It's perfectly legal to use a Highbankers in NSW, Australia. Highbankers or sluice box alone is not illegal. The use of motorize or mechanical pump in highbanking is what's illegal. The mining act 1996 and the pump moving the water from A to B is covered by the water management act 2000. Cheers
Thanks for watching Aussie, glad you enjoyed the vid mate. there is a public access area where Sapphire rd crosses Grabben Gullen Creek. Plenty of areas to dig but a lot of shoveling involved. Best of luck ...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching 23...we spend a lot of time looking for opal but we need to travel about 600km north to get to the opal fields from where we live....Cheers Wal.
Thanks for the comment Shaun....been to the Ridge a few times noodling around the Sheep Yards area and spent a bit of time at White Cliffs on our way to Tibooburra chasing gold....Hope all's great up your way ..Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching dan and hope you enjoyed the vid. The sapphire will fetch around $8,000 and the gold for the day around the $1500 mark ,,,,but let me assure you that it's very few weekends that you strike it lucky. Cheers Wal.
You guys had an outstanding Easter holiday. First that beautiful nugget and then an awesome sapphire...brilliant job! My wife, Diane, and I are saving for a trip down under to check another box on our bucket list. If we are in your area I will stand you to a pint. Rick
Thanks for the comment johnny,and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid mate. Give it a go if you're close to a gem area as I'm sure you will find it enjoyable. All the best...Chers Wal.
Glad you found it interesting Ian. The gemstone side of things can become quite rewarding and they're always fun to find...best of luck on your next hunt and look forward to your next vid...cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching korpakukac, sorry to hear that finding Sapphires is difficult in your country...hopefully some other precious gems are more common in your country....best wishes..Cheers Wal.
Hope you enjoyed the vid ut100. There is a public fossiking area on this creek and some great sapphires come from it...however we spend much of our time on private property...best of luck.Cheers Wal.
Hi Phil...never seen a diamond from this creek before in nearly 50 years of chasing sapphires there. We have got some really large saphs here with some going close to 100 ct. best wishes ...Wal.
+Jacktb333 Gaming ....Glad you enjoyed the vid Jack and glad you are still following some of our prospecting adventures. Take care and all the best...Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid mate. Not a bad place to live this Aussie Land.....might have to come over for a holiday and a fossick. All the best, Cheers Wal.
Awesome stuff guys, can't wait to take the family out when I set up like you Wal. In the process of a claim in the Rubyvale area " hobby home only" the sluice you have looks perfect, thank you both for sharing your expertise. 👍💎
Wal and Liz, you are True Blue. Thanks for such an informative vid. Regarding Crabben Gullen Creek, is there public access to the creek where you were?
Hi Liz n Wal, I am a fan of your videos from Tennessee, love the gemstones, gold panning, pedro. I wanted to say hello. Wanted to let you know, I set off a chain reaction of Coker Creek Gold Panning Association of America within ten minutes of posting this video of yours on facebook, none of them have ever met me, I am not even a member.. lots of laughs, but your both a hit!
treyshroud Thanks for the kind comment Treyshroud, and glad you're finding some of our vids enjoyable to watch. Thanks for sharing and hope all's going great over your way. Take care....Wal.
I just viewed this the other day. I liked it so much I watched again. I wish I knew how to find these gems or gold like this. This would be so fun. Not so much for money but for my own collection. Thanks and wish many more great trips. May Jesus bless you both.
Thanks very much for the comment Tide12. We wish you all the very best of luck if you venture out and prospect for gold and gems in your area. All the very best, Wal
Hope you enjoyed the vid Rick....If you and Diane make it over I'll go out of my way to include you in some of our prospecting trips....Keep in touch mate..Cheers Wal.
Worth having a go Tim, the reward is not in the gold but in in the hunt. Gold is only a bonus, You meet a great bunch of people whist living the life of a prospector. Best of luck, Cheers Wal.
