Hi Everyone :)

[Guest]

Hello all,

I was recently informed by Wal nLiz to join up to this forum as it is a great place to get helpful info, so here I am!

My name is Jesse, I live in Whyalla, South Australia and am 21 years old.

Ever since I was a little kid I've always been rummaging through the dirt looking for things and only just recently taken an interest in looking for gold or other interesting minerals.

I am keen on buying a Eureka Gold Metal Detector, based on some reviews it seems to be a good piece of equipment to start with which fits into my price range!
I do have an old detector in my closet but it's a cheapy for kids. Besides, we lost the instructions!

Now I do not have a lot of time for prospecting as I work full time and do part time university studies, but I figure when the semester break is here I can go have a bit of a dig on the weekends!

I do have family in Port Augusta (PA) and travel there a lot so was wondering if anyone knew of any good places to search in the areas around there as well as Whyalla? The Flinders Ranges near PA have some creeks which run during floods, so was wondering if this is a good place to search even if the area isn't known for gold prospecting? Mind you I don't know if it is or not, I've never asked! Any tips on areas I can visit and have a bit of a search would be fantastic.

Oh and one other thing, if anyone thinks there's a better alternative than the Eureka Gold Metal Detector, please suggest one! I've found one for $900 which is hardly used so this would be my price range.

Cheers,
Jesse

 

[Nugget]

Welcome Jesse, I hope you find the people and information around the forum helpful to your new found hobby.

The questions relating to prospecting areas and metal detectors will be better asked in their respective sections as not everyone frequents introductions.

As a starting point, check out a previous post of mine regarding metal detectors under $1000 https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5827#p5827

Cheers,
Nugget

 

[WalnLiz]

Welcome to the forum Jesse, A very good move and the information you find on here will serve you well. Ask as many questions as you like and the members will do their best to help you out. Best of luck and look forward to following your prospecting activities.

Cheers Wal,

 

[mdv]

Eureka Gold Detector is a good way to start ... I have one myself. Be sure to practise using the various settings to see what they ae best for, and invest in a decent set of headphones.

Good luck,

Martin.

 

[Mystyk59]

Welcome to the forum Jesse
Bill

 

[Guest]

I found the above map of gold bearing regions in Oz (yellow) and the known higher nugget bearing regions (red dots) so it looks like I have a chance of finding something! I have asked around and have been told that gold is in the area, but only small amounts in creeks that people know of. But wherever there's gold, there's the chance of something bigger hiding away so I'm keen to get hunting for my first keeper when I get the time.

I've done a bit more research on the Eureka Gold Metal Detector and found some people believe it to be less successful than others in it's price range. Mind you these reviews were 2 - 3 years ago and they were basing it on land which has been searched for 20 years using metal detectors. My area definitely hasn't got nearly that sort of popularity, so would it be safe to say if the land is relatively untouched, I should have some decent chance if there is anything there? Anyway, as you mentioned Nugget, I should probably be asking this question on another thread where more people are likely to see it.

Cheers,
Jesse

 

[Dughug]

Welcome to the forum Jesse.

We get over to Whyalla regularly - our son is an engineer at One Steel. We don't go chasing the yellow stuff in your area but have spent time collecting Jade, soap stone (for carving), smoky quartz & common opal from Cowell. Gypsum from Kimba and agates near Iron Knob. Not to mention the minerals that are abundant in your area but unfortunately with so much land under mining lease it is hard to get a look in unless you have the right contacts.

I hope you can find the time to enjoy our hobby.

 

[the duck]

Welcome jesse great to have you onboard