Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration ) of a territory. It is the search for minerals , fossils , precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking .
23-534: 25°47′46″S 122°58′30″E / 25.796°S 122.975°E / -25.796; 122.975 ( Carnegie ) Carnegie Station (25°47'45.0"S 122°58'31.1"E), or Carnegie pastoral lease , is located north of Laverton and east of Wiluna in Western Australia and is the most eastern of pastoral leases found on the Gunbarrel Highway . In some sources it is identified as Carnegie , with
46-421: A mining claim. The traditional methods of prospecting involved combing through the countryside, often through creek beds and along ridgelines and hilltops, often on hands and knees looking for signs of mineralization in the outcrop. In the case of gold, all streams in an area would be panned at the appropriate trap sites looking for a show of 'colour' or gold in the river trail. Once a small occurrence or show
69-404: A triangular head, with a very sharp point. The introduction of modern gravity and magnetic surveying methods has greatly facilitated the prospecting process. Airborne gravimeters and magnetometers can collect data from vast areas and highlight anomalous geologic features. Three-dimensional inversions of audio-magnetotellurics (AMT) is used to find conductive materials up to a few kilometers into
92-702: Is also quite warm, with mean daily maximum temperatures ranging from 17 °C (62 °F) in July to 36 °C (97 °F) in January. Laverton is the westernmost town on the Outback Way – a proposed highway which goes through the Northern Territory to Winton in outback Queensland. A number of early explorers travelled over the Laverton area, including John Forrest , David Carnegie and Frank Hann . Gold
115-476: Is located 55 kilometres (34 mi) to the west, midway between Laverton and Leonora. The area has a long history of pastoralism with sheep, cattle and goats, and a substantial area of land is used in this way. According to census results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics , the population of the Laverton urban centre fell 23%, from 439 to 340 in the 15 years from 2001 to 2016. Over this same period,
138-471: Is located at the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert , 957 kilometres (595 mi) north-northeast of the state capital, Perth , and 124 kilometres (77 mi) east-northeast of the town of Leonora , with an elevation of 461 metres (1,512 ft). About 20% of the population is of Aboriginal descent. The area is semi-arid, with a mean annual rainfall of 233 millimetres (9.2 in). It
161-629: The Little Sandy Desert , it is situated on the eastern side of the Lady Lawley Range, north of Lake Carnegie and is found at the western terminus of the original Gunbarrel Highway. The history of the station is related to the history of the Linke family. Due to its isolated location, artefacts from explorers and earlier travels are known to have been observed or found in the station area, as well as more recently, lost or ill-equipped travellers in
184-463: The 19th and early 20th century, it was very unlikely that a prospector would retire rich even if he was the one who found the greatest of lodes. For instance Patrick (Paddy) Hannan , who discovered the Golden Mile, Kalgoorlie , died without receiving anywhere near a fraction of the value of the gold contained in the lodes. The same story repeated at Bendigo, Ballarat, Klondike and California . In
207-491: The Earth, which has been helpful to locate kimberlite pipes, as well as tungsten and copper. Another relatively new prospecting technique is using low frequency electromagnetic (EM) waves for 'sounding' into the Earth's crust. These low frequency waves will respond differently based on the material they pass through, allowing for analysts to create three-dimensional images of potential ore bodies or volcanic intrusions. This technique
230-619: The United States and Canada, prospectors were lured by the promise of gold , silver , and other precious metals . They traveled across the mountains of the American West , carrying picks, shovels and gold pans . The majority of early prospectors had no training and relied mainly on luck to discover deposits. Other gold rushes occurred in Papua New Guinea, Australia at least four times, Fiji, South Africa and South America. In all cases,
253-684: The Windarra Nickel Project, which mined and processed nickel ore from 1974 to 1991. Laverton is primarily a mining area. There are two major operating gold mines in the district: the Wallaby Mine near Granny Smith , owned and operated by Gold Fields , and the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine , owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti . Both open pit and underground mining is conducted at these mines. The Murrin Murrin laterite nickel project
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#1732852063201276-626: The area. In 1940, G Lanagan and his wife drove 800 cattle from the Kimberley to the station, a distance of 900 miles (1,400 km), utilising in part the Canning Stock Route . Laverton, Western Australia Laverton , originally known as British Flag , is a town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia , and the centre of administration for the Shire of Laverton . The town of Laverton