Absolutely fantastic videos guys! Always look forward to the next adventure. What a great Easter surprise! Have you ever been up our way here at Lightning Ridge in search of a few opals? All the best, Shaun.
Hope you enjoyed the vid MrLoren, I see a lot of nice vids on prospecting in the States....must be some good locations somewhere for you to try. Best of luck, Wal.
Thanks for the comment Andrew..and i hope that banker of yours stays full of colour....We get around a fair bit so there is a great chance we may hi-bank together on a stream one day....best of luck...Cheers Wal.
I just got a small bag of sapphire gravel and am only about %50 sure what is a sapphire amd what isnt. Im grabbing anything that carries light . next month i am getting more and a ultra violet light to check what is corundum. I love this stuff! " not a big nugget" he says. That nugget is bigger than all gold i own at this point combined.
Enjoyed the video guys, and subbed your channel. Great stuff. We haven't done any prospecting yet but I'm planning to build your highbanker and go for gold. Good luck when you're out next, Ash.
They can be worth quite a lot of money depending on colour, cut and clarity....Check out the prices on the net and you may be very surprised....all the best..wal.
For every video where people find gold and stones, I would imagine there are countless days of back aches where nothing but frustration was found. Still, I am going to give it a go! Where near Sydney should I start with a detector?
I think the way you display your find of sapphire and other stones, you might have become millioner by now. How lucky you are! The site would have now become "Sapphire Rush"
Lol..haynerbass...good one mate...only central OZ has deserts....the east coast has some of the best rain forests in the world and the snowy mountains has the biggest eucalyptus forests in the world and has snow all winter. QLD, NSW, and VIC are all rich fertile farming regions.There is a few snakes but you never get to see them....and we don't have any wild animals that can hurt you.....Think you guys may have the wrong idea of the place...lol. book yourself a great holiday....take care ..Wal.
My favorite videos are of your sapphire hunting. I am going on my first outing locally monday, if everything goes as proposed. I will be able to hunt sapphires, rubys, & emeralds, in known mining areas for those gems. There are operating public mines for both. A little gold panning as well. I will be well broke in. Quotes Liz: "If I lived where there were minerals, I'd never take my eyes off of the ground." Thanks Liz n Wal I am gonna "Make Rock Soup!"
treyshroud Thanks for watching and the kind comment Treyshroud. Hope the outing is a real success for you and that some good looking gems find their way into your sieves. It's the thrill of the hunt that is most important and hope the thrill stays with you for a very long time. Take care out there and best of luck....Wal.
Hi Wal and Liz Fascinating RUclips and have been following your channels for some time now. Just about to set out on a bit of a trip around Australia and was wondering what brand your highbanker was and where I could get one. Thanks again for the movies. Cheers.
great finds! gotta be worth a lot, not sure if you would know but can you find anything like that in the uk, eg zircon, sappires, gold, anything like that, Liam
Thanks for watching Galactic. Haven't got much knowledge of gemstones in the UK. I know there's gold over there and I would assume there would be zircons as they are a very common mineral. Cheers, Wal
Wow I wanna move to Auzzie land. I would be happy to do what you guysare doing all day long. There are no precious gems here in the uk. Or none that I know of. Awesome job. Wicked machine...
+angela krumins ...Thanks for watching Angela and sorry to hear that there's not a lot of gemstones in your area. I've heard that there is a few very good crystal locations in the UK. All the very best...Wal.
I think you would love this Angela, it isn't diamonds and sapphires, but you have plenty of gold in the UK. www.discoveryuk.com/shows/gold-rush/features/uk-gold-map/
love your show mate say hello two liz i might give this a go my self mate i live in victoria and i think there is a few places within an hour of me i might try up arond clakfield near the haunted pub keep up the shows mate johnny
AWESOME 👍👍👍 I know no one has commented on this vid for a year but I just got it. Beautiful gold and gemstones. But what is a spinnell that you do not Keep? One complaint is that some or most of your videos are too short. 🦉
Glad you enjoy some of the vids Betty. Spinel is a gemstone that cuts well and polishes well but is only regarded as a semi precious gem so hasn't got the value of Sapphires, that we mainly seek out. The vids are only short as there is a lot of editing to be done to put them up on You Tube. Also they take a lot of time away from our prospecting to film, reducing time for our own personal passion for the hobby. All the best...Wal.
