst so up turondale rd and have been up that way countless of times and only have a 2wd so I don't think the bridle track will go well with the car.

I'm only talking the drive from the top of Hill End down the bridle to the bottom where the river is. As long as the weather is dry a 2wd is fine for that part, its just a bit scary looking down as the road is quite narrow with a passenger seat view of the valley that is awesome as long as you are not afraid of heights. Obviously its a drive with lights on and honk as you approach blind corners, and drive slowly/safely! Its not a long drive either from the pub so well worth it if you pass thru Hill End, great camp spot too with minimal "traffic"

 

[kemjak57]

Hi guys, I have some NQ friends who are doing the round OZ trip atm. They are camped at a designated site on the Turon. I know nothing of the area but I said I would inquire on here to see if anyone could shed some light on whether it was more a panning area or better detecting. He has had a shot with his 5000 and cleaned out a lot of lead that has either gone through or missed the rabbits completely . They are great people if anyone runs into them. They have an off road caravan towed by an ex Telstra Nissan. Steve and Sharon. Thanks for any assistance. Cheers, Rick

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Hey kemjak we will be going out to turon on Saturday morning then in the afternoon sometime will be heading of to hill end to do more panning and sluicing.

 

[kemjak57]

Thanks mate say g'day for me if you run into them. Cheers

 

[WalnLiz]

G'day Rick,

The Turon itself is that full of buckshot and lead slugs that detecting the rock bars and exposed slopes will drive them mad. If they've got Gold pans with them they will be a lot more productive and pretty well guarantee some gold.....and some of the gold is quite detectable if you can handle a 200:1 ratio lead to gold.

Pity that the water will still be quite cold, with the best gold being generally in the middle of the river, as the edges get quite a hammering. Not sure which section of the Turon they're on, but if you have their exact location send me a PM as it may be near sections I have had reasonable success at.

Cheers Wal.

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Yea will do. how long will they be at the turon for?