Professional Prospecting

Outback said:

Hi Chellbells ,

It's very possible on dry area gold fields , but not using just detectors these days .

There was a device that worked excellent ~ like a big dry pan , invented back in 2014 , but never released .

I created that unit .
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_A1TSkVUAlxLXpxY1h2bk10OFE/edit?pli=1

Have kept working on the concept since & will be have the best design this winter .

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Impressive design and build Outback, well done mate

G'day Outback...again well done on your invention. A question I forgot to ask... how does your dry classifier/concentrator handle small pickers, gold fleck and flour gold
thanks

Chellbells said:

What is the possibility of this being a viable prospect as opposed to working the boring old 9 to 5 hum drum. Anyone have any thoughts on the topic?

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If you ran something like a b&b or farmstay on a gold bearing property it could be a good way to supplement your income without going 100% . Well thats something id love to try anyway , getting the wife keen as well is the hard part .
Gaz

MikeB05 said:

G'day Outback...again well done on your invention. A question I forgot to ask... how does your dry classifier/concentrator handle small pickers, gold fleck and flour gold
thanks

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Hi Mike , It finds all sized gold from pickers / flecks & flour gold , when the gold is very tiny I would turn the unit a few more turns per cycle .

The photo below is earlier proto-type being tested near Tibooburra back in winter 2014 , picker & flake gold was found immediately in the first material run through , see that little pile of tailings on the ground also that was the first time a mate had used the thing .

belladonna said:

Chellbells,
lets put this to some simple maths:-

To earn $52000 per year ( 1 K /wk) at todays price of $A1600 per ounce, you would need to find 32.5 ounces (1040 grams)/ year . Thats an average of 0.625 ounces ( 20 grams) per week, every week!

Are you up for that many holes!!

Regards
Ian

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HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lee

Thats just brilliant, i love it.

Outback that is a fantastic, light and portable creation you have there.
Good luck with its further development. Are you intending to market it?

GT

Outback - you planning on going into production with this??

A living out of detecting, if that's what was meant? I have known a number of "Pro,s" over the years, and I use the term loosely so here,s my two bobs worth, for what its worth either way. Only a couple were really good enough doing it honestly to have been worthy of the title. The others were like this. If you are prepared to break all the rules, going into national park no go zones, protected areas, jumping fences, moonlighting on property without permission, using people just to find out where the gold is and putting a hot iron to your conscience whilst dragging in unemployment payments then like them, then yeah you could. Doing it honestly you,d be amongst the rare few.

Lol . My last trip to Tibooburra i had the opportunity to try out one of Outbacks units but declined the offer because i was going to solely concentrate on detecting. Well it turned out my coil died 2 hrs into day one and i was kicking myself for not grabbing it.
Certainly should get em on the market Jack

Gaz

Hello GT & Rotor , Yes I'll be selling these when I can get the latest model to work perfect ( fast & super efficient )
I'm working on a few prototypes at the moment to find the best one , that one in the video cost to much to make so not making them .

This is one of the later more simple models , worked well ' But has already been superseded by a better designs

GaryO said:

Lol . My last trip to Tibooburra i had the opportunity to try out one of Outbacks units but declined the offer because i was going to solely concentrate on detecting. Well it turned out my coil died 2 hrs into day one and i was kicking myself for not grabbing it.
Certainly should get em on the market Jack

Gaz

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Hi Gaz , call in again on your next trip , sorry to hear about the coil .
I've now made better models , all hand operated to be legal everywhere .

Will be calling it the JACK WINDER

Out back would love to see a video of latest model in action, these are just awesome and I can see a person could process a lot of dirt.

cecc said:

Out back would love to see a video of latest model in action, these are just awesome and I can see a person could process a lot of dirt.

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Thanks Cecc , won't be doing a video just yet as I'm working on three different winders to perfect the best performance .

That's just amazing. I thought mechanical equipment cannot be used for fossicking? or is this more for those working private leases and property. I'd love one for my outback adventures otherwise.

Hand operated is ok .. as long as it is also hand fed.

nuggetino said:

That's just amazing. I thought mechanical equipment cannot be used for fossicking? or is this more for those working private leases and property. I'd love one for my outback adventures otherwise.

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cecc got a bloody brilliant result concerning hand operated gear in Qld - https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=17044

Hi Chells,

plenty out here making a living prospecting with only a couple of detectors, a couple of pans and a dolly pot or rock crusher.
They are doing it with no sort of government assistance at all, no pension, no Centre link of any kind, just gold as their only source of income.

To do it you you need -

experience and the more the better,
good computer and research skills,
the ability to work smart,
not afraid of hard work,
be able to live of the smell of an oily rag at times,
be able to manage your finances wisely,
be in a good area to start with,
bush skills,
drive,
perseverance,
stubbornness,
luck in spades,
optimism,
not afraid to fail,
and be a dreamer.

That's just some of the personal qualities you need and I'm sure there's many more.
Equipment wise is the expensive part, not to mention a kitty to tide you over during the lean times and for emergencies.

The flogged areas are you bread and butter fields, they are the places you go to get quick cash to fund you full on prospecting on new ground where you may walk for days or even weeks before hitting a good patch.
Even so, an ounce a week or more is doable and I know many who average much more.

A lease in WA of about 200 Ha will set you back under $1000 for the first year but is cheaper yearly after that. Throw on a couple of old vans and that's cheap rent.

Have a look at the boys that do FNQ, they travel 3 hours on bike past their camp site, deep into unchartered territory....detect for a few hours then drive back again. I take my hat off to anyone that can put themselves thru the obstacles they encounter. While it may be beautiful to watch on video, do what they do for a couple of weeks and then ask yourself if you could do that year in year out. The highs would be super high, but the lows would be just as extreme. Not many people are cut out for it, plenty more think they are. Anyone who has watched that "naked and afraid" episodes where the weekend warriors come in full cocked and then tap out a day or two in........that's probably the analogy for most of us. I would suggest book a few weeks in a remote gold area with minimal rations by yourself and see how you go. If you come out smiling at the other end and wanting stay longer, then you may have what it takes. :lol:

Then what do you do once your body wears out or you're thinking of retiring? Most of those old timers worked until they dropped and many became social misfits in between. I'm glad it's just a hobby for me and kinder. I'm way to soft.