+mark Brown ...Thanks for watching Mark. Depends on which State you are in as to what is permissible while prospecting. Victoria it is permitted and in NSW the guidelines are very grey. Mechanical means of moving gravel is not permitted and this includes dredges which mechanically form a venturi to move gravel. High bankers are hand fed and only use water from a pump to wash the gravel...not excavate it. There is two different legislations covering the use of pumps in waterways...one in the Mining Act, and the other in the Water Management Regulation. To stop a prospector from using a pump to transfer water would set a precedent to stop a farmer pumping water from the same source....and this is where the grey area is not specific enough to rule either way. There is presently discussions with members of Parliament and associated Government Departments trying to get a clear indication via a Gazetted confirmation of what is usable and to what extent. Cheers Wal.
Great video! I know this is cheeky and I would fully understand if you don't wish to divulge but i was wondering what kind of value your two days was worth? sorry for being cheeky! keep up the good work and great videos!
Very nice finds! I wish we had such rivers in my country... I would love to go searching fo sapphires here, but its almost impossible to find sapphire bigger than a few millimeter here... And it costs an awful lot tu buy concrete from sluicers on ebay :/
As current legislature stands, Highbanking is not permitted in NSW rivers for fossicking. This may change in years to come, however, highbanking with the aid of powered pumps is currently considered illegal mining activity in NSW.
I have 2 questions: 1:How much are all stones you find in this video worth together? 2:Where do you guys learn how to find this spots where are many gems?
+Erik Hunter.... Thanks for watching Erik. Hard to put a value on gemstones until they are actually cut, but good quality sapphires can bring many hundreds of dollars per cut carat. Research and field trips are the only way to find good locations, and as we've been doing this for over 50 years, the time frame certainly helps. All the very best...Wal.
Hi, I have watched pretty much all your videos and you have got me very excited to go looking for gemstones and you make it look so easy. I know their are a lot of good gold spots in Victoria (Aus) but is their any good places for gemstones? And what type? I have never been fossicking for gemstones but I am very keen and my knowledge probably isn't the best. Have you got any advice for someone like me looking to do it for the first time?
Thanks for watching Chris and glad to hear that you've gained some useful info from them. The first thing I would do is try and get a copy of a book called "Gemstones of Victoria". It has pretty well all the gemstones and their locations within it and some very good maps. Next I'd join a local gem club as they always have outings to gem areas in their local regions. Joining a good forum like "Prospecting Australia" is also a great way to get advice and mingle with fellow prospectors. All the very best of luck with it mate...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for that I actually joined that site the other day, loving it a lot of helpful people on their! I'll go buy "Gemstones of Victoria" hopefully that can point me in the right direction. If I end up going I will post finds on "Prospecting Australia" user name is ChrisBarker keep an eye out for me haha. Thanks again for the help... Chris
It's perfectly legal to use a Highbankers in NSW, Australia. Highbankers or sluice box alone is not illegal. The use of motorize or mechanical pump in highbanking is what's illegal. The mining act 1996 and the pump moving the water from A to B is covered by the water management act 2000. Cheers
@@WalnLiz sweet thanks
Thanks for watching Aussie, glad you enjoyed the vid mate. there is a public access area where Sapphire rd crosses Grabben Gullen Creek. Plenty of areas to dig but a lot of shoveling involved. Best of luck ...Cheers Wal.
thanks for watching Cuz... hope you found it enjoyable...ll the best ..Wal.
