New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi all, i stumbled upon this forum a while ago while doing some uni work and been reading up on some of the interesting topics in the forums since. Im in my final year of a degree in geology at Canterbury uni and heading on to a masters next year so naturally i find gold and everything about it in New Zealand pretty interesting. So far though my dabbling into prospecting has been limited, just the odd pan here and there (in a fossicking area of course) with little to show for it. Never the less i like the adventure and exploration that comes with the territory and putting my newly learned knowledge into practice, looking for gold, metals and gems but also just looking around and trying to understand why things are the way they are. So maybe ill be of some help in the forums on geology matters, but go easy im only an undergrad. Cheers

Ok heres one thats always bothered me-why is gold usually associated with ironsands?

Yep, it's a density thing and alluvial related. They come from different sources up there in them there mountains, but congregate in the same spot down at the beach. A bit like drunken teens.

Not entirely sure what you mean overdog but fluvial action in a cave would be no different than in a creek, except that maybe in a flood a cave could become sufficiently full to have some sediments deposited in cracks on the roof though gold with its high specific gravity will still most likely be found at the bottom under all the lighter material. Good enough?

Gold is where you find it, he he.
But seriously it depends on whether or not the particular location has had the right history. so yes it is possible to find gold in carbonates and granites but in your area i cant say, you need heat and fluids for any mineralization to occur so i'd start by researching what work has already been done. i think i remember that some gold had been mined in the caples terrane in Tasman but i am not to sure. if you really want to find out where the source of gold is, a quick Google search will likely reveal something.

@ oroplata they go down more like 2x lead weights, gold is really dense.

Gold isnt necessarily associated with blacksands - it depends entirely on the geology of the countryside and its mineral associations. In fact on all three of our claims I can never recall Blacksands such as are common in Central Otago around Arrowtown etc etc. It is dependent on the minerals that are present within the same watersheds as the Gold or which have been derived from the same sources.

If you lived at Macraes Flat you might ask 'Why is the Gold found in the stream usually associated with Scheelite sands?' and the answer is that there are scheelite reefs associated with the gold reefs. When the gold ore was put through the crushes at Deep Dell large amounts of Scheelite were a by product of the same Quartz ore.

In other areas you might ask why do I find tiny red pieces of some mineral in the pan with the gold and the answer is that there are Cinnabar associations within the same watershed as the gold you are panning or the cinnabar came to be there in the same manner as the gold.

I dont think it is really correct to state that Gold is usually associated with Iron Sands - it is in some areas but not in others

Also if you look at it from the perspective of why you get the Gold and the Iron Sand together or the Scheelite and Gold together or the Cinnabar and gold together then the answer is purely and simply that these minerals are very heavy and the heavy minerals tend to be concentrated together.

It is all interesting to ponder over and I for one always get a kick out of finding Scheelite in association with the gold or finding cinnabar sands in association with the gold - especially the latter - in one area on our place I have found cinnabar sands in association with the gold though only traces...its all very interesting.

Edited by user Sunday, 9 September 2012 12:13:24 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified