Advice please!

[AC]

Hello all,

My first post here and I am seeking some advice.

I'm fairly new to detecting and have mostly played around on the beach and an old military area with limited results, but had fun anyway.

I'm off to a property near Forbes/Grenfell NSW where I have had a bit of a look with the detector previously (old rabbit trap anyone?). The general area has some old mines (a few miles away), so I think it is worth more of a look. My problem is I don't know where is the most likely spot on the property. It backs on to a fairly steep mountain, but is generally flat. Would I be best in the few 'wash aways', Creek beds, the side of the mountain, areas where there is quartz on the surface, the ploughed paddocks or none of the above?

I'm using an X-Terra 705 and I'll put on the 18.75kHz Double D coil.

I would be pleased with just general advice, so thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Alan.

 

[Diggerdude]

G'day Alan, that's the great thing about gold mate, look in all of the above mentioned spots it could be anywhere. Try test panning the creeks first to see if there is any color in there, then try having a swing. That's why you will often here the phrase 'gold is where you find it'. Good luck and welcome aboard.

DD

 

[echidnadigger]

I agree with diggerdude but there is one part of your post AC, that makes me think. The old timers may have been chasing what is called an old deep lead. This could be a deep ancient river bed that did run through the area millions of years ago. If there is high mountains near by then the water courses could have changed direction many times while the area was shifting and eroding. If these guys were digging very deep to find this lead then the gold is possibly only found down very deep. In other words, the gold will be well out of detecting range. The mullock heaps would be the only detectable dirt if this is the case. To do a bit of detective work I would look for indicators like, Round river stones in there old throw outs and things like the depth of there workings as well as the type of ground that they were digging through. Have a look at the shaft walls and look for evidence of quartz veins close to the top. If the surrounding ground is deep soil with very little evidence of hard rock, then the gold may be out of reach. Keep in mind that gold being heavy, it will work its way into deep ground out of sight of a detector. When detecting new ground it pays to keep a picture in your mind of what the ground is doing. Shallow bedrock will keep any gold from sinking out of range. However the gold will be moving along the bedrock toward lower water courses, all the time being eroded and getting smaller and smaller. So panning the gravel in these water courses will show gold that a detector will not pick up.

 

[KeeponDiggin]

DD is spot on mate,
I now take a good look around me and really suss
Out a new areas by the landscape.
I tend to roam a lot through likely spots but if i were to
Offer advice id suggest you work right on the point of the hill
at the bottom where it flattens out off the slope. Gold is lazy mate so sweep
across the face and work either flat to slope or vice versa.
Go slow and keep ya coil on the soil.
KOD

 

[AC]

Thanks all,

I'm very grateful for your quick and insightful responses. It is really impressive that all this knowledge (and positive outlook) is available in this forum - it would be great if we could bottle it....

I'm really pleased that I can target some of the areas and will not feel like I am wandering about aimlessly.

Diggerdude - I gave my brother in law (the property owner) a gold pan a few months ago, so I might borrow it back for a while.

Echidnadigger - Some of the workings around the place are called "Deep Leads" & I didn't know what that meant until now, and I can discount the deep soils.

KeeponDiggin - I will give that a go. Some of the easiest country (not wooded) fits your description.

Champions all!

If I find anything, I'll let you know (you will probably hear me anyway!)

Again, many thanks & I hope to be an ongoing contributor to this forum.

Alan.

 

[KeeponDiggin]

Regardless of finding anything mate, the key is to Enjoy the time put there.
Id also suggest hiring or borrowing a gpx type machine and go over ground that
You cover with the 705. You may be suprised
I scan the deck with an SD2100. Old but Awesome
Also dig every target, but listen to the sounds that ya machine is making for certain targets.
Gold and lead are almost if not the same sound
Listen not for the Big noise but the noise you barely notice
Good luck Sir

 

[AC]

Back again after a quick trip.

Nothing to report apart from some rifle cartridges, one small piece of lead shot and more experience. I figure if I can find a small bit of shot, I can find gold if it is there

Anyway, it's a large property and I have a lot more to cover on the next trip. If nothing else, I enjoyed the time wandering in the bush.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[echidnadigger]

Thank you for the feedback. There is nothing better than giving a few tips and knowing someone has gone out there a little more knowledgeable and a little more comfortable with there hobby.

 

[xobazzip]

I spent some time in the Warrambungles and discovered river washed pebbles half way up a mountain side indicating and old river bed.
After going back for the binoculars I was able to spot the same situation on a number of surrounding hills so the whole area must have been an alluvial plain at some time and had since been eroded leaving hills etc now with valleys in between
A bit more research with geological maps showed that I was on the right track.
Just remember that this is an OLD COUNTRY and what you see today could or would have been shaped over millions of years so many deposits of alluvial gold may be deep below the surface but exposed on the sides of hills now