Thanks for watching Jeff. Hope you come across the mother load on your next trip...All the best from the Land Downunder..Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching sd, We are very fortunate to have such a mineral rich country...all the very best, Cheers Wal,
Thanks for watching Jeff...can't advise you too much on the States as we're in Australia.best of luck .Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching Thom....we hope to posting some more on Hi-banking for sapphires soon....good luck with your adventures in Montana....Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching 23...we spend a lot of time looking for opal but we need to travel about 600km north to get to the opal fields from where we live....Cheers Wal.
Thanks for the comment Shaun....been to the Ridge a few times noodling around the Sheep Yards area and spent a bit of time at White Cliffs on our way to Tibooburra chasing gold....Hope all's great up your way ..Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching roxy, and hope you found it enjoyable, best wishes, Cheers Wal,
Thanks for watching dan and hope you enjoyed the vid. The sapphire will fetch around $8,000 and the gold for the day around the $1500 mark ,,,,but let me assure you that it's very few weekends that you strike it lucky. Cheers Wal.
You guys had an outstanding Easter holiday. First that beautiful nugget and then an awesome sapphire...brilliant job!
My wife, Diane, and I are saving for a trip down under to check another box on our bucket list. If we are in your area I will stand you to a pint.
Rick
Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed the vid LoeLionful...hope good luck follows you on your adventures....Cheers Wal.
thanks for watching...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching Adonis... the machine is called a Hi Banker....Cheers Wal.
Thanks for the comment Utah and may luck follow you around this season....all the best.Wal
Thanks for the comment Ash and hope that you have heaps of success with the hi banker mate...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching...yes there is some gold in the clay but not a lot in this stream...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching Booster, Hi-banking certainly helps ease the back pain of an old prospector...all the best...Cheers Wal.
What a fun day and lots of great finds ! Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks for the comment johnny,and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid mate. Give it a go if you're close to a gem area as I'm sure you will find it enjoyable. All the best...Chers Wal.
Glad you found it interesting Ian. The gemstone side of things can become quite rewarding and they're always fun to find...best of luck on your next hunt and look forward to your next vid...cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching korpakukac, sorry to hear that finding Sapphires is difficult in your country...hopefully some other precious gems are more common in your country....best wishes..Cheers Wal.
Hope you enjoyed the vid ut100. There is a public fossiking area on this creek and some great sapphires come from it...however we spend much of our time on private property...best of luck.Cheers Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid Aard, It certainly is a great way to spend a weekend out in the countryside. All the very best,....Wal.
Hi Phil...never seen a diamond from this creek before in nearly 50 years of chasing sapphires there. We have got some really large saphs here with some going close to 100 ct. best wishes ...Wal.
As soon as i get a chance to cut it i will post some pics of before and after....all the best... Wal.
Omg this was over 2 years ago I watched this when it first came out this one of my favourite videos. Keep up the good work
-Jack
+Jacktb333 Gaming ....Glad you enjoyed the vid Jack and glad you are still following some of our prospecting adventures. Take care and all the best...Wal.
Thanks for watching biggrex....Cheers Wal.
you guys are very good, and so lucky to be where you are. makes me want to move to Australia.
+shinedown389 ...Thanks for watching and hope you get a chance to visit Australia some time to do a bit of prospecting. Take care...Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid mate. Not a bad place to live this Aussie Land.....might have to come over for a holiday and a fossick. All the best, Cheers Wal.
Wow wish I could find those beautys in the states
Awesome video! Thanks for the tips and the live finds...Cheers from UK.
thanks for the comment Mr123 Prospecting is always an enjoyable pastime....best of luck...Cheers Wal.
You guys are my favourite people :)
Chyene Best ....thanks for the kind comment Cheyene and all our best wishes your way. Cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching rib....got to get a good one occasionally to keep the interest up mate....Cheers Wal.
Thanks for the comment Sammy, hope you enjoyed the vid. All the best .Wal.
Well all the more special to capture a successful day on film. Thanks for posting and all the best for the future :)
Thanks Epic...every now and then a good one finds its way into the sieves...Cheers Wal.
Awesome stuff guys, can't wait to take the family out when I set up like you Wal.
