Southern Gems (Sapphires)

Alluvial Prospecting
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Hi everyone,
Ive recently moved to the Hobart region from up north, i loved getting up to the Weld and hunting out some sapphires and was after some rumors about southern sapphires.
I’m not seeking spots or tips (I love the hunt) just a few positive stories that they exist down this way.

Thanks, Jake

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Only occurrence I know of is in Adamsfield, which sadly in a national park :frowning:

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Thanks Qmot,

Disappointing news, however with a lot of imagination (and hope) the Styx/Maydena area may hold a few strays. I remember seeing a decent concentration of clear quartz or topaz whilst having a freehand dig on a fishing trip there once.

Thanks again

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Yeah not much, I believe that if you know where to look there are other gems, most notably wood opal. Not as good as sapphires, but I have heard of people finding pretty nice ones.

This document (if you haven’t already found it) details the gem localities around the state, so may be of use:

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Last I checked, Adamsfield was not in a national park. It is in a Conservation Area, and fossicking is possible if you get an extra permit from Parks. They don’t advertise that such permits are available, and I don’t know who deals with them any more these days, but getting one was possible, if a hassle.

TBH the Adamsfield sapphires were never the best quality, and I’ve only found them around the huts at the river crossing, where you can only dig away from the vehicle crossing.

There are also colourless stones that are probably topaz, as well as bright orange stones which might be orange sapphires or zircons. I sent some stones to MRT a few years ago but never heard back.

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Great info Miguel . No reply from MRT is just pathetic . Apparently it’s ok for you as an individual to make an effort but as a publicly funded government department it just too hard to even reply . No wonder the general public are sceptical in general and defiant of regulations .

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Nah, in this case I’m pretty happy to attribute it to overwork, I didn’t mean to imply that the person I gave them to didn’t even try.

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I think you may be too generous . A busy man should just take longer to reply .

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