More grey nomads have joined the search for buried treasure
The Covid-19 pandemic wrecked the 2020 plans of most grey nomads but, it seems, many have found a silver – or even a golden – lining.
There has apparently been a huge upsurge in the number of people fossicking for gold, sapphires, emeralds and opals in Queensland’s hotspots for precious metals and gems.
More than 18,000 fossickers’ licences have been issued in just the last two financial years.
The state’s Resources Minister, Scott Stewart, said the chance for a heart-stopping, ‘eureka’ moment could be just a stone’s throw away with numerous and proven, rich fossicking areas in all corners of Queensland.
“Whether you’re hunting for gold in Charters Towers and Clermont, searching for sapphires around Emerald or looking for the vibrant and colourful gemstones of Agate Creek, and western opals at Yowah and Opalton – Queensland is a fossicker’s paradise,” Mr Stewart said. “It’s been a tough year for Queenslanders but we’re encouraging everyone to get out and support our regional communities and explore our state’s natural beauty by urging more families to put fossicking on your must-do list these holidays.”
Mr Stewart said during the Covid-19 travel restrictions, fossickers have been especially welcome in many far flung, small centres of the state.
“Find your fortune using hand tools such as picks, shovels, hammers, sieves, shakers, electronic detectors and other similar tools,” he said. “You can collect gemstones, ornamental stones, mineral specimens, alluvial gold – including nuggets and some fossil specimens, but not meteorites or fossils of vertebrate animals.”
And the hobby can be lucrative.
Just three years ago, a golf ball-sized sapphire, the Pride of Tomahawk was discovered at Anakie and, at around the same time, a prospector found a 1.1763kg gold nugget in a paddock in the Charters Towers region just 15 centimetres below ground.
Mr Stewart said State Government officers undertake targeted checks on site to ensure fossicking activities are happening safely and that people are following the rules.
Information on how to obtain a fossicking licence online as well as maps and rules for these fossicking areas can be found here.
