Earning 600 Million Dollars from Ancient Beach Sand
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Imagine earning 600 million dollars from simple beach sands. This is exactly what happened in Western Victoria when the discovery of heavy mineral sands were made. The Douglas mine made an astonishing amount of money from mining these deposits. This video will discuss the geology behind these placer deposits and how the mine successfully extracted these minerals and rehabilitated the land, setting a great example for environmentally friendly mining in Australia and the world.
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OzGeology is an Australian-based RUclips channel that specializes in creating high-quality documentaries on Earth sciences and natural disasters. The content is designed to be easy to digest and covers a wide range of topics, not only focusing on geology but occasionally exploring other scientific areas as well
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I didn't discover but was closely involved in the early discover of those deposits. Was actually amazing to see the geology and geophysics depicting what was clearly ancient sand dunes, 10 to 20m under the surface. Was definitely a heady time in the late 90's early 20's as we drilled and discovered the rich minerals at 10-15m depth. Don't work in that field any more but still have a strong connection to the area so always look out for the areas we explored when ever I drive through.
Thanks for sharing! What an incredible experience that must've been!
Rutile, zircon, monazite, illmonite are the minerals I’ve been involved in recovering.
These minerals make paints, cosmetics, tiles, tile glazes, jet engine parts, pacemakers and sandblasting medium.
We once had a guy with a pacemaker wanting to see the factory that kept him alive. I was happy to show him around but was unable to take him in to one certain part, because of the radiation from the naturally occurring thorium in one of those minerals.
I worked in the Titanium Minerals industry in Queensland and Western Australia 30 years ago. Mine rehabilitation practices were the same. Stockpile overburden, extract minerals, recontour, and reseed.
It's good to have you back showing us the geology
very interesting. The old coastline deposits are fascinating. There was a rutile quarry about 9km NE of Hamilton, Now called Hewitt Park - rehab was not done well. I also spent time in NSW and the beach sands were mined for rutile and other elements from Newcastle north, anywhere they could get away with it. I love looking at rocks but only have enough knowledge really to kick them.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you find it interesting and fascinating too. I've seen some of these deposits in modern coastlines, right under our very noses haha.
I think you should make a video on the Sydney Sandstone or the Prospect Dolerite Intrusion.
A family friend had a farm right on the end of the mine at Kanagulk, near Balmoral, Vic. He was the only farmer who didn’t sell his property to the mine, and consequently it’s the only farm left in the whole area. He took me through the area being rehabbed. There’s a long way to go, and the equipment was so radioactive they buried it all at the main site.
Those are the simplest placer deposits to mine. You forgot to mention they also occasionally come with small fractions of gold and other heavy metals such as platinum and palladium.
fun fact, the bothersome "waste product" from rutile mining [ i remember from my childhood at sand mines near the gold coast ] because its slightly radioactive from being concentrated and separated from the "good stuff, is , drum roll, THORIUM ! the "waste "from one mine could power australia for the next ten thousand years and thats just one small mine, thorium rich waste is availabile at many mines tailings dams just waiting to be re-claimed and put to work at the energy source of the forseeable future, at least until they get fusion sorted...
I’m glad you said fusion at the end there. Current nuclear power is not safe for ever and I mean forever. Did you know the US built a small modular nuclear reactor to power McMurdo Sound Antarctic base? Leaked like a sieve, contaminated the area in the world’s most pristine environment and they had to ship 12,000 tons of radioactive rock back to the US for disposal. Now they use diesel at Mc Murdo and jet fuel at Amundsen Scott base for power generation.
I did not know that but remember hearing about a reactor there. I wonder if it leaked due to the extreme temps?
Could you share any links?
Every mineral deposit is different. I haven’t read anything about thorium existing at the Douglas. Interesting comment nonetheless :)
the monazite sands used mainly for titanium and rare earth minerals are high in thorium [ if thorium was mechanically useful , it would be the main way we would mine it] but for decades it was a "slightly radioactive waste/by product of sand mining and the greenies used to get pissed off about the piles of slightly radioactive waste left everywhere, ironic if thorium becomes important and these "dump sites" remined/reclaimed for precious nuclear fuel @@OzGeologyOfficial
i did reply but it seems to be lost in the ether, but it was really clever with lots of informative information and other gooderer stuff, but aperantly my opinions are banned on the internet because i'm not a frothing at the mouth leftist...@@OzGeologyOfficial
I remember as a kid in the 60's, 70's we used to stay at Smiths Lake near Foster NSW, for years and years and years they used to mine Rutile there, I just looked on google maps and I cannot see at all where they were mining, the mine was at 'the sand bar', now there is a nature reserve and no sign at all of mining.
