I am sure most people have heard the saying, “Gold is where you find it” and in my experience, I couldn’t agree more. However, in my opinion, what is more useful is the opposite of that saying, which is: “You will never find a nugget, where there are no nuggets buried in the ground!” Let’s be honest, you will have a much better chance of picking up a nugget or two if you are detecting in a historical gold area, rather than the local park!
This is where research comes in - the more you learn about where gold was found in the past, how they mined it, at what depth it was found, what prospecting was carried out in the surrounding area, etc. the more chance you’ll have of picking an appropriate location for swinging your detector. So, how do you find out where you should detect for gold???? You’ll firstly need to find out where you can and can’t use your detector, so your first port of call should be the local Mines Department. Find out if there are any designated fossicking areas, and if not, find out what is needed to access certain areas, whether you need a Fossickers Permit, a Miners Right or other. Once that is sorted, your next step is to find out what sort of Mining was carried out back in the gold rush days, and in some cases, more recent times. What you are looking for is clues that indicate that there may be gold buried at a shallow depth that is big enough to be detected.
Did The Old Timers Really Miss A Lot Of Gold??
The old timers back in the 1800’s were no slouches, and they did a good job finding “most” gold bearing locations, but because of the hard work involved, there was a need for areas to be quite rich to warrant the continuation of digging. For the modern day prospector wielding a metal detector, this is great news, because it means that in most old goldfields, there still exists patches of ground that were un-worked that still have the potential to produce nuggets. So it is up to you to do your homework, find out as much information as you can about a particular goldfield, and you’ll start to work out where the old timers may have left some behind.
Most Mines Departments have maps and records of old goldfields, so it is a good place to start, but your local library, and your nearest Minelab dealer can also be a wealth of information. Another great recourse is the internet - do a search on goldfields close to your area (or a known area you’d like to visit), and save whatever information you can find. I prefer to print everything off and group it into sections, as it is easy to view all the information you have gathered on an area, so you can start putting the pieces together. There are also various magazines available that cover prospecting, metal detecting, etc. so are definitely worth keeping an eye out for, and maybe even check the archives for relevant articles.
Putting It All Together
After you’ve read up on the gold areas where you intend to detect, for starters pick a spot that was particularly rich – the reason being, the richer the goldfield, the more likely there’s still some gold left behind. Perfect examples are Rich Hill in Arizona, or Queens Gully in Wedderburn Victoria, they have had thousands of detector operators over the ground, yet both locations continue to produce gold. If you have a topographic map on the area, pencil in some of the workings that occurred there, and you may find a spot in between a line of workings that is on the same altitude, or the same distance from the hill, or one particular creek or gully that was ignored, or it may just be that you ask yourself, “Why didn’t they work this spot?” All these spots are worth checking out, but for starters visit the area and have a walk around, and take some notes. Walk the fringes of the diggings, and if you feel there is no reason why the digging stopped in a certain area, this can be a great spot to start detecting. As you gain experience and start to find a few nuggets, slowly investigate other likely looking spots. When you find your first nugget/s in an area that you have researched, your confidence will lead you to bigger and better finds.
Research works for me, does it work for you?
Nenad Lonic
Comments
I am considering making the jump into the detector biz but hesitate at the $6,000plus price tag for the GPX-4500. Can you give me any background advice pls as to how you decided to make the commitment and what you have got out of it so to speak. Any advice appreciated.
Other factors worth considering are:
1. The type of gold found in your area
2. The level of mineralisation
3. How often do you intend to go detecting.
If you can answer the above for your particular situation, then you will make a better decision.
A possible answer to the above may be: "Well, the goldfields where I intend to go detecting are not overly mineralised, the gold is mostly very small, and I probably will only get to go two or three times a year."
If that is the case, then you will still have a lot of fun and success using an X-TERRA 705 or Eureka Gold.
However, if the answer is:
"Yes, the goldfield where I intend to detect has produced lots of nuggety gold, and is quite mineralised, and I want to get out nearly every weekend", then a top of the range gold detector is a better choice, as you will get the most out of it.