Getting Ready to Go

Well just over a week before we leave for the big trip. I have started getting all of my gear together to sustain 11 days of free camping at GlenAlva. I have had to put some new handles in my picks after the recent trip to the opal mine. Also found a great way to sharpen picks using a "flap disk" on an angle grinder. The flap disk is generally used to polish aluminium or stainless steel but I found it is very handy to trim up pick handles to the right size to fit odd shape pick heads, as well as sharpening blunt points. In addition to picks and shovels, a "willoughby" is a labour saving device for sorting sapphire from dirt. Basically, gravel containing sapphire stones is dug and then put in a sieve in the willoughby frame. The willoughby is then jiggled in water to separate the dirt from the rocks. Any heavy material (corundum or zirconium) is centred in the middle of the sieve. The sieve contents are then emptied onto a table and sorted for sapphire material.

Water is the big requirement for GlenAlva. Not only drinking water but water for showering and washing stones is also required. You probably can't carry too much water. I will be taking 4 twenty litre containers as well as the 60 litres in my caravan tank. This should last a week. Using alum (aluminium sulphate) is a neat trick to extend the use of sapphire washing water. the alum when placed in mudddy water will settle all of the dirt and clay particles out overnight, allowing clean water to be decanted off the top next day. We should be able to supplement washing water from the local dam. The dept. of Mines and Energy fossicking notes also refers to water at blackboy creek, and hopefully after a wet season this year, water will be plentiful. I will probably still have to make a trip to Rubyvale to replenish drinking water at some time through the 11 days.

Boulder opal fossicking requires different tools from sapphire fossicking. Most of the opal fossicking will be done on mullock heaps of old opal mines, checking out ironstone rocks for any trace of colour. The ironstone rocks can need splitting so a small hammer and cold chisel are essential. As the opal is similar to glass, chips can cause damage so safety glasses are essential. A small dish washing brush to wash the ironstone rocks is also a useful addition for opal fossicking.