The following day, Skyring and the shepherd went back to the creek where the gold had been found and panned some dirt direct from the bank. They were rewarded with 3 grams of glittering gold!! Skyring then went back to Brisbane to secure a legal claim over the area and was followed back to the site by others seeking their fortune in gold.
Most of the mining in the Seven Mile took place from 1876 to 1900 when several companies tried to process ore. Most of them ran ore of grades of 1.55 grams to 7 grams per tonne. In 1876 a five head stamper was erected to help remove the gold from the ore. By the end of 1900 all the companies had wound up operations due to poor prospects.
It has been reported that there is a possibilty of picking up diamonds in the wash from Nanango and this is backed up by findings from Mr. T. A. Clapton who took gravel, from the area known as Stoney Pitch, to Brisbane for examination in 1900. Although numerous specimens of diamond were found, they were so small that, it was uneconomical to continue.
Today the field is utilised by day fossickers who are trying their luck at fossicking. My experience has been that the gold is very fine and mostly the ground has been well worked. I have sighted a couple of pieces from the field about the size of a flattened rice grain, but they are uncommon.
The creek is usually filled with enough water for panning and an added bonus is the chance of finding Garnets in the wash. For those who are willing to look in remote parts of the field that have not been overworked there is a good chance of finding gold.
Map of the Seven Mile Diggings at Nanango, courtesy of "Gold and Ghosts", D.W. de Havelland.
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