Prospecting for Gold

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Prospecting for Gold
Prospecting for Gold.jpg
First edition
Author Ion Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genrenon-fiction
Publisher Angus and Robertson
Publication date
1931

Prospecting for Gold is a 1931 non fiction book by Ion Idriess. It is a guide on how to prospect for gold. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Idriess was doing odd jobs when he wrote the book. He says he was inspired to do so because it was the Great Depression and he thought many unemployed people were interested in gold prospecting. He wrote the book relatively quickly and it was soon picked up for publication. [3]

Reception

It was the first of Idriess' books to sell a decent amount. The author later recalled, " People bought that prospecting book, and I made enough money out of it to pay rent to my Darlinghurst landlady, buy a new pair of shoes, and get some tucker." [4] He was launched as a professional writer.

In 1939 it was reported the book sold just over twelve thousand copies in Australasia, "a world's record for a semi-technical book." [5]

Cyaniding for Gold

Cyaniding for Gold
Author Ion Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genretechnical
Publisher Angus and Robertson
Publication date
1939

Cyaniding for Gold is a 1939 book by Idriess. It is a follow up to Prospecting for Gold. [6] [7]

It focuses on the cyaniding process. It included a chapter on mining-engineer E. W. O'Brien's air-slaked lime discovery. [8] According to the Adelaide Mail:

The pen that has written so many fine books of the Australian out back here makes a valuable contribution in a simple and detailed account intended especially for the working miner and small syndicate. The process is practically explained from A to Z, whether the reader can invest only £20 in a plant, or a syndicate or company can afford £2,000. Most of the material has been gathered from plants working profitably today, and from the experience of practical men well known in the Australasian cyaniding world, while numerous illustrations and diagrams further assist the reader. The result is a book that should be particularly valuable, even to non technical readers. [9]

Fortunes in Minerals

Fortunes in Minerals
Author Ion Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genrenon-fiction
Publisher Angus and Robertson
Publication date
1941

Fortunes in Minerals is a 1941 book by Idriess about mining. [10]

Opals and Sapphires

Opals and Sapphires
Author Ion Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genrenon-fiction
Publisher Angus and Robertson
Publication date
1967

Opals and Sapphires: how to work, mine, class, cut, polish, and sell them is a 1967 book by Ion Idriess. [11]

Related Research Articles

Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature. This well known Australian brand currently exists as an online shop owned by online bookseller Booktopia. The Angus & Robertson imprint is still seen in books published by HarperCollins, a News Corporation company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion Idriess</span> Australian author (1889–1979)

Ion Llewellyn Idriess was a prolific and influential Australian author. He wrote more than 50 books over 43 years between 1927 and 1969 – an average of one book every 10 months, and twice published three books in one year. His first book was Madman's Island, published in 1927 at the age of 38, and his last was written at the age of 79. Called Challenge of the North, it told of Idriess's ideas for developing the north of Australia.

<i>Madmans Island</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Madman's Island is a 1927 novel by Ion Idriess set in northern Australia. It was Idriess' first novel and was semi-autobiographical, although he invented the love interest at the insistence of the publisher.

<i>The Desert Column</i>

The Desert Column: Leaves from the Diary of an Australian Trooper in Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine is a book by Ion Idriess based on a diary he kept of his service during World War I.

<i>Drums of Mer</i>

Drums of Mer is a 1933 Australian novel by Ion Idriess set in the Torres Strait.

<i>Forty Fathoms Deep</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Forty Fathoms Deep: Pearldivers and Searovers in Australian Waters is a 1937 book from Ion Idriess about pearl divers.

<i>Australian Guerilla series</i> Series of books by Ion Idriess

The Australian Guerilla series was a series of 6 handbooks published in World War II by Ion Idriess. Idriess had been a sniper during World War I. The books were written when Australia was under threat of invasion during World War II.

<i>Men of the Jungle</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Men of the Jungle is a 1932 book by Ion Idriess. It covered three years in the life of Idriess and his three companions as they worked in north-east Queensland.

