GEMFEST – 6th, 7th & 8th September

For more information, please contact the Emmaville Mining Museum 6734 7025, Ron Jillett on 6734 7210 or Kay Schroder on 6734 7281.

There will be field trips for Molybdenite, Topaz, Quartz, Silver, Tourmaline & Copper - all leave from the Caravan Park in the morning.  Camping is available at the Caravan Park - for bookings, contact Debbie Lowe on 0429 333 122.

We wont be trading there all weekend as Andrew will be heading overseas a few days later but we hope to visit on Saturday and might load a few items in the back of the ute.  We’ll see how we go for time.  However, we have always really enjoyed going to this one and higly recommend it to everyone.

cheers from Andrew and Leah (www.aussiesapphire.com.au)

There are field trips to suit all types of fossickers – from the complete beginner to the utterly obsessed.  See the Minerama website for more information on the program or just call in to the Minerama information desk for some guidance.

Click “Continue Reading” below to see some options for each day from Thursday 6th March to Monday 10th March 2008.

Yarrow Creek
A well known and very picturesque area with a range of gems to be found: sapphire, garnet, zircon, black spinel, tourmaline and quartz.  Trips will be run to various locations along the creek on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday so you will have plenty of opportunities to try your luck here during Minerama. 

Reddestone Creek
The source of some of the best blue sapphire to come from the Australian gem fields with decades of mining behind it.  However, there are still plenty of gems to be found and this year, Minerama offers you the opportunity to fossick at “Three Waters” on Friday and “Lonewood” on Saturday.

Emmaville
The field trip to Emmaville on Saturday is a great day trip with some fantastic side trip options.  The trip will set off from the Emmaville Mining Museum at 9:30 am  and visit a variety of old mining areas where fluorite, beryl, candle crystals of quartz, galena, chlorite, arsenopyrite, cassiterite etc may be found.   The beauty of this trip is that once the fossicking is done, you have a few other options to finish off the day. 

The Mining Museum is always worth a look with some of the best mineral/gem collections on display you’ll ever see.  The historic Ottery Arsenic mine is another interesting spot just out of Emmaville or you can just wash the dust from your throat with a quiet drink at either of the two Emmaville pubs.

Kingsgate
New mining east of Glen Innes for minerals such as molybdenum and bismuth has meant that this popular fossicking site is now closed to the public.  However, in cooperation with one of our major sponsors, Auzex Resources, field trips to the area will be run on Friday and Saturday.  This was one of the most popular trips last year and with limited numbers, you’ll need to be quick on the day to get one of these tickets.

Tingha Sands and Stannifer
This is another great day trip option for Sunday.  This trip will be heading west to search for quartz crystals and “grass stone” (rutilated quartz) at Tingha Sands – a commercial sand and gravel mine.  People always have a great time at this location and this year should be no exception. 

While passing through Tingha, we highly recommend a quick visit to the Wing Hing Long museum – a really interesting old collection of memorabilia displayed in the old general store.  A stop at Stannifer on the way back to look for “jellybeans” (waterworn quartz) will round out a great day fossicking.

Pretty Valley
Another really popular spot for sapphire fossicking, Pretty Valley offers the opportunity to find more than just sapphire with the chance of zircon, black tourmaline, black spinel, topaz (clear or pale blue), quartz (clear and smoky) and even a little gold.   Pretty Valley is the traditional Monday trip for Minerama and does have a limit on numbers.

Back Creek – Pinkett
The final choice is Monday’s field trip to Back Creek in the Pinkett area – this one is designed for those fossickers that are looking for something a bit different.  The big plus on this trip is the sheer variety of gems that might be found in this location.  This section of Back Creek has produced quite a lot of sapphire, zircon, topaz, black tourmaline and excellent quartz crystals.  Other possibilities include pyrope garnet, cassiterite (tin), topaz (colourless to pale blue or pink) and pale green beryl.  A great way to end the official Minerama fossicking field trip program.

Aerial Field Trips
Remember the scenic joyflights on Friday and Saturday – the mining areas of Glen Innes, Emmaville and Kings Plains as seen from the air.  A nice change of pace compared to being on the end of a shovel.  Round up a couple of mates to go with you and a half hour flight will cost just $45 per person.

Look forward to seeing you all at Minerama – we’re happy to weigh up any of your better finds so call in and see us at the Aussie Sapphire stall.

