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Otago gold claim on Trademe
diggerjoe  
Posted : Sunday, 5 February 2012 9:16:11 AM(UTC)
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This might interest some of you out there.

http://www.trademe.co.nz...er/auction-445638050.htm
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Lammerlaw  
Posted : Sunday, 5 February 2012 10:13:26 AM(UTC)
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Interesting - Presuming this claim relates to Deep Stream between Outram and Middlemarch - the last time I was there I got 1 penny weight or 1.5 grammes for one very tiring day. I frequented this stretch of Deep Stream above the Main road bridge on State Highway 87 for many years off and on - my brother in laws brother owned the land that this claim bounds and further up my Brother in laws father owned the land through which this claim passes and it also passes through Rocklands.

Personally I would not touch it with a barge pole - yes there is some great gold in it but I found much of it was pretty barren. To me buying this claim would be throwing good money after bad.

The bottom end of this river is far better but for thirty years we worked it and I am the only person alive now who knows what has been worked thoroughly and what has not been worked thoroughly and any person working lower down could work for a long time and still only be going over what was done thoroughly by around eight people plus friends for over a period of thirty years and more.

The lower part is one of the three Gold claims my Uncles syndicate had up until 1978 I think and then we took it over - we spent weeks prospecting both above and immediately below the main road bridge and from our point of view, despite having the ease of access through my brother in law deemed this claim on offer now as being a 'Waste of time' - our views only however...from my point of view the best thing that came out of it was a rusted relic of an antique gun!

The best thing that lies in the vicinity now, if it has not been found is a bottle with gold and mercury in it which I lost about 1972 and which someone has in all likelihood found by now!

Further up stream above rocklands crossing or should I say the Dunstan Track crossing is where my brother in laws father owned and Geordie Welch who owned at the end of Welsh;s Road mined here consistently since he was a lad and his father before him. There is a small creek which has some great nuggets in it further down but is not included in this claim and where todays best bets may lie.

Edited by user Monday, 6 February 2012 8:05:50 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
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1864hatter  
Posted : Monday, 6 February 2012 3:44:16 AM(UTC)
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Damn thats mighty helpfull of you. Cheers for taking the time
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
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gogold  
Posted : Monday, 6 February 2012 8:49:00 AM(UTC)
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you have to realise now that many people by dredges etc then find out to be legal they need a claim so its not always about having lots of gold for the hobby dredger having a place to go legitimatly is just as good as gold as long as its not a rediculous price i guess. 15-20 k ud get your money back ... eventualy . i woudnt buy this claim but to someone else it could be perfect.
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Lammerlaw  
Posted : Monday, 6 February 2012 5:53:23 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: gogold Go to Quoted Post
you have to realise now that many people by dredges etc then find out to be legal they need a claim so its not always about having lots of gold for the hobby dredger having a place to go legitimatly is just as good as gold as long as its not a rediculous price i guess. 15-20 k ud get your money back ... eventualy . i woudnt buy this claim but to someone else it could be perfect.


The very best spots have never been claimed, often because of the fact that they are not major rivers and few people seem to know much about them! It is totally inane to spend any money at all on buying a claim that is merely a 'potter about claim' with low returns when for the same price or less you can claim a far better spot for ten times the return - it is a matter of finances and logistics and simple common sense.

you might say that it is just a place to go which is good BUT there are hundreds of places where you can go and get much more for the same outlay or less!

I sure in hell dont know who this claim is 'perfect' for - I suppose if you just want a place to go and potter which is easy to access in many parts, which it is or was and you have the blessing of the land owner then go for it...As I said above in one day when I was accessing the possibilities of taking out a claim somewhat below the bridge I worked hard and only found a penny weight...and that was over a mile of river bed! I also prospected on what is now this claim in the early 1970s and found a fair bit of finer gold but even back then decided it was not a good place to have a claim compared with other places.

There WILL be good nuggets on this claim, there WILL be good pockets of gold on this claim but even back then I found it was not worthwhile...and since then I know of one syndicate who quietly worked it for a long time so that in fact the person who buys this claim is buying a long, long length of river much of which is not good at all.

Even down at what is called Wallaces Ford the old timers thoroughly worked it so that we only found gold in pockets here and there. There were some amazing crevices down there but when we opened them up they held lean pickings - not because they never held gold but because it was too easily worked by the old timers.
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gavin  
Posted : Wednesday, 8 February 2012 5:05:17 PM(UTC)
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