Mount Morgan No 7 Dam reserve general permission area
The history of gold mining in Mount Morgan started in 1865, when the Morgan brothers discovered alluvial gold in the gullies around Ironside Mountain. The area was named Mount Morgan in their honour.
Mining started in 1882 and continued until the mine closed in 1981. At its peak, the mine was one of the most productive gold mines in the country. Today, the area surrounding the No 7 Dam has great potential for fossicking as it’s close to the Mount Morgan Mine and several small historical mining sites in the area.
Fossickers require a fossicking licence in all areas and must comply with the special conditions of access.
Access
Access to the fossicking area is via the No 7 Dam reserve carpark on Byrnes Parade or the end of William Street. Both roads can be accessed via James Street in Mount Morgan and are fully sealed.
Motor vehicles must keep to designated roads and must comply with local laws. Signs at the carpark and at the end of William Street show areas where vehicle access is not allowed.
Maps
Facilities
Public toilets, picnic areas and rubbish bins are located at the No 7 Dam reserve carpark at the end of Brynes Parade. There is another picnic area at the end of William Street.
Camping is prohibited. Accommodation (e.g. caravan parks, hotels and cabins) is available in Mount Morgan.
Fossicking notes
The Mount Morgan No 7 Dam fossicking area lies within the Mount Morgan trondhjemite—a Middle Devonian aged intrusive granitoid type rock consisting of altered grey medium-grained locally porphyritic hornblende trondhjemite. Gold can form in association with trondhjemite through various geological processes from shear zones, faults and hydrothermal activity.
The oldest rocks in the region are Lower-Middle Devonian marine sediments and volcanic sequences which were subsequently intruded by the trondhjemite. Continental sediments and subordinate felsic volcanics were then deposited during the Early Permian followed by a sequence dominated by pillow basalts.
The gold-copper deposit was a large, irregular pipe-like orebody plunging from the east to the west at a low angle. The top of the Mount Morgan orebody was an outstanding fossil gossan. Much of the original production came from this supergene-enriched material. Some 2.44Mt of oxidised ore yielded 71,959kg of gold, averaging 29.5g/t of ore. Overall, the mine produced 250t of gold, 360,616t of copper and 50t of silver from over 50Mt of ore.
Special conditions
- Fossicking must only occur within the general permission area (GPA), where it is safe to do so and excluding any dam infrastructure, roads, creeks and gullies (as per the Mt Morgan No 7 Dam fossicking map ).
- Fossicking is not permitted within:
- the exclusion zones (see map)
- 50 meters of the external perimeter
- 10 meters of a walking or mountain bike track/trail
- 20 meters of roads or recreational facilities
- 20 meters of the highwater level mark of the dam (see map)
- 50 meters of any part of the dam wall, embankment or dam apron
- 10 metres of any stock, infrastructure or improvements (including but not limited to fences, water bores, pump equipment, telecommunication towers, electricity transmitting towers, and gas, oil, or water pipelines).
- Do not excavate at the toe of the bank of a stream or in a gully.
- Do not excavate an earth face or create overhangs on steep land or riverbanks.
- Do not interfere with wildlife, flora, fauna, infrastructure or land improvements.
- Ensure excavations do not exceed dimensions of 2 metres x 1 metre and a depth of 0.5 metres. Refill excavations immediately after use to make them safe for other visitors and stock and contour excavations to the surrounding land surface. Replace material that came from depth at depth and replace surface material on the surface.
- Fossickers must have a current map and a copy of these special conditions with them.
- Fossickers must not enter private property.
- Fires are not permitted and should not be lit under any circumstances within the GPA.
- Strictly no camping allowed within the GPA.
- Use only safe working practices.
- Only hand tools are permitted (including metal detectors). Educator dredges, sluices, dry blowers or machinery of any other type are not permitted.
- The use of generators is not permitted. Remain at least 100 metres from registered apiary sites (whether hives are present or not). Apiary sites are indicated by signage.
- Carry all water supplies – no permanent potable water supply is available, and water may not be taken from dams, water bores, pump equipment, bodies of water, etc.
- Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
- Fossickers acknowledge the GPA contains various hazards including but not limited to old workings, wildlife, natural terrain, bodies of water and built infrastructure.
- Leave gates as they are found (i.e. if gate is open – leave it open, if gate is closed, then open it to gain access then close immediately ensuring no animals pass through while open).
- Do not interfere with any vegetation, stock or wildlife.
- Keep noise and dust to a minimum.
- Where dogs are permitted:
- they must always be on a lead and under control
- they are not to cause nuisance, or annoy other visitors, stock or wildlife
- dog faeces must be removed from the area and disposed of legally.
- All rubbish (including organics) must be removed from the area and disposed of legally.
- As no toilet facilities are available within the GPA, bury human toilet waste in a hole dug into the topsoil at least 10-15cm deep and 100m away from watercourses (or any body of water) or walking tracks. Fill, cover and disguise the hole.
- Keep motor vehicles to designated roads and obey all signage relating to vehicle access and bring no other machinery.
- Fossickers must comply with directions given by a sign or notice by Rockhampton Regional Council, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development or any other authorised department.
- There is a cultural heritage duty of care which requires land users to take all reasonable and practicable measures to make sure their activities do not harm cultural heritage. There is a penalty for breaching the cultural heritage duty of care.