See the detailed trip instructions on the website for more information.

Remember – tickets are on sale at the rear of the services club where Minerama is held from 8 am Thursday 9th. Tickets are sold on a daily basis and are not available in advance. They will cost $10 for adults and $2 for school age children this year.

Thursday 6th March.
YARROW CREEK. (Garnet Corner) Sapphire, pyrope garnet, zircon, quartz crystal. This is a location we have visited during Minerama for several years. It has yielded good results and should continue to do so for those equipped with the right tools (especially yabby pumps, long handled shovels and crowbars). Many good sapphires and garnets have come from here.

Friday 7th March.
YARROW CREEK: (The Crossing) A location not previously visited on a Minerama trip. Minerals as for Garnet Corner. The proper tools are essential here.
KINGSGATE MINES: This is a rare opportunity to visit an active mining area, courtesy of the mining company. It is the classic location for quartz crystals and bismuth and molybdenite. There will be limited opportunities for collecting. Numbers will be limited to 20.
THREE WATERS on Reddestone Creek. This is a new area for Minerama. Reddestone Creek is rich in sapphire and zircon.

Saturday 8th March.
YARROW CREEK: (The Blockup) Another location on the creek. Minerals as for Garnet Corner.
KINGSGATE MINES: As for Friday.
LONEWOOD on Reddestone Creek. The same locality as the last three years. Some very fine sapphires and zircons have been found here.
EMMAVILLE area: A visit to old mining areas near Emmaville for mineral specimens.

Sunday 9th March.
YARROW CREEK: (The Old Mine area). Another location for sapphire, zircon, garnet and quartz
TINGHA SANDS AND STANNIFER: Classic localities for rutilated quartz (grass stone) and quartz jelly beans. Approximately 80 km drive each way.

MONDAY 10th March.
BACK CREEK: (Pinkett area) An area we have not visited for several years. Quartz crystal, sapphire, zircon, topaz and black tourmaline.
PRETTY VALLEY: A location we have been visiting since 1991 and still producing sapphire, zircon, topaz and excellent quartz. Anyone can find small gems here. Limited to 25 because of the small area involved and the limited water flow in the gully.

You can find more information at the Minerama Website.  The committee is still working out fine details on the field trip program but I expect the trips will be similar to last year.  Hoping to include Tingha Sands this time for the quartz crystal collectors (yet to be confirmed); The Auzex Kingsgate tour will run again with kind cooperation from Auzex Resources (a sapphire level sponsor of Minerama); Reddestone Creek at the same location as last year; Yarrow Creek locations are yet to be confirmed.  Please check the website through February for more information on the field trip program.

Dont forget that this year, scenic flights over the mining areas of Glen Innes and Emmaville will be offered by Inverell Aviation. 

Book directly with the pilot by phoning (02) 6723 1344 – flights leave from Glen Innes airport (just west of Glen Innes on the Emmaville Road) on Friday and Saturday.

Also – lots of cash and BP fuel card prizes on offer by way of a raffle, lucky door prize and lucky field trip prize draws. 

Plenty of accommodation choices in Glen Innes from luxury B&B’s to camping in the great outdoors.  You are encouraged to consider the Minerama sponsors when choosing accommodation or services in appreciation for their support.

Of course, Aussie Sapphire will be attending Minerama as a trader.  We have a great selection of products on offer – from the finest gems to gem/lapidary tools and supplies.  We have a number of new and used faceting machines/accessories in stock right now so if you are looking to upgrade or get started in the hobby, look out for the Aussie Sapphire stall inside the Services Club auditorium.

cheers for now from Andrew and Leah (Aussie Sapphire)

A number of different species were found during the dig but the Diprotodon is probably the most well known.  Andrew is seen here holding a Diprotodon tooth along with the cover of a book showing what a complete skull would look like.  These giant marsupials were part of the Megafauna group and were quite common across Australia through the Pleistocene era.

 See these articles for more information on the Diprotodon.

