THE BLACK JACK HOLE, YARROW CREEK NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

THE BLACK JACK HOLE, YARROW CREEK NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

This is the next productive area upstream from the Glory Hole in Yarrow Creek. I don’t recall actually seeing it until 2006 simply because in walking to the Glory Hole we had always cut off the bend in which the Black Jack Hole is located. When I first fossicked there, it was immediately obvious that there was a large amount of black spinel in a hole just below a rock on which any self respecting fossickers would have upended their sieves. We clearly weren’t the first to fossick there.

Nevertheless, the place has continued to produce cutters of all the typical Yarrow Creek gemstones – in cracks, under rocks, in scratchy areas under tea trees – and I have no doubt there are many more there yet.

One of my first jobs was to try to lower the water level, even just a little bit, to make it easier to work in the deeper water. This involved digging a channel through a sand blockage which was forcing the water to flow over a nearby rock bar. There are times when a 10 or 20 cm drop makes all the difference and this was one of them. There is probably more that can be done there yet.

One curious event happened after I had been taking groups there over several years. Unexpectedly, small, highly polished pieces of what I assume is rhodolite garnet began to turn up in one spot. Over several visits I found at least 20, some of them in the top sieve. I assume that someone on one of our Wednesday trips deliberately “salted” the spot with a sprinkling of tumbled garnet. Thanks, whoever it was – it made a change from finding pyrope garnet (the unpolished variety). Throw some gold nuggets in next time, please.

Visit my YouTube site here where you will find a video of the Black Jack Hole in the collection. 

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Shoalhaven District Geology.

BACK CREEK, PINKETT NEAR GLEN INNES, NSW AUSTRALIA

BACK CREEK, PINKETT NEAR GLEN INNES 

NSW AUSTRALIA

Back Creek is the first major creek south of Yarrow Creek on the Pinkett road, about 25km south east of Glen Innes. As seen from the road, there are numerous granite outcrops, especially on the eastern side. Near the point at which the creek moves away from the road, outcrops disappear and sand appears to make up the creek bed from here on. At the point where the Pretty Valley road crosses Back Creek there is nothing to be seen but sand. All this country is private property, needless to say, so access will need to be arranged for fossicking.

The above quote comes from the book “Exploration Data Package for the Glen Innes 1:100,000 Sheet Area” by RE Brown (1995). The DIGS reference is GS1995/231. It strongly suggests that good gemstones are to be found in these south eastern areas. Our numerous trips to Yarrow Creek confirm that this is indeed true; however there have been sapphire mines at various places along the Yarrow where sufficient accumulation of wash has happened. 

Yarrow Creek is shown as a sapphire bearing stream in the following references:

Sapphire in NSW 1983 DIGS reference Information Brochure 40, Sapphire in NSW 1995 DIGS Information Brochure 41, Quarterly Notes 103 (1997) DIGS reference QN 103, Records of the Geological Survey of New South Wales, Volume14, Part 1 by AA McNevin (1972) DIGS Records 14(1) . 

Back Creek topaz

Interestingly, neither Pretty Valley, nor Rainy Swamp nor Back Creek appear on any of the maps in these references. In the case of Rainy Swamp sapphires were certainly mined there. Pretty Valley appeared to be virgin when we first investigated it. Back Creek showed signs of old prospecting along both of its major tributaries upstream of the Pinkett road. Yet no trace could be found in DIGS of any mining or prospecting in these three areas. All three have produced good gemstones on our many visits.

I have mentioned in the Blog entries on both Rainy Swamp and Pretty Valley that their gemstones differ from those in Yarrow Creek, but resemble each other. The same is true for the gems from Back Creek. Indeed, I think it likely that the Rainy Swamp deposit is a former course of Back Creek. It would not be difficult to imagine Back Creek having formerly flowed where Bladey Grass Creek is today (Pretty Valley).

The typical wash from Back Creek produces a concentrate containing sapphire, zircon, spinel, tourmaline, topaz and cassiterite. There is a great deal of clear and smoky quartz. The topaz has been found in pieces up to 150 carats, mostly colourless but with some blue and apricot coloured stones. There is a lot of black tourmaline and I have seen one piece only of gemmy tourmaline. The sapphire is mostly opaque but clear stones of all the usual colours turn up. There is a little beryl to be found as well.

Gemmy tourmaline from Back Creek

I have seen two “bonanzas” found there when dozens of cutters suddenly appeared in a relatively small area. I was involved in finding a third and it was extraordinary to come upon wash peppered with all the gems mentioned when it was normal to see just a few in the sieve. That’s what gem hunting is all about and I have to say that it was a sad day when we lost access to the best part of the creek in 2002. This was the result of fossickers on a Minerama trip not filling in their holes.

If I ever had the opportunity to fossick again, Back Creek would be the place I would go.

I have no photos of fossicking at Back Creek, unfortunately, and just a few of some finds from there. I’m looking forward to reading about future successes by readers of this Blog. 

You can experience fossicking around Glen Innes through my You Tube site until you pay the area a visit. Click here. 

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Back Creek topaz

JOHN'S NEW ENGLAND MINERALS BLOG - AN INTRODUCTION

JOHN'S NEW ENGLAND MINERALS BLOG - 

AN INTRODUCTION

  Hello everyone ! I've been collecting mineral specimens ever since I was in primary school - more than seventy years ago now.

Collecting beryl at Torrington

I reckon it's time to start sharing some of my experiences with my readers, and in this blog I'll be concentrating on some of the things I learned while living in Glen Innes (NSW, AUSTRALIA) from 1988 to 2013. 

Those days have come to an end now, and we have left the New England and moved to Lithgow. This won't stop me sharing more New England stories; in addition I've started a Blue Mountains blog. You can visit that here.

Back in 1959 I really began to learn about geology by exploring the Lithgow district on my bike.

At Hassan's Walls, Lithgow  1959

Later on, one of my University geology excursions was based in Lithgow and later again I organised school geology excursions there from Erina and Moss Vale High Schools.

At Yarrow Creek after Sapphires

Meanwhile, this is how Sue and I have appeared on many Wednesdays as we've led gem fossicking trips around the Glen Innes district in association with the Baptist Church which we attend.
You can experience fossicking around Glen Innes through my YouTube site here.

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All New England and other Geology blogs and videos

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Limestone Caves of NSW

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Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/1515863000684737715

Shoalhaven District Geology.