I remember that the rutile was everywhere and it would stick to your wet feet and make them black. I wonder if that is how they mined it back then... lots of people with wet feet... That's my logic anyway, going to stick to it..
Anyway, no sign at all of those years of Rutile mining.
Very interesting how it would stick to your feet. Thanks for sharing!
I worked there. Mining and in the rehabilitation of the site. You go there now, you can’t tell at all.
The company called RZM mined the sandbar. Titanium minerals(later called BHP titanium minerals division) was the company mining bridge hill ( lake dunes )
Both companies are no longer mining the east coast.
@@RUclips_user3333 seems like you did a great job too, I remember the building well, where you were from a distance, I don't think I ever when to that place. (we used to camp on Smiths lake, and water ski).
But there is no sign at all I could see on google maps that shows you were ever there at all. I was there in the 60's and 70's as a kid. When did you stop there? 80's or so?
Thankyou for your reply..
@@Darryl_Frost yeah if I remember correctly, 1986 mining stopped. The next decade was rehab. The company got their security deposit money returned in 1997. Yes many people don’t know that to mine, the company has to give the state government a bond, in case they go broke and can’t rehab the site.
Fyi it is a requirement of getting permission to mine that you have a plan for regeneration. These guys are still to be commenced however, standard practice for a long time was to cleave off a company with the mine lease and just let it go bankrupt. Clearly there ppl opted to clean up after rather than to save money
G'day, l had no idea about that event and how it formed, thanks for the information contained within, l will check out some further research as this has sparked my interest, cheers and look forward to the video, Neil.
Any time! Thanks for watching mate! :)
Gr8 vid, love to see more mining companies adopt the rehabilitation and lawmakers making it a standard thing
Agreed mate, thanks for watching!
I remember them drilling exploratory wells on the side of the road where I grew up near Nhill. Looks like we were just out of the range (to the North) of the mineral sands, though there is old coast line there as can be seen by the sand and limestone deposits, though these are, I think, much later as they are at or very close to the surface. There are also thick sand layers as you drill down, but apparently not rich enough in the desired minerals to justify mining them.
Aaaah yes rehabilitation, say's me from Captains flat n.s.w. state Govt has set aside $330million over 3years due to lead contamination. Lake George mine ceased operations about this time in 1962.just abandoned.vacant land will cost $2 million for treatment of a 1000sqm lot..then when that's done the development application can be lodged!.
...and I doubt that money would have been made available except the water course runs into Lake Burley Griffin (Canberra)
This should be an interesting subject, thanks OzGeology
Thanks for watching 😊
Gold and Sunshine Coast sand is loaded. No need to mine, just a shaker table. Next cyclone and the beach is entirely gone, but it comes back just as rich.
Very cool. We have similar deposits in modern coastlines in Victoria. If you try to pan it it turns into a dense slurry of material that is almost unpannable.
1970s holiday on my uncles farm he dug down 6" and showed me sea shells never forgot that now i hear about sand minning there always looking for more .
wimmera region not far from the Grampians 3:40 Right in middle of that yellow belt he was right 40 years ago always digging about his property back then finding all sorts sea shells
My cousin was a geo working for an exploration company in the Mallee of SA looking for similar deposits. Nothing economic was found.
I did not know that, I grew up out Horsham way and it explains the sandy loam soils
These sands were a bit deeper than the sand on the surface. Much of the surface sand is aeolian meaning it was blown there by the wind.
everytime i watch your videos I end up wanting to dig a 100m deep hole 😃
I love the enthusiasm! All I want to do is dig holes too 😂
@@OzGeologyOfficial😁 as a plumber you what be surprised what I have dug up over the years
@@FieldDay-cj3tv I can only imagine haha!
Was this mine at Kulwin? I remember seeing how heavy this mineral sand was. They had to only half load the trucks as it was so heavy.
Very interesting... WA has similar deposits at Capel.... Iluka too
So cool!