• Wikipedia – Diprotodon article
• Fossil Club NSW – pdf article on Diprotodon
• “Mystery of Megafaunal Extinctions Remains”

Thanks to Bob Irish of the Glen Innes Gem Club for bringing these (and some other interesting gems) around to show us – we appreciate it.

cheers for now from Andrew and Leah (Aussie Sapphire)

Trade was excellent for Aussie Sapphire and the other stalls seemed busy also.  Lots of people stopping by for a chat with plenty of interesting things to look at – great to talk to some regular customers and online forum friends.  One particularly interesting item was a small box of diprotodon fossils shown to us by Bob Irish of the Glen Innes Gem Club – more on this in the next post…

The Emmaville Gemfest is an excellent little show with fantastic atmosphere.  Great to see it becoming more popular as it is supporting a wonderful asset to the area – the Emmaville Mining Museum.  Luckily the weather was great for the weekend – winter has returned this week but the Emmaville visitors got a taste of a New England springtime that is sure to have them returning for more. 

Cheers for now from Andrew and Leah (Aussie Sapphire)

Emmaville Mining Museum Gemfest
at the Emmaville Caravan Park
1st, 2nd and 3rd September 2007

Field trips will be run for tin, topaz, flourite, quartz, silver, tourmaline and copper.  Field trips cost $5 for half days or $10 for full days and leave from the Caravan Park.

Barbeque will be run at the caravan park for the 3 days and there will be market stalls and tailgaters present offering some great gems and minerals.  You might even catch Aussie Sapphire there on Saturday and/or Sunday.

For more information, contact the Emmaville Mining Museum on (02) 6734 7025, Ron Jillett on (02) 6734 7210 or Kay Schroder on (02) 6734 7281.  Accommodation is available at the Emmaville Caravan Park (phone Trevor & Debbie Lowe on 0429 333122), the Tatts Hotel (02 6734 7309) or the Club Hotel (02 6734 7304.

This is a great time of year to be visiting the area and the Emmaville locals will make you feel right at home.  The Emmaville Mining Museum is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in rocks, gems and mining history so please support Gemfest which helps keep the museum operating.

cheers for now from Andrew and Leah Lane (Aussie Sapphire)

The weather has been wild all over the state with severe flooding near Newcastle and damaging rain and winds in many other areas.  Lots of incredible stories coming through with tragic loss of life and much damage to property.

Thankfully, we just had cold rain – the car thermometer read 3 degrees Celcius when I wound the window down for these shots so didnt take too much time over the job – it was COLD.

Back to normal today with cold mornings and sunny days but we will see what the next couple of months bring.  At least it looks like the drought is over.

cheers from Andrew and Leah Lane (Aussie Sapphire)

 

A Day In The Life of a Sapphire Miner
Notebook Magazine – Linda Peatling

It was a bit of fun chatting to the team on the day and we now have a few nice family photographs so was worth giving up some time for.

Speaking of mining, we have a bit of nice sapphire rough put aside which we hope to list very soon.  We have secured another parcel of mixed colour tourmaline of slightly smaller size than the last lot – as soon as it arrives later this week, we will start putting some parcels together for people.  Have not listed any yet as the addition of the new lot should make this material better value for buyers.  We are extremely pleased with the quality and price so keep an eye on announcements about this so you dont miss out.

cheers for now from Andrew and Leah (Aussie Sapphire)

Aussie Sapphire had a great weekend of trading with lots of interested visitors and plenty of purchases.  Luckily we were quite close to the main stage so we got to hear some great music from the feature performers as well.

One of the feature performers this year was Paul Anderson – an incredibly talented fiddler in the true Scottish tradition.  This guy was great so have a look at his artist profile on tradmusic.com if you would like to learn more or buy his music.  Click on the image to see a short video clip of him in action (~14MB so fast connection recommended).

Of course there were pipe bands and highland dancers in abundance but the Australian Celtic Festival at Glen Innes offers much more.  The historical reenactments are always a big favourite with the crowds with a variety of eras on display - here is just a selection of photos:

From left to right – 42nd Highland Regiment, Spanish 9th Roman Legion, Irish House of Conmara (nobles and warriors).

The pipe bands were excellent including our own Glen Innes Pipe Band (pictured at left).  Attending this year was the Southern Scenic Waimatuku Highland Pipe Band – very impressive name with a performance to match.

All in all, it was a great weekend.  We were flat out talking to visitors and customers but did get a chance to take a few photographs of the fun – hope you enjoyed seeing just a few of them.  Mark your diary for the Celtic Festival on the 3rd/4th May 2008 – we’d love to see you next year.

cheers for now from Andrew and Leah (Aussie Sapphire)