Got "Gold Spear" ?

[Ca70]

Some might know about this tool. As far as I know they still make them in Sweden ? I had the chance to play with one some years back and it actually worked pretty darn well. I used to see a small handful of guys with them a few years back. Then .. They seemed to fade away.


They do pop up for sale on the web from time to time but get snatched up fairly quick.
Nevertheless , I figured I'd ask in the forums to perk up some ears. Maybe someone knows something.

It was actually listed as "Goldspear" .. One word.

If anything, some might like to share their experiences with this strange electronic tool from yesteryear .

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Hoser John]

FALL APART FAST-TELLS YA GOLD IS EVERYWHERE-YOU COULD BE 1" AWAY FROM A 1 LB NUGGET AND IT WOULD NOT FIND IT. get a real detector and check out at least a cubic foot of ground a second-John

 

[Steve Herschbach]

It was a continuity tester. Wafered tip, if metal contacted the tip and completed the circuit between the conductive and insulator layers it beeped. Obviously the metal has to contact the tip for this to happen. If you want to see how well the system works get a pointed metal bar and try and push it into hard ground. Keep in mind you cannot drive the Goldspear with a sledge hammer. This one basic fact caused me to sell mine.

In theory you could drive a rod then stick the spear in the hole. Highlighting problem two. Man made metal sets the unit off. If your rod sheds even the tiniest metal particles the Goldspear will false on them. And any other near microscopic bits and flakes of man made metal. I got signals everywhere that were not gold.

It probably has limited uses in special circumstances but the reason they are no longer being sold is they got no word of mouth as being a productive tool for most people.

 

[Ca70]

The area I want to use this is just below and old bench about 300' above the active waterway. It appears to be an old beach . above that is caliche and cemented cobbles. That area we will backpack core drill . maybe open an exploratory drift ? We have an active drift mine about one mile down river that produced just fine. (before the fire, that'll be another thread)
I had driven 3/4 rebar probes with a post jack into the old sand beach area about 10' down and never hit anything solid. Thinking that , I thought the Goldspear might be useful.
There is probably a reason the thing never caught on . You made a good point Steve . Hoser John , I felt that someone was going to say the thing breaks easy. I kinda gathered that when I last had one in my hands. I have a number of great detectors. Thought this might find a niche though . I think I may find a different way to test these sands this spring.
Thanks for the input guys.

John

 

[Steve Herschbach]

The only thing I can think of where the Goldspear would have an application is hillsides with a foot or two of relatively soft moss and organic cover over gravel. Something easily penetrated by the Goldspear to at least try and narrow down where a person might want to dig and take pan samples. Funny you brought them up as I was cleaning out an old box today and came across an Goldspear owners manual I have been holding onto as it was nicely illustated.

 

[Ca70]

I've been going over solutions to explore this area. The next best thing I could come up with is to "Boom" the 1000 sq ft of main beach , placing sand bags to contain water , and dredge the whole thing . The bedrock is at least more than 10 ' down . I'm thinking it's about 30' down, how much is sand and small gravels ? at least 10 ' . Ive never encountered an area with small sand and gravels so far above the waterway, so deep with sand . I'd love to see a photo of it 160 years ago, if not 3000 years ago. . I dont want to spend too much digging this thing though. No heavy equipment can reach it .
thanks

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Well for what it is worth I prefer a gold pan as a test tool rather than a Goldspear.

 

[Ca70]

Yea , no kidding. No matter what fancy equipment we use . It usually always ends with the gold pan.