Hi, I am new to prospecting and am very interested to knows if there is gold to be found in any of the black sand beaches around the north island? Another thing i can’t find much information about is the legal side of panning anywhere in the North Island and what the consequences may be. I would be very interested to hear back from anyone that may have an idea! Thanks.
There are no known beaches in the North Island containing alluvial gold to my knowledge. I have over the years read extensively on NZ Gold Mining History, and nothing is recorded. However in the area around Thames and other Coromandel Quartz Stamper sites, the ore flour was discharged to the sea, after the gold was recovered. Prior to the Cyanide Process being used, this residue did contain some gold. Whether that is native gold or gold contained with arsenopyrite I am not sure. Some years back applications were made to dredge this residue of which there are thousands of tonnes, but the applications were declined. So somebody must have thought it was worthwhile to reprocess using modern extraction methods. Possibly panning along the coast line or in the many small coves may show that wave action from storms, has to some degree resulted in a concentration of these sands, which may or may not contain visible gold. Worth a shot I reckon. My back ground is black sanding on West Coast Sth Island beaches for many years. Before moving into underwater river dredging.
Cheets “The Hatter” Aka Trev
Thanks Trev! Will give it a shot!