New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

At the start of each DVD of the "Gold Prospectors Association of America Inc" .There is a warning about old mines and shafts. "Stay out and Stay Alive." No amount of gold is worth lossing your life for. Do you know what is a safe mine or not ?

Good advice but sadly theres a lot of idiots about including me and many an exciting moments I had in mine shafts and drives around Macetown area and Macraes Flat as well as a few other places. I loved exploring the old drives and looking for goodies.

At Macraes Flat I had been down three or four levels in the old mines, found gelignite in one but it wouldnt go off - bugger also candles, some great Scheelite specimens and also quartz with gold in it on the odd occasions.

The photo shows a nice Scheelite specimen from deep underground at Macraes which I got when I was last down that particular mine.

Lammerlaw-gold and grenades-Outstanding! I love it!

Mark-Closest mine to you would be the Champion up the Roding valley, that was copper though so not much use if you are after gold but still interesting. The United mine is over the hill to the north-copper again.
For gold the Waka has some good ones-Golden Bar is a couple of hundred metres up from the ford across Dead Horse on the true right bank-not been in there myself. There are quite a few drives on the hills round about but these are hard to find-the ones Ive stumbled across I doubt I could find again!
Havent heard of anything around Tapawera but if you head to the end of the Wangapeka road and follow the Nuggety creek track you will come across the Colossus mine-goes in for a good 50 or so metres but be careful in there-last time I was in there a car sized block had come out the roof! Some cool cave crickets and spiders in there!
There are 3 more drives on the same quartz reef going down to the creek (steep-watch yourself) but I haven't found them. Dorans mine is a bit further on but the entrance is caved in.
Somewhere above the stamper battery on Blue creek is another one.
Howard valley public area has some drives and pits-park where the power lines cross the Porika track and head north west to the first small creek but careful-I nearly fell in an open pit here!

Its worth stating again what people have said-we were all ten feet tall and bullet proof once and I for one have done some REALLY stupid shit so be careful-don't go randomly digging at the walls or roof of a tunnel and watch your feet-I have come across sheets of galvanised iron covering a shaft in the floor more than once!

Don't go by yourself!

Hay their friend we have just about covered most of the old mines in the north bank and wakamarina area and cullensville over the last 2 years last week we were in the golden bar mine scary place some guy is still in their oh dead of course we have been hunting for the other end and its not an easy run we have been to the mines at the top of waikakahoe inside to you need nerves of steel and great lighting and a long rope or you get lost lots different levels and turns just be care full mate no second chances when you drop 50 metres or more last week after researching the golden bar we heard of farm dogs that have dropped in their along with past people whom have never come out the wellington mine was a good one to start with and the mines around outward bound a tunnel more 5 minutes and your done just to get the hart up their anyway oh and the giant wettas they drop on you while you are walking and you wonder whats the movement in your shirt if I can help just ask jd