A last minute change of plans had me driving to Oallen instead of Mogo S.F. So a panning location instead. I knew the Goldmonster was good at detecting small targets but flour gold might be pushing it. That said I am a newbie in all things prospecting with a lot to learn and a detector yet to find colour. First lesson learned - watch where you're walking - ALWAYS. This is a cold wet September yet while I was scoping out a track to access the river and swigging from a thermos simultaneously -multi-tasker, a "sssshhh" brought my eyes down quick smart. Not six inches from me was a very big, very anxious, red belly black snake desperately trying to avoid getting stepped on. I found myself freewheeling backwards while spilling my tea and spouting "sorry mate, sorry, sorry, my bad". The snake seemed to accept this, heading away but keeping a bead on me at shin level. Red bellies are such good sports. It could have been a Tiger, a Brown, or a mineshaft. No I wasn't detecting just then but the same lesson applies. Don't get complacent.
I did pan for a few hours with limited success. I ran the monster over the banks and bedrock- I dug everything. Lessons learnt. 22 bullets and shotty pellets can get into the tightest of cracks as can very small nails. Also, someone upstream lost a bunch of tiny copper washers. The monster differentiated ferrous from non-ferrous easily with shallow targets but deeper non-ferrous targets showed up initially as ferrous. Finally, I found a wet patch of gravelly sand that had obvious iron leachate throughout it. The monster, even on low sensitivity, gave a solid non-ferrous signal. I panned it just in case it was a pay streak- six specks. Conclusion, heavy mineralisation is nigh impossible for a Goldmonster. I came home unscathed, wiser and ready to up my game Ha ha.
I did pan for a few hours with limited success. I ran the monster over the banks and bedrock- I dug everything. Lessons learnt. 22 bullets and shotty pellets can get into the tightest of cracks as can very small nails. Also, someone upstream lost a bunch of tiny copper washers. The monster differentiated ferrous from non-ferrous easily with shallow targets but deeper non-ferrous targets showed up initially as ferrous. Finally, I found a wet patch of gravelly sand that had obvious iron leachate throughout it. The monster, even on low sensitivity, gave a solid non-ferrous signal. I panned it just in case it was a pay streak- six specks. Conclusion, heavy mineralisation is nigh impossible for a Goldmonster. I came home unscathed, wiser and ready to up my game Ha ha.
