Stony & Britannia Streams INTEL
Stony and Britannia are two rugged West Coast streams that drain the steep, gold-rich slopes of the Victoria Range. This is "proper" West Coast prospecting — deep in the bush, surrounded by lush ferns and the sound of crashing water. It's not for the faint-hearted, as the terrain is steep and the weather is unpredictable, but the gold quality is among the highest in the Reefton district.
Mission Profile
Discovery Metrics
Operational Gear
Stratigraphy & History
While Reefton was famous for its quartz reefs (and electric lights!), these streams provided the alluvial bread-and-butter for many miners. The Britannia Mine, higher up the hill, was a well-known quartz operation in the late 1800s. The gold in the streams actually erodes out of these quartz reefs. Interestingly, the area was also a site for "sustenance mining" during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when out-of-work men were paid by the government to prospect these very creeks.
Geological Context
The gold here is often found associated with "Maori Stones" (greenstone/pounamu) and heavy black magnetite sand. It is quartz-derived, meaning it is often bright yellow and high purity (95%+). Because the streams are so fast-moving, the gold tends to collect in "shotty" pockets on the downstream side of large boulders and in the deep cracks of the greywacke bedrock.
Field Note
CONFIDENTIAL PRO-INTEL
Verified Sector Secret
"The Britannia Stream has a hidden waterfall about 1.5km upstream. The pool at the base of that fall has been a gold trap for centuries — it's hard to reach, but worth the scramble."
Economic Potential
Historical yield data suggests unrecovered fines at depth. Optimal for small-scale suction or high-banking if permitted.
Trade Gold
Leverage spot price movements globally while you're in the field.