ALLUVIAL DIAMOND MINING IN THE NEW ENGLAND REGION OF NSW AUSTRALIA
Most gem hunters seem to be unaware that diamonds have been mined in NSW (off
and on) since the gold rush days in the middle of the 19th century.
The list of places where at least one diamond has been found is very extensive
and I suspect that it would be much longer if the old time miners had not
suffered from tunnel vision. “If it’s not
gold (or tin) we’re not interested in it. Chuck it out.”
Only at Bingara
and Copeton (formerly called Boggy Camp, south of Inverell) were the
workings extensive and even then they could hardly have been very profitable. Both
places were being prospected for gold or tin when “these funny looking stones” turned up. Sufficient curiosity was
aroused for specimens to be sent off for identification and minor rushes
followed.
Subsequent searches for primary
deposits (like those now being mined in Western Australia) have not met
with much success, despite the fact that the diamonds had to reach the Earth’s
surface somewhere. From the gem hunting point of view, this is probably a good
thing, as modern diamond mining is very big business and casual fossickers are
most unwelcome in the vicinity.
Your only real source of accurate information is in the
records of the Geological Survey and
the Mines Department of NSW. I have
mentioned DIGS on numerous
occasions, but it is a website that anyone with an interest in things
geological needs to get to know. You will have to search Google to locate it. Make sure you bookmark it or put it into your Favourites, if that’s what
your web browser does. Click on “Search
DIGS” enter “diamond” in the
Subject Terms/Keyword box, press “Search”
and you will be confronted with a list of 1000 records. If this seems somewhat overwhelming, try
putting in a locality (eg Copeton). This reduces the 1000 to 94, a much more
manageable number if you want to start researching. It’s a series of logical
steps to bring up a document on your screen, where you can read it, save it or
delete it as you please. Note the size of the document before you commit
yourself to waiting for it for maybe half an hour.
If you want a short cut to a few interesting documents, just
copy these numbers into the second box at the top of the initial search box.
R00003264
will take you to the Annual Report of the
D of M for 1900. Notes on diamond mining for that year are on pages 60/61
of the report.
R00050830 takes
you to the document “Industry 18: Mineral Industry NSW - 1980 -
Gemstones 2nd Edition”. The section dealing with diamonds is on pages
32/67.
R00047949 brings
up the most comprehensive document of them all – “Diamonds in NSW”, from which much of the previous document has been
taken.
So you want to go
and look for diamonds yourself? The references above will give you lots of
clues to locations, nearly all of which will turn out to be privately owned.
Make sure you get permission before entering any private property and respect
the wishes of all landowners.
Staggy Creek on the
Copeton Dam road near Inverell is the only place that seems to be easily
accessible to the public. Google Staggy
Creek fossicking and you will find lots of web pages to explore. Some of
them even mention finding diamonds there! Check out my entry in myBlog as well. You can always go and look at the
specimens at the Inverell Tourist Information Centre if you want to compare
your finds with the real thing.
The illustrations
accompanying this blog were adapted from the above references and similar ones
found on DIGS.
I also recommend you
check out my video on the subject, which does not include any footage of actual
fossicking but does reproduce these illustrations and other similar ones. The
link is here.
Addition 27/06/2015. I came across this interesting ebook today. It's called Sydney
and the Cudgegong Diamond Fields, written in 1870 by Angus Mackay, MLA. It describes a journey from Melbourne to Sydney by ship, then by train to Bowenfels (the end of the line in 1870) and on via Mudgee to the Cudgegong River, where diamonds had been discovered not long before. It really does give a great insight into the conditions of the times. Download from Trove here.
https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos
Limestone Caves of NSW
Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs
Shoalhaven District Geology.
