Hi Doon. Your comment as to “locals” making more of a mess than anything else to be honest, is the exact reason as to why you will find there will be no ‘legal’ gold fossicking in the Coromandel & never will be. Some people just cant help themselves in not making a mess & walking away leaving it. They ruin it for everybody. You will be well aware of the anti mining, tree hugging frog arse licking type that dominate the Coro. Stealth is the best method & not attracting unwanted attention, & making good the area when finished. Getting a bit further from the beaten path & more isolated helps with that & is usually more rewarding .
If you have frequented Maratoto have you come across the steam engine & berdans in the bush up a side creek that flows into the Maratoto River?
Hi mate. I hear ya haha.
Planning on a trip back to Maratoto this weekend.
Going to drop into McBrinns stream.
Good colour there still.
Yes Ihave seen the relics there.
Found a great patch of bedrock up Wentworth valley in the main creek.
Bleeding out of somewhere up there…
Regards.
Wentworth and maratoto are under claim if you dont want to get into trouble best way is write to oceana asking them can you gold pan on there property. 99,% of the time they will let you. But if you find a reef then you must tell them thats the agreement .
Interesting. They probably need to police it then.
Ive been spending time there recently recording all the old relics and history of the place.
Mc Brinns stream is full of holes…
I past 4 guys walking up to the main stream with sluices.
Prospecting holes are everywhere.
It’s been happening since the 1890s,
Lol true that mate
If you find anything there it’s small.
Too many floods have come through these parts.
Covered all the goodness up.
You’d need an excavator to find anything decent.
Nobody will get rich from that place.
Beautiful place to explore
That’s is correct blobs of silver in most cases .not alot of gold sluicing up there if some from govt catch’s you doing as a full time job its 5 years in jail and a criminal. Record who wants to risk that . As a fossicker that’s fine but start prospecting you have problems
Seen a guy there camping by the main river.
Dredging the main creek
Not really trying to be invisible either.
Highly illegal.
About the only thing that come out of Maratoto was the calcites they used for Gerard roofing systems clear coating.
The gold was shit
Hi mate. No doubt there will be specs still in a lucky untouched spot.
It’s just too much bloody hard work.
I have just recently found the old boiler and cyanide treatment relics at Walkers site.
Ticked off the list.
Like you…I am a Rockhound.
There are marvellous chunks of jasper at Wentworth too.
Which in turn. Same place. Just a ridge between.
Tairua has Obsidian.
The main river in Coromandel town has the most amazing bits of Amethyst.
A good eye…I have found bits contained gold traces in the quartz.
It all stems from Tokotea .
Lots of Amethyst and crystal adits .
Just be careful if ever exploring Tokotea saddle.
It is the area of the Royal oak battery.
So many deep shafts in the hillsde.
As a side note to enquiring for fossicking areas in the North Island with PAMS over the last 3 years ,I threw the towel in about 8 months ago,all the comms with them ,met with no replys,including , iwi ,DOC and Business associations,to hell with the lot of them,(thats just my pride saying that hahaa).But then again Im glad nothing came of it as one wise gentleman I met up with in Thames,said ," Why try and open a fossicking areas for the public in the Hauraki ,Coro areas,when theres no easy gold to be found,and all they ll do is wreck it for everyone else, Stay low and slow ,he said ,so yeah.
Funny that. They only want the big boys getting it now.
Corrupt departments I do not trust nor follow.
DOC are a bunch if idiots with pen and paper.
I know and have seen DOC workers seeking gold.
In a place they thought nobody goes
A DOC worker was also involved in narking on my business.
Who can you believe these days… Nobody.
Rules are made to suit themselves.
I want no part of it either.
Yea mate… The boys got in touch but I was busy.