@@OzGeologyOfficial stories of occasional nuggets in with the mineral sands ... Who knows the fine gold content... It's not reported.... Where does it go 🤔
Living in Kerang it’s hard to believe there was a beachfront next door
You would’ve had a beach front property at that point in time 😂
Maaan i m following your account from Italy and I m not even a geologist. I hope this little fact will boost your commitment in sharing your knowledge even more!! Thank you for everything you are doing. 👍🏻👍🏻🤗🤗🤗
Thank you for the wonderful comment and for watching! I appreciate you 😊
Here in San Antonio, TX we have a TV network called GRIT. That shows old western movies, and I wonder if you could do a program about the Geology of the scenery?
Sounds like cockatoo valley in South Australia or (Sandy Creek)
I used to go hunting there
Comes into South OZ i'LL HAVE TO BUY UP SOME LAND THERE
God bless and Godspeed did verifying job and we went there we sampled into account samples we buy your sand Ogden Utah God bless and take care of gentleman, it is very responsible mining, very good hospitality from the Aussies God bless take care of gentlemen as your reminders!!!? Oh that was back in 85 when we sampled you
Could that small area have once been a small offshore island?
Wouldn't it be possible to extract from sand or seawater using electrolysis?
Could somebody please tell me which video mentioned the pyrenease state forest
hi buddy , I'm near st Arnaud and less than a kilometer from me , is a hill that looks like and i think is beach sand . from what i can gather there was a big lake and the sand is the beach . it is farmed and has crops on it now , would it be worth checking ?
Hello mate, only if you have the landowners approval. :)
Hello can you do a video on Licola
Can someone please tell me which video pyrenease ranges was mentioned
TIL that the Pyrenees aren’t just a mountain chain separating Spain and France. Thought you had made a mistake but looked it up before commenting
Yeah there's an area in Victoria called the Pyrenees but its nowhere near as spectacular as the one in Europe. (But it once was.)
Thanks mate, thats a sub from me i love this stuff. but im not that smart, i can just see patterns. I actually made a vid too about the massive wash across Australia from west to east and south and the resulting salt flats.
If you has time could you watch a little of it and explain in a comment what im seeing?
Where is the oil
Gippsland and bass strait ;)
Can you do Vesuvius Bronze Age eruption
Big props for rehabilitating the land? They don’t give a shit about rehabilitating the land, it is a condition of their approval for the mine. There’s some Mallee Fowl (an endangered species) that lost their habitat to these mines in western Vic, most of that country is national park for a reason.
Maybe. But maybe not. We can’t speak on behalf of another. I’m in the industry and I care a lot about land rehabilitation. They could be like me. Either way, the cleanup effort is great and the land is slowly returning back to its pre-mined state.
Thanks but very dubious of restoration work. Here on the CC of NSW they mined black sand and made mega $ with the promise of restoring the rich coastal environment…they did not! Oh it’s green alright and it’s stabilised the sand but with a cheap as chip weed from Africa. For the last 30+ years the rate payers have paid for the ATTEMPTED eradication of this rampant weed. Keep a close eye on what they plant, as I’m sure it will be a white wash.
Youve got to be kidding dude!! Speak to the community that has been poisoned by the mine.
Link me some articles if you have them so I can do further reading.
I can give you the 18000 page of bogus information that another sand mine tried to push through in our area....first time a mine has been knocked back in Australia. But that's what you get for being dishonest
Their environmental effects stayement
I’d be willing to read anything if it’s about the Douglas mine.
How can I get you the info?
500 million years ago ? Lmao….. sure it wasn’t 600 ?
Yep.
So in 2025 do a video showing the rehabilitation.........Company's say anything....sounds like they have paid you for this ridiculous post.😂
They’ve already rehabilitated stretches of land. That is also evident on google satellite.
Lots of Aus mining projects are seeing the environment thoughtfully rehabilitated and restored afterwards. It’s just a fact, which you can go and see for yourself, everywhere. Do you know anything about what you are saying, sir. Sounds like the stupid people have paid you for your comment 😂
@ the randomness…
I dont mean to attack ya or come across as against you here at all though i think your comment is harsh and is a sign of pessimism, i have empathy towards.
He is too mature to address this but im not haha. i dont think he is getting paid mate. He is giving praise for some actually good rehabilitation initiatives that we all want to see more of. And I propose that we have a higher chance to see more of, if more praise and recognition is given.
Again not trying to be your enemy here just trying to give some optimism ❤
Very interesting video. I always love your work.
Do you have a way to be contacted? I recently found something in the Brisbane Ranges I think you would find fascinating as I did.
What did you find?!
@@OzGeologyOfficial I apologise for my late reply. I'm not sure what I found. I took photos. I need to show you.