In the process of a claim in the Rubyvale area " hobby home only" the sluice you have looks perfect, thank you both for sharing your expertise. 👍💎
Glad you enjoy some of our adventures Donnie. Good luck on your claim and hope the sapphires are kind to you. Take care...Wal.
Thanks razorback...will certainly like to get in touch when next in the Apple Isle....take care and best of luck. Cheers Wal.
Wal and Liz, you are True Blue. Thanks for such an informative vid. Regarding Crabben Gullen Creek, is there public access to the creek where you were?
Good Job!!! In Montana we have deposits of both gold & sapphires also. Hope you guys post more gem vids this year.
Hi Liz n Wal, I am a fan of your videos from Tennessee, love the gemstones, gold panning, pedro. I wanted to say hello. Wanted to let you know, I set off a chain reaction of Coker Creek Gold Panning Association of America within ten minutes of posting this video of yours on facebook, none of them have ever met me, I am not even a member.. lots of laughs, but your both a hit!
treyshroud Thanks for the kind comment Treyshroud, and glad you're finding some of our vids enjoyable to watch. Thanks for sharing and hope all's going great over your way. Take care....Wal.
I just viewed this the other day. I liked it so much I watched again. I wish I knew how to find these gems or gold like this. This would be so fun. Not so much for money but for my own collection. Thanks and wish many more great trips. May Jesus bless you both.
Thanks very much for the comment Tide12. We wish you all the very best of luck if you venture out and prospect for gold and gems in your area. All the very best, Wal
Thanks 59...I'm sure there's some great gold and gems over your way as well...best of luck and take care...Cheers Wal.
Hope all is going great for you in Thailand...all the best, Wal.
Hope you enjoyed the vid Rick....If you and Diane make it over I'll go out of my way to include you in some of our prospecting trips....Keep in touch mate..Cheers Wal.
A really great video, looks like you had a wonderful weekend. Bet your glad you didn't find us after all.
Look forward to catching up soon.
Will certainly do that for you haynerbass. Hope to start cutting once we get our first frosts...take care..Cheers Wal.
Worth having a go Tim, the reward is not in the gold but in in the hunt. Gold is only a bonus, You meet a great bunch of people whist living the life of a prospector. Best of luck, Cheers Wal.
Absolutely fantastic videos guys! Always look forward to the next adventure. What a great Easter surprise!
Have you ever been up our way here at Lightning Ridge in search of a few opals?
All the best,
Shaun.
Wow great work guys, love your vids and man you earn your finds, good on you both!
Hope you enjoyed the vid MrLoren, I see a lot of nice vids on prospecting in the States....must be some good locations somewhere for you to try. Best of luck, Wal.
i so wish i lived in australia. this looks like alot of fun. alot better than finding anything in washington state that is. cheers!
Thanks for the comment Andrew..and i hope that banker of yours stays full of colour....We get around a fair bit so there is a great chance we may hi-bank together on a stream one day....best of luck...Cheers Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid Will...all the best ..Cheers Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid Aard. best of luck if you chase the gemstones yourself...cheers Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid trissa....best wishes..Cheers Wal.
Glad you got some info and thanks for the comment..All the best, Wal.
Every now and then everything falls into place, glad you enjoyed the vid dan. best wishes, Cheers Wal.
Hope you enjoyed the vid Oke...all the best from Australia...Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid mate and hope some of the ideas we use are of help to you. Best of luck and keep that fever alive....Cheers Wal.
I just got a small bag of sapphire gravel and am only about %50 sure what is a sapphire amd what isnt. Im grabbing anything that carries light . next month i am getting more and a ultra violet light to check what is corundum. I love this stuff!
" not a big nugget" he says. That nugget is bigger than all gold i own at this point combined.
Enjoyed the video guys, and subbed your channel.
Great stuff.
We haven't done any prospecting yet but I'm planning to build your highbanker and go for gold.
Good luck when you're out next, Ash.
glad you enjoyed the vid Jerry...hope all is going great up your way...Cheers Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid Utah...Liz has already wire wrapped the nugget for her new neck lace....best wishes..wal.
