Friday/Saturday Hunt..

[Ausgoldhunter]

Hey all, just wanted to give you all a peek at the few pickers I snagged with the GMT on Friday/saturday found a patch of nice exposed bedrock 7km up a gully, largest is .67gram, not bad for just under 19 hours. badass spot, cannot wait to get my ass back up that gully with the Minelab next weekend when/if I have the time.

Anyway pic below..

 

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[63bkpkr]

Ausgoldhunter, am I reading between the lines of your post correctly in that you do an initial search of an area with the GMT just to feel it out and then come back in with one of your minelabs? Nice "sample" nuggets! And which Minelab do you prefer?
How far down were some of these pieces? Thank you for the share........................63bkpkr

 

[Ausgoldhunter]

You are correct 63bkpkr... Usually what I do is hike for a few hours scout the area, looking for as above some shallow bedrock areas where I can clear the overburden, after that I usually get out the bilge pump mini highbanker I purchased from South Yuba Mining Co.. Run the dirt, then start going over it with my GMT or GB2.

If I have success in the area, then I plan my next trip. I sold my SD 2000 GP 3000, and bought a GPX 4000 modded for extra depth and sensitivity(yay).. The results I got with the GMT tell me bigger stuff will be down deeper.
Hopefully much bigger lol.

So I'll go over the area with it, and maybe start clearing more of the overburdon, and check it again for the tiny ones.

I guess the problem with posting results is nobody sees how much work goes into the actual (prospecting) and finding of the gold.

Gold is rarely every on or near the surface!. Your VLF ain't gonna get it.

- A.G.H

 

[tinpan]

Nice colour , You brought a gpx 4000 , what sort of practise have you had with a machine of this nature ? What coils do you intend to use?

tinpan

 

[63bkpkr]

Ausgoldhunter,

Thank you for replying to my question! The light bulb really went on as I went through your input. Now I'm mentally challenged so its only a refrigerator bulb but there is a glimmer of hope for me.

"I guess the problem with posting results is nobody sees how much work goes into the actual (prospecting) and finding of the gold"

I climb down the sidewall of a deep steep canyon with a very heavy pack and stay for two weeks at a time. In 2010 I moved a ton or two of rocks/boulders to come up with ~ 1/4 oz of gold. Mostly I worked with a very old 4' 6" lever bar I found in there and I could have really used a 6' bar as some of the boulders were really big. I dug a 4' deep trench this way and after I was done I refilled it. I do appreciate how much work it takes to find gold though at times I do not recall all the work, the adventure just carries me past it but I know it is there. Thank you again for the response/sharing................63bkpkr

 

[mthunter22]

some good looking gold.. what mods did you have done to the 4000? also who did you have do it? i have heard that you can get the 2100 modded to have a more smooth or constant threshold and more sensitive to smaller nuggets but have never proceeded because i have also heard that it doesnt work and is a waste of money,whats your thoughts? thanks

 

[Ausgoldhunter]

Nice colour , You brought a gpx 4000 , what sort of practise have you had with a machine of this nature ? What coils do you intend to use?

tinpan

I have a total of about 15 minutes experience with the 4000, but a hell of a lot more with the SD 2200v2 and GP Extreme. The GPX 4000 came with a 14" nugget finder, and 11" mono. I'll have to pick myself up something a little smaller for the areas i tend to work... Really, i was just after something with some good sensitivity and depth.

Bloody hope it pays off paid just over $3750 for it..

 

[tinpan]

Hi Augoldhunter, For a while you have promoting to newbies that VLF detectors are the go for gold. In Australia clearly VLF mds are not the go for our geology when hunting gold. . Only the GPX is winner in the gold horse race. To get the best out of a GPX using manual over ride and knowing the the right settings, takes a while to get use too. I have never used factory reset or auto tune. The most popular coil used is the 12 x 7 Nugget finder Elliptical Mono coil , light enough to use all day and easy to maneuver around scrubby ground. This coil clearly has far more advantages over the smaller 8x6 nugget finder. No problem at nailing a 10th of a gram at 55 mms. 14 inch coil doesnt give that much more and i would go for the next one up the 16 inch . I,m still running a 4500 gpx and at this stage have no want to up grade as the model is proven . Still with top range machine gold is thin and hard to find. Takes more than just a md to find gold.

tinpan

 

[Ausgoldhunter]

Hi Augoldhunter, For a while you have promoting to newbies that VLF detectors are the go for gold. In Australia clearly VLF mds are not the go for our geology when hunting gold. . Only the GPX is winner in the gold horse race. To get the best out of a GPX using manual over ride and knowing the the right settings, takes a while to get use too. I have never used factory reset or auto tune. The most popular coil used is the 12 x 7 Nugget finder Elliptical Mono coil , light enough to use all day and easy to maneuver around scrubby ground. This coil clearly has far more advantages over the smaller 8x6 nugget finder. No problem at nailing a 10th of a gram at 55 mms. 14 inch coil doesnt give that much more and i would go for the next one up the 16 inch . I,m still running a 4500 gpx and at this stage have no want to up grade as the model is proven . Still with top range machine gold is thin and hard to find. Takes more than just a md to find gold.

tinpan

I'm with you on that one Tinpan, I put in the hours, have a little success/fun with my VLF machines, but as you say, our geology makes them very hard to work with (in some areas) and you're right on the money, NOTHING! beats a GP-GPX hell even the older SD machines are still pulling gold... I really should start making videos of my hunts, so people understand the scale of what goes into finding the gold i find, so they understand (as I tried to explain above)

I go out seeking the likely "gold traps" clear overburden, detect the area, and occasionally get some nice color (colour for the Aussies reading this) 80-90% of my VLF work happens in, washes and dry creeks (if i can find them)
So many people overestimate these VLF machines, swear blind they go deep and find Oz's. Sadly in most cases ground conditions spoil your fun..

Now I'm not saying people won't have success with a good VLF in Australia.. I do very well with my Whites, and Fisher machines... However If I'm in WA or VIC gold fields the VLF isn't my first choice.

What am I saying?... Choose the detector for the job, KNOW THE JOB... Before you head out, be it Australia, US, Canada, etc... Learn about the area. (Large nuggets were found? How large? How deep? Hard rock mine? Alluvial/placer?
I haven't been into detecting for that long, I sure as hell don't know it all, but the few things I do know (that work for me) I'm more than happy to share..

Again: Tinpan, thanks for the coil suggestion. I've sourced myself a 12 x 7 nugget finder elliptical.. A friend with a 5000 has a 17 x 11" nuggetfinder dropped it by today, I'll take it out for a spin in a few weeks.. Sadly back to work for me

-A.G.H.