Gold prospecting using a metal detector

[Ben Framed]

It's amazing how little gold was left behind in the old days by the old timers, even though they did not have the modern metal detecting equipment and devices of today. 

[Ben Framed]

Quoting reply #4

That sounds fun Les! I am posting a short clip for your entertainment. I hope you find something similar as the nugget that Buggs found!


https://youtu.be/lXZk_wSzUKc

[Ben Framed]

Ok, officially jealous.  I went panning while in CA and spent so much time in the river my feet were numb.  I found ONE flake.   

Granted, I took the easy route to the river and that area was probably well panned out.  People had dug up the dry bank so I went out into the river for the big rocks hoping others had not been so bold (stupid).

ONE FLAKE after the winter they had.

Well at least you gave it a try kathy.

[Lesgold]

Don?t give up Kathy. Gold will eventually turn up if you put in the time. At least you got one flake. I still remember the first piece that I found in a pan. From that point on I was hooked. We are now finding that the gold is harder to find and the pieces are getting smaller. The best part about the hobby is the bush itself. A good walk, some great company and the very odd small piece of gold makes for a removable day out.

[Kathyp]

Don?t give up Kathy. Gold will eventually turn up if you put in the time.

I won't.  I grew up in gold country but never appreciated it.  Now I have two properties that are in areas with potential so it's a fun thing to do.  You are correct that the adventure is as worthwhile as the finding!  Although...I need to find my husbands phone and see what pictures he took of me scrounging around in the river 

[Michael Bush]

I had not appreciated what the gold rush in California (and many others) were actually like until I bought my current house and in the process of researching it's history found the diary of the builder/owner in the Library of Congress.  I didn't realize that there was gold everywhere around where they were prospecting and it was more a matter of effort than luck.  They could stake a claim and make between $100 and $200 a day on most any claim until it petered out.  You just had to dig the ditches to get the water there to sluice it and then dig and process the dirt.  The guy who built my house was from Vermont and he and his friends sailed down to the isthmus of Panama and walked across and took a boat up to San Francisco.  They were a bunch of good farm kids and he was 21 and I assume his friends were also in that ballpark.  They worked hard and saved their money for six years as well as investing in some of the ditch companies and then went home (there was a train across Panama by then).  Not much of a life during that time, but they had a good stake and he and his best friend moved to Nebraska and bought land, panted orchards, opened a bank etc.

[Ben Framed]

That is interesting...

[Lesgold]

I like that story Michael. Both our countries  have a strong gold mining background and the hardship that many people went through trying to make their fortunes is hard to comprehend. My father recently told me about his grandfather who prospected for gold in the late 1800?s. To my amazement, he was working in some of the same areas that I?m currently visiting. It?s a funny feeling knowing that there is some family history in the area.

[Michael Bush]

I imagine the forty niners could have picked better claims if they had a metal detector...

[Lesgold]

Needed a break from beekeeping stuff so I grabbed the detector and went out for a play. Picked up a few small bits and then later in the morning, I got a signal on one end of a large rock. It would have been about 2 feet in diameter and was too heavy to lift. The rock was a conglomerate containing small pebbles cemented together with a fine silty material. It was extremely hard and took about 5 minutes to break off a piece that contained the signal. Eventually the gold was exposed. You may be able to see it on the end of the  small piece of rock that I?m holding. As you can see, I have the hands of a prospector. A mate and I have often found gold in conglomerate in this particular location. There were quite a few large rocks in that area that I checked but no other pieces turned up. I gave up turning rocks over when a small brown snake was uncovered. That was the signal to go home as the day was starting to warm up and the ?wriggle sticks? would be coming out to sun themselves.

[Kathyp]

It's a fun hobby.  I can't imagine leaving everything behind on the promise of finding enough to make a living though.   

[The15thMember]

I'm laughing so hard about "wriggle sticks"!    I'm going to call snakes only that from now on!

[Lesgold]

I agree Kathy, it would have been hard times for most. A mate and I often talk about what it would have been like for prospectors 150 years ago. We also laugh about being back in those times with metal detectors. We would have made a fortune.

Most wriggle sticks are OK as they follow the description and move out of the way. The one snake that I?m a little concerned about is the death adder that tends to sit still and strikes if you step on them. They blend into their environment really well and can be difficult to spot. During spring and summer I wear snake gaters over long pants to provide some extra protection.

[Kathyp]

snake gaters over long pants to provide some extra protection.

A lot of the riders around her wear shorter riding boots.  I always wore the tall boots.  I am from rattlesnake country and tall leather boots were always the way to go. 

[Michael Bush]

We really don't have deadly snakes here.  Most people bit by rattlers, or copperheads or cottonmouths live through it.  Rattlers give the best warning.  I always wear thick boots.  All the time, everywhere.  It's not that I'm afraid of rattlers, but how do you get anything done otherwise?  You can kick something pretty hard with good boots on.  Otherwise you have to go find a tool for whatever the job is... Boots have also saved me from dog bites that would have penetrated.  My calf was still bruised pretty badly, but no holes in my me and no missing pieces...

[Lesgold]

Unfortunately Australia has a reputation for having a bunch of snakes that can do a bit of damage if they bite you. The eastern brown, death adder and tiger snakes are all common in my area and it would not be a good finish to the day if they got hold of you.

[Terri Yaki]

Unfortunately Australia has a reputation for having a bunch of snakes that can do a bit of damage if they bite you. The eastern brown, death adder and tiger snakes are all common in my area and it would not be a good finish to the day if they got hold of you.

There are several things that I don't have to deal with where I live and venomous snakes are much one of them. We do have copperheads and I think there's a rattler or two upstate in the woods but I can pretty much go anywhere around here without worrying about them. Never having to deal with them, just the thought of them scares me. Besides, I just don't like getting close to snakes.

[Lesgold]

A nice cool day today so it was a good time to try a spot that is normally over run with snakes, ticks and leaches. With the weather being particularly dry, it was a good chance to see if some yellow could be added to the rattle jar without the problem beasts that tend to bite.. The initial intention was to walk a long way through dense scrub, over a steep hill and then follow a stream bed for about 1km before detecting. The plan was spoilt when I turned on the detector at the car. The battery was only partially charged so I thought it was best to stay close to the ute and detect some terrain that had been worked regularly by quite a few people recently. A lot of grass and weeds had died due to the dry, hot weather and this uncovered more ground that the coil could swing over. Quite a few lead shot were detected and uncovered which got me excited as it meant that other people hadn?t worked this area well. It was great to be able to bring home a nice little haul of gold. Not large but a lot of fun to find.

[Lesgold]

A mate and I went back to the spot that I detected some gold just over a week ago. We found 10 pieces each and had a great day out in the bush. It was nice to find a piece with a bit of size to it. These days, most of the treasure is very small but that doesn?t diminish the fun.

[Ben Framed]

As Buggs Bunny might say "There's Gold in tem-ter hills!"  Good for y'all Les. Nice piece! Did y'all see any of those poison snakes?

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