They can be worth quite a lot of money depending on colour, cut and clarity....Check out the prices on the net and you may be very surprised....all the best..wal.
For every video where people find gold and stones, I would imagine there are countless days of back aches where nothing but frustration was found. Still, I am going to give it a go! Where near Sydney should I start with a detector?
Your telling me! If I wasn't English I'd be an Aussie anyday. Cheers for the reply mate. Happy hunting for you and your wife :D
Would have rather caught up with you guys....the sapphires could have waited till the following weekend mate. best of luck Ian.....Cheers Wal.
I think the way you display your find of sapphire and other stones, you might have become millioner by now. How lucky you are! The site would have now become "Sapphire Rush"
Thanks mate ...love the work and i guess that's reward enough...Cheers Wal.
Lol..haynerbass...good one mate...only central OZ has deserts....the east coast has some of the best rain forests in the world and the snowy mountains has the biggest eucalyptus forests in the world and has snow all winter. QLD, NSW, and VIC are all rich fertile farming regions.There is a few snakes but you never get to see them....and we don't have any wild animals that can hurt you.....Think you guys may have the wrong idea of the place...lol. book yourself a great holiday....take care ..Wal.
Great stuff Utah, will check it out mate....Cheers Wal.
Wonderful video and very educational. Can I buy that specific nugget?
Glad you enjoyed the vid hordel. We only do this for a hobby and as a way to enjoy the outdoors...Best wishes...Wal.
How is the water coming? What is the name of your sluce box? Can you explain the difference between a zircon and saphire?
My favorite videos are of your sapphire hunting. I am going on my first outing locally monday, if everything goes as proposed. I will be able to hunt sapphires, rubys, & emeralds, in known mining areas for those gems. There are operating public mines for both. A little gold panning as well. I will be well broke in. Quotes Liz: "If I lived where there were minerals, I'd never take my eyes off of the ground." Thanks Liz n Wal I am gonna "Make Rock Soup!"
treyshroud Thanks for watching and the kind comment Treyshroud. Hope the outing is a real success for you and that some good looking gems find their way into your sieves. It's the thrill of the hunt that is most important and hope the thrill stays with you for a very long time. Take care out there and best of luck....Wal.
Glad you enjoyed the vid muz, all the very best..cheers Wal.
Hi Wal and Liz
Fascinating RUclips and have been following your channels for some time now. Just about to set out on a bit of a trip around Australia and was wondering what brand your highbanker was and where I could get one. Thanks again for the movies. Cheers.
You guy's did have a good Easter.Never seen a sapphire that big come out of that creek before.Did you come across any diamond's their.Cheers Phil.
Hard to give a price until they're cut....but we do it for the fun and not the money....Cheers Wal.
nice video, very interesting, any Sapphire can find in Western Australia?
Will check it out mate....all the best, Wal.
yeh mate ...TV has a habit of doing that...all the best from the land down under....Cheers Wal.
great finds! gotta be worth a lot, not sure if you would know but can you find anything like that in the uk, eg zircon, sappires, gold, anything like that, Liam
Thanks for watching Galactic. Haven't got much knowledge of gemstones in the UK. I know there's gold over there and I would assume there would be zircons as they are a very common mineral. Cheers, Wal
Ok thanks, also great videos, keep them up! Inspired to buy a metal detector!
Glad you enjoyed the vid mate...best wishes..Wal.
Wow I wanna move to Auzzie land. I would be happy to do what you guysare doing all day long. There are no precious gems here in the uk. Or none that I know of. Awesome job. Wicked machine...
+angela krumins ...Thanks for watching Angela and sorry to hear that there's not a lot of gemstones in your area. I've heard that there is a few very good crystal locations in the UK. All the very best...Wal.
Cheers ! Thank you for your reply your vids are fascinating!