<i>Man Tracks</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Man Tracks, with the mounted police in the Australian Wilds is a 1935 book by Australian author Ion Idriess about the mounted police in north west Western Australia.

<i>Over the Range</i> (Idriess book) 1937 book by Ion Idriess

Over the Range: Sunshine and Shadow in the Kimberley is a 1937 book by Ion Idriess about life in the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

<i>The Great Trek</i> (book) Book by Ion Idriess

The Great Trek: One of the Greatest Feats in Australian Exploration is a 1940 book by Ion Idriess about Francis and Alex Jardine's 1864 trek in the northern Cape York Peninsula, from Rockhampton to Somerset in 1864.

<i>The Nor-westers</i> Book by Ion Idriess

The Nor-'westers : Stories and Sketches of Life in Australia's "Out Back" is a 1954 book by Ion Idriess.

<i>Nemarluk: King of the Wilds</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Nemarluk: King of the Wilds is a book by Ion Idriess about aboriginal warrior Nemarluk.

<i>The Great Boomerang</i> Book by Ion Idriess

The Great Boomerang is a 1941 non-fiction book by Ion Idriess.

<i>The Silent Service</i> (book) Book by Ion Idriess

The Silent Service: Action Stories of the Anzac Navy is a 1944 non-fiction book by Ion Idriess in collaboration with Torpedoman Tom Jones, a navy man of 17 years experience. It contains 54 different stories about the achievements of the Royal Australian Navy in World War II.

<i>The Opium Smugglers</i> 1948 book by Ion Idriess

The Opium Smugglers is a 1948 book by Ion Idriess. It was one of a number of books he wrote for children.

<i>Isles of Despair</i> Book by Ion Idriess

Isles of Despair is a 1947 historical novel by Ion Idriess based on the true story of Barbara Thomson, a white woman who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck and was raised by Coral Sea islanders, before being rescued in 1849.

<i>Horrie the Wog-dog</i>

Horrie the Wog Dog is a 1945 book by Ion Idriess about the adventures of Horrie the Wog Dog, the Australian war mascot.

<i>Must Australia Fight?</i>

Must Australia Fight? is a 1939 book by Ion Idriess. It dealt with whether Australia was prepared for invasion. In particular, it focuses on what might happen if the British fleet were not able to come to Australia's assistance.

<i>Onward Australia</i>

Onward Australia is a 1944 book by Ion Idriess which proposes how Australia could be developed. It was part of the Battle for Australia series.

References

  1. "PROSPECTING FOR GOLD". The Central Queensland Herald . Vol. 2, no. 61. Queensland, Australia. 26 February 1931. p. 39. Retrieved 16 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "PROSPECTING FOR GOLD". Cairns Post . No. 9079. Queensland, Australia. 5 March 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 16 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Author of Twenty-two Books And Still Going Strong". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 33, 223. New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  4. "WRITING AND TRAVEL". The West Australian . Vol. XLIX, no. 9, 794. Western Australia. 18 November 1933. p. 14. Retrieved 17 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Lure of Gold". North West Champion . Vol. 27, no. 69. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1939. p. 3. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  6. "CYANIDING FOR GOLD". The Argus (Melbourne) . No. 29, 201. Victoria, Australia. 26 March 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Lure of Gold". North West Champion . Vol. 27, no. 69. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1939. p. 3. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "BOOKS RIGHT FROM THE PRESS". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser . No. 1446. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1939. p. 7 (FINAL EDITION). Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Delightful Story Of Sark". The Mail (Adelaide) . Vol. 28, no. 1, 431. South Australia. 28 October 1939. p. 13 (Magazine). Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  10. "FORTUNES IN MINERALS". Cairns Post . No. 12, 333. Queensland, Australia. 1 September 1941. p. 1. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Advertising". The Canberra Times . Vol. 42, no. 11, 843. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 20 April 2016 via National Library of Australia.