which side does gold shed to

[mardymoose]

ok all the experts, this has perplexed me for some time, when detecting for gold does gold shed to the east or west of a hill?
I have spoken to professionals and those in the know,and I reckon its about a fifty-fifty split
Myself and a mate leaned towards it shedding to east and results would seem to indicate this.
I have how ever been told emphatically by experts that it definitely sheds to the west.
I value the opinions of others and would love to also hear a simple explanation as to why you have come to that conclusion and of course which side you think gold sheds to, or if it sheds both sides

 

[aussiefarmer]

I am no expert but gold is where it is and sheds down hill , i think each area has a pattern of more mines on one side of the slopes than the other and other areas are opposite .
Not really breaking news but thats my take on it

 

[Bjay]

Bloody good question as I've often wondered myself. Most gold I've found off the side of reefs has been to the east, with a very small amount on the west side. No idea as to why and I'm no expert very far from it but just my experiences.

 

[Dignit]

Hi MM
Good question and am interested on people's view.
The only thing I've read is that in Vic most of the weather comes from the west so the west side of a hill gets most of the weather and why erosion occurs more on the west side. This seems logical.
It's interesting your experience is finding more on the east ....... Perhaps the west sides have been flogged and the east is relatively fresh ground.
I'll watch this post to see what others think.
Cheers

 

[BigWave]

MM, you know that if the strike dips to the West, the reef generally sheds to the East and vice versa. I've rarely been able to determine dip, however most (90%) of my gold in the GT has been found to the East - maybe that's because it's where I've now convinced myself. I even told hardluck1968 last weekend that I was driving on over his mega patch (on the West) to check to the East. Must have been a lead reef though!

 

[Bjay]

I'm a bit geologically deficient so could be a good one for the geologically proficient.

 

[JakeofallTrades]

The Sunny side, old timers liked to hit the sunny side, you have to ask yourself, why was that?

 

[casper]

ok all the experts, this has perplexed me for some time, when detecting for gold does gold shed to the east or west of a hill?
I have spoken to professionals and those in the know,and I reckon its about a fifty-fifty split
Myself and a mate leaned towards it shedding to east and results would seem to indicate this.
I have how ever been told emphatically by experts that it definitely sheds to the west.
I value the opinions of others and would love to also hear a simple explanation as to why you have come to that conclusion and of course which side you think gold sheds to, or if it sheds both sides

I'm not sure if it's a legit question or some fun but the distribution of elluvial gold is influenced by topography.

casper

 

[Pirate pete]

I have been told by all the experts that west is best but all the time i have spent swinging on the west side of the hills all over the gt i have yet to crack that first nugget or even a spec . don't know what i am doing wrong.i use a tdi pro oz with a 14x9 nugget finder coil .cant seem to find that elusive 1st nugget .

 

[PabloP]

My two pennies worth is don't assume east or west (and north & south), but check all and even if you find on one side, don't forget to check the other side as the topography will have changed enormously over many thousands of years. Yes most of our reefs run N/S, but not all and the weathering influence on the reefs may not just end up with an east or west fall.

Rob

 

[eve0001]

Gday mardy, do you mean to ask where is the needle in the haystack? I've never found reef gold on hillsides only alluvial. Not sure if your talking about both when you say shedding down slope.

Good luck, eve

 

[HeadsUp]

A hillside that has a decline on the west now may have only been that way for 3 million years , or 40 million years.....there has been umpteen periods of plate movement since the birth of the reef and its gold.

I like the weathering theory above though.

 

[Bush]

Interesting in All,
i was told by a drip under pressure ( Geologist ) expert that the rivers in the East ran East West once a pone a time prior the lifting change of the plates.
So in Alluvial Gold ect in our Eastern Continent the deposits in rivers maybe running to the East but coming from stream erosion from the West.
So searching East or West may not make a lot of difference as deposits of Gemstones included are intermediate until you find the source.
`i` heard something similar about Sapphires running through Volcanic Tunnels what ever that term is ( Blow Holes ).

 

[AtomRat]

Watching some youtube on australias artesian basin and how it was formed may also help you see how much was going on back in the day. So much movement, volcanics, floods etc have occured throughout the time span.

Diamonds are brought up in deep magma volcanic tubes / vents, I'm not certain, but sapphires are usually created towards the crust a bit more where the granite is forming and a mixture of high mineralisation content in its magmas, gasses and waters and im not certain if it needs vents to create them or just melting from external forces. I may be completely corrected on this as I'm still learning and havnt looked at the full growing process of corundum / sapphire.

 

[Tassie Daz]

For those who didn't go to the Gold Bash at Laancoorie last Oct, Andrew Bales was the guest Geologist at the time and used a lecture time to deal with this very question. It might be worth checking with an expert like Andrew at www.rawgold.com.au for the geological theory behind it all. I think there is a spot for questions to be answered.

 

[nuggetino]

It's found on the N,W,S,E sides atleast based on old timer finds. Seems gold mines exist on all sides of a hill or gully. I do agree that there are patterns to certain goldfields though. I know a goldfield near me all gold discoveries were made in gullies shedding to the north.

 

[mardymoose]

Thanks all for the info so far,seems like the juries still out. I think the weathering from the west makes a lot of sense along with caspers topographic point of view. I am waiting for an answer from raw golds andrew, and will post his thoughts ...... keep those comments coming, obviously others have given this some thought to

 

[nucopia]

It logically should shed towards the point of least resistance.
The hard part I imagine, is reading the land scape and understanding all the variables(past influences) that were in play to predict the caurse it might have taken.

 

[mbasko]

Logically yes it should shed towards the point of least resistance & will naturally follow erosion, weathering, run-off etc. Past influences can cause unpredictability i.e. gold can & is found above outcrops, reefs etc. If gold follows gravity how did it get there? Upheavals, changes in landform over millions of years etc. etc.
IMO there is no hard & fast answer but it's something that needs to be figured out to suit the particular location/s.

 

[Pirate pete]

I have often been told look in the gullys because the gold sheds to the gully .and have thought thats fine the gold moved on or near the then surface but the erosion that has happened over the years since may mean that the gold could be now under 4 or 5 feet of soil from the erosion that happened after the gold settled just my thought on it.