I think you would love this Angela, it isn't diamonds and sapphires, but you have plenty of gold in the UK.
www.discoveryuk.com/shows/gold-rush/features/uk-gold-map/
love your show mate say hello two liz i might give this a go my self mate i live in victoria and i think there is a few places within an hour of me i might try up arond clakfield near the haunted pub keep up the shows mate johnny
AWESOME 👍👍👍
I know no one has commented on this vid for a year but I just got it. Beautiful gold and gemstones. But what is a spinnell that you do not Keep? One complaint is that some or most of your videos are too short.
🦉
Glad you enjoy some of the vids Betty. Spinel is a gemstone that cuts well and polishes well but is only regarded as a semi precious gem so hasn't got the value of Sapphires, that we mainly seek out. The vids are only short as there is a lot of editing to be done to put them up on You Tube. Also they take a lot of time away from our prospecting to film, reducing time for our own personal passion for the hobby. All the best...Wal.
Where did you get your sluice box and grizzly cage?
hi liz and wal great videos just a Q: are u allowed to use pumps for prospecting?
+mark Brown ...Thanks for watching Mark. Depends on which State you are in as to what is permissible while prospecting. Victoria it is permitted and in NSW the guidelines are very grey. Mechanical means of moving gravel is not permitted and this includes dredges which mechanically form a venturi to move gravel. High bankers are hand fed and only use water from a pump to wash the gravel...not excavate it. There is two different legislations covering the use of pumps in waterways...one in the Mining Act, and the other in the Water Management Regulation. To stop a prospector from using a pump to transfer water would set a precedent to stop a farmer pumping water from the same source....and this is where the grey area is not specific enough to rule either way. There is presently discussions with members of Parliament and associated Government Departments trying to get a clear indication via a Gazetted confirmation of what is usable and to what extent. Cheers Wal.
Great video! I know this is cheeky and I would fully understand if you don't wish to divulge but i was wondering what kind of value your two days was worth? sorry for being cheeky! keep up the good work and great videos!
Very nice finds! I wish we had such rivers in my country... I would love to go searching fo sapphires here, but its almost impossible to find sapphire bigger than a few millimeter here...
And it costs an awful lot tu buy concrete from sluicers on ebay :/
Awesome video, do you generally work on private property or crown land?
What's that machine you're using for prospecting?
As current legislature stands,
Highbanking is not permitted in NSW rivers for fossicking.
This may change in years to come, however, highbanking with the aid of powered pumps is currently considered illegal mining activity in NSW.
This video was made before the new rules came in. Thanks for watching. Cheers
I have 2 questions:
1:How much are all stones you find in this video worth together?
2:Where do you guys learn how to find this spots where are many gems?
+Erik Hunter.... Thanks for watching Erik. Hard to put a value on gemstones until they are actually cut, but good quality sapphires can bring many hundreds of dollars per cut carat. Research and field trips are the only way to find good locations, and as we've been doing this for over 50 years, the time frame certainly helps. All the very best...Wal.
Hi, I have watched pretty much all your videos and you have got me very excited to go looking for gemstones and you make it look so easy. I know their are a lot of good gold spots in Victoria (Aus) but is their any good places for gemstones? And what type? I have never been fossicking for gemstones but I am very keen and my knowledge probably isn't the best. Have you got any advice for someone like me looking to do it for the first time?
Thanks for watching Chris and glad to hear that you've gained some useful info from them. The first thing I would do is try and get a copy of a book called "Gemstones of Victoria". It has pretty well all the gemstones and their locations within it and some very good maps. Next I'd join a local gem club as they always have outings to gem areas in their local regions. Joining a good forum like "Prospecting Australia" is also a great way to get advice and mingle with fellow prospectors. All the very best of luck with it mate...Cheers Wal.
Thanks for that I actually joined that site the other day, loving it a lot of helpful people on their! I'll go buy "Gemstones of Victoria" hopefully that can point me in the right direction. If I end up going I will post finds on "Prospecting Australia" user name is ChrisBarker keep an eye out for me haha. Thanks again for the help... Chris