Gold, gold, gold!

Local Ararat man Shane Clarke dropped into Gum San to give us a Chinese coin he had found near Norval Dam on one of his fossicking trips. These coins are not of any great significance but see what else he has been able to find.
Shane uses a 'state of the art' gold detector and is very experienced in its use. He travels all over the local goldfields tramping around the Ararat area as well as going to the well known areas around Maryborough and Talbot.

Left and clockwise starting from the top a 5.13 gram nugget found at Denicull Creek, next 8.13 grams also found at Denicull Creek, then 3.23 grams found at Blacksmith Gully near Amherst, followed by 10.22 grams found at Garden Gully Greek near Armstrongs and lastly 4.318 grams found near Armstrongs beyond Hard Hill. With the Australian dollar high against the US dollar these nuggets have a combined gold value of around AU$1500, but individual nuggets are often worth more as jewellery pieces than their actual gold value.

These 'bits and pieces' weigh 19.8 grams in total with each piece less than one gram. The gold in this lot is valued at today's rates at over AU$1000.
Drop in to Gum San and see our selection of maps of the goldfields - you too can find gold. John Gladdis from  the Coiltek Gold Centre in Maryborough, and a supporter and donor to Gum San, can help you out with the hire of gold detecting equipment.