FIND & HOLD JASPER Australia Big Righthand Turn MARBLE BAR
DAY 10
Try my luck finding gold in a hot and dry creek bed
-Traveldriven
Marble Bar
The town of Marble Bar was named after a nearby jasper bar was mistaken for marble. The jasper bar runs across the bed of the Coongan River. Large gold nuggets were discovered as a result of the Marble Bar goldrush.
The 333 ounce Little Hero
The 413 ounce (11.7kg) Bobby Dazzler
The 332 ounce (9.4kg) General Gordon
All were found in the goldfields around the town.
I gathered several hand size samples of jasper for a keepsake.
SEEK OUT GOLD
Try my luck and go find gold nuggets I told myself. I carried a White Gold Detector machine for a little scratching around. A basic and capable detector. I raised a sweat swinging the pick in an out of town creek bed. Hard work in the heat. The creek bed not all sand & somewhat stony. I hung the pick on a tree branch for a short rest.
Driving towards Marble Bar a fellow in a old 4wd pulled over and talking through the wound down car window showed me a small 30ml clear plastic container like you get chemist tablets in.
GOLD NUGGETS FOUND
Inside were odd sized small gold nuggets he said he had found a couple of km's away up a side track. Try your luck around there he said and drove off. I knew all the side tracks were covered in the sharp gibber like stones. I thought who needs a tyre puncture in this heat. Myself driving a sedan with road tyres only. I called it a day and returned to Marble Bar.
Plenty of Jasper
Jasper is commonly known as a spotted or speckled stone. Apparently seen to have healing properties for some and is used as jewellery and for decorative oddments. When jasper is water covered many bright and strong banded colours are bought to the fore. Quite pleasing to the eye.
There was plenty of raw Jasper in plain sight, unlike gold or marble.
The Price of Jasper
Raw jasper taken from the ground is worth up to about one dollar per half a kilogram. Could be quite a bit less. Not a high monetary valve even when cleaned and polished. On the other hand a square foot of actual raw marble is sixty dollars on average. A square foot weighing four to seven kg.
Traveldriven