299-589: The features including a homestead , outstation , outcamp, woolshed, and Aboriginal outstation . The area of the station is also within the Wiluna Native Title Claim area, also known as the Martu claim that was clarified in 2013. The Carnegie Station Airport is located approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of the homestead. Located on the western edge of the Gibson Desert and the southern edge of
322-462: The gold rush was sparked by idle prospecting for gold and minerals which, when the prospector was successful, generated 'gold fever' and saw a wave of prospectors comb the countryside. Modern prospectors today rely on training, the study of geology, and prospecting technology. Knowledge of previous prospecting in an area helps in determining location of new prospective areas. Prospecting includes geological mapping , rock assay analysis, and sometimes
345-435: The intuition of the prospector. Prospecting of minerals found in mobile fluids, as is often the case of lithium , adds a "temporal element" to be considered. Metal detectors are invaluable for gold prospectors, as they are quite effective at detecting gold nuggets within the soil down to around 1 metre (3 feet), depending on the acuity of the operator's hearing and skill. Magnetic separators may be useful in separating
368-458: The late 1960s, Laverton was in decline, mainly because of the very low price of gold. In 1968 a Poseidon prospector Ken Shirley discovered nickel-bearing rocks at Windarra, 24 kilometres (15 mi) northwest of Laverton. In 1969 Poseidon began drilling Windarra. In September rumours of a nickel strike prompted the Poseidon bubble . The deposit was developed by Western Mining and its partners into
391-464: The magnetic fraction of a heavy mineral sand from the nonmagnetic fraction, which may assist in the panning or sieving of gold from the soil or stream. Prospecting pickaxes are used to scrape at rocks and minerals , obtaining small samples that can be tested for trace amounts of ore . Modern prospecting pickaxes are also sometimes equipped with magnets , to aid in the gathering of ferromagnetic ores. Prospecting pickaxes are usually equipped with
414-452: The population of Indigenous Australians decreased from 37.6% (165 people) to 20.8% (71 people) of the town. Laverton has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild to cool winters. Prospecting Traditionally prospecting relied on direct observation of mineralization in rock outcrops or in sediments. Modern prospecting also includes the use of geologic, geophysical , and geochemical tools to search for anomalies which can narrow
437-432: The prospector to move onwards to the next and hopefully bigger and better show. Occasionally, the prospector would strike it rich and be joined by other prospectors to develop a larger-scale mining operation. Although these are thought of as "old" prospecting methods, these techniques are still used today, but usually coupled with more advanced techniques such as geophysical magnetic or gravity surveys. In most countries in
460-472: The residents sought to have a townsite surveyed, but by then the original Craiggiemore location had become unsuitable, so a new site was chosen about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the original lots. The new site was surveyed in July 1899 and the town of Laverton gazetted in July 1900. Laverton was the terminus of a branch line of the Kalgoorlie to Leonora railway line , with the junction at Malcolm. By
483-452: The search area. Once an anomaly has been identified and interpreted to be a potential prospect direct observation can then be focused on this area. In some areas a prospector must also stake a claim, meaning they must erect posts with the appropriate placards on all four corners of a desired land they wish to prospect and register this claim before they may take samples. In other areas publicly held lands are open to prospecting without staking
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#1732852063201506-502: Was discovered in the British Flag area in 1896 and many prospectors and miners moved into the area. Among them was Dr Charles W. Laver, who became an enthusiastic supporter and promoter of the region. One of the most successful mines was Craiggiemore, and by 1897 a residential and business area known as British Flag had sprung up on the west side of the mine. In March 1898 a townsite was approved as Laverton, in honour of Laver. In 1899,
529-489: Was found, it was then necessary to intensively work the area with pick and shovel, and often via the addition of some simple machinery such as a sluice box, races and winnows, to work the loose soil and rock looking for the appropriate materials (in this case, gold). For most base metal shows, the rock would have been mined by hand and crushed on site, the ore separated from the gangue by hand. These shows were commonly short-lived, exhausted and abandoned quite soon, requiring
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