McDougalls Well
Far West. 83 km north of Broken Hill.
Gazetted
2 November 2001
Mapped size
1.1 square kilometres
Nearest town
Broken Hill
Photo: James St. John (CC BY 2.0). Wikimedia Commons.
Location
Gold marker: the middle of McDougalls Well. Dark marker: Broken Hill.
Fossicking district
The gold line is the gazetted fossicking district. Inside it, you do not need an exploration licence holder's consent. The line is not landholder permission, and it is not the only place fossicking can be lawful in New South Wales.
Line simplified from Geological Survey of NSW fossicking districts, CC BY
History
McDougalls Well is a fossicking district mapped as a defined patch of ground. It was gazetted on 2 November 2001 and covers about 1.1 square kilometres. The ground sits 83 km north of Broken Hill.
It carries forward former fossicking area 18, one of the old fossicking areas remade as districts in November 2001.
Inside the mapped district, the Geological Survey of NSW mineral inventory records Copper (3), and Gold (2). Those are recorded locations of mineralisation. They are not grades, and they are not a forecast of what a pan will show.
What you can find
Inside this district, copper is the most common record in the state inventory. Treat that as a geological hint, then check titles and the landholder before you dig.
Gold is also recorded, in smaller numbers than the leading mineral. The same consent rules apply.
Anything you keep has to fit the state take-home limits: 50 grams of gold in any 48 hours, up to five nuggets of 10 grams or more, 100 grams of gemstones, 10 kilograms of gold or gem-bearing material, and 5 kilograms of other minerals. Publicly owned minerals found while fossicking lawfully become yours. No royalty is charged on them.
Getting there
Broken Hill is on the Barrier Highway. This district is 83 km north of Broken Hill.
The mapped line is the district. Private land inside or beside it still needs the landholder's permission. A mining lease still needs the lease holder.
Open the district on the Dig Here map before you drive. The map shows this boundary against current titles, which a printed description cannot keep up to date.
Camping
The gazette notice does not create a campground. Plan to stay in Broken Hill unless you already have permission to camp on the land you are visiting.
Distances are long, shade is scarce, and summer heat will stop a trip faster than a lack of opal. Carry extra water, fuel, and a way to be found if the car stops.
Important notes
- !Inside a fossicking district you still need the landholder's permission on private land. You do not need the exploration licence holder's consent. A mining lease, mineral claim, or opal prospecting licence still needs that holder's consent.
- !Hand tools only. A pan, sieve, pick, shovel, non-powered sluice, and metal detector fit the rules. Pumps, dredges, powered trommels, and machinery do not.
- !Disturb no more than one cubic metre of ground in any 48 hours, put the soil back, and take your rubbish with you.
- !On native title land or water you need the registered native title body's consent. The only tools allowed there are hand-held, and digging or clearing is not permitted.
- !Mineral counts on this page are locations from the Geological Survey of NSW. They are not grades.
Nearby districts
Open McDougalls Well on the map
Titles change. Check this boundary against current leases before you dig.
Open mapDistrict boundaries and mineral counts are from the Geological Survey of NSW, CC BY. The words on this page are Dig Here's. Read the current rules on the NSW Resources fossicking page and check titles in MinView.