Why Do Some Find More Gold Than Others

[whitebutler]

I've only been detecting for a little more than a year. I've been prospecting for almost 20. I've detected with some who are very good and have done it almost 40 years. I can only say one thing. And it's the same with any business. 

Location

Location

Location

[Au4Gold2]

I agree..location is the number # 1 reason why some get good gold and others not so much. Finding good grounds is more difficult than buying a detector. A detector preferably a PI...will find you more gold in good grounds with persistence. 

[strick]

On March 18, 2017 at 9:16 AM, Sourdough Scott said:

1. Know your machine. 

2. Know where to look.

3. Spend lot's of hours doing it. 

4. Repeat. 

# 3 is probably the most under stated. Looking for gold is not quantum physics nor is it splitting atoms.  You have to spend the time. You have to have the time. If you don't spend lots of time looking for gold you will not find much it. You can spend lots of time researching on line, reading books, old newspapers  etc....  but boots on the ground and lots of time to do this is what it takes... Especially when patch hunting with a metal detector.  I can only hope and dream for more time soon. 

strick

[Steve Herschbach]

Hours in the field can make up for lots of other metal detecting deficiencies.

[GB_Amateur]

2 hours ago, kiwijw said:

locations are WHERE GOLD HAS BEEN FOUND BEFORE. I will be the first to admit that it is not true prospecting as the old timers were the true prospectors. They were the ones who found these locations & proved there was gold there.

What the 19th & early 20th century prospectors/miners lacked in technology they made up for with motivation.

[goldwright]

Yeah location is one important factor, but you can have the best location with gold 100m from were you park your ute and still not find any.  Hours on the ground swinging the coil and confidence in your ability with your machine and the method you are using trump location in my book as we all know where to look.  You can miss a piece by a coil width and that piece could be the first of a patch of who knows how many ounces.  Covering as much as possible of the gold bearing ground you are in and dig every target is the only way.

[bloodgold2]

I agree with all the above comments play a certain roll why some find more gold than others. But yeah time on the ground is certainly the main factor in my view. We record all our finds and over time can paint a picture of where our next run of shedding gold should be.Sometimes it can take minutes, hours or even days to find that first bit in a new area. Time on the ground and positive frame of mind are high on the list in my view.

[PhaseTech]

A positive mindset can make a massive difference. 

I call it the gold mode switch. You need to clear your head of daily stresses: what's happening at work, the bill you got charged twice for, that lawn mower that keeps breaking down, that oil spill you promised to clean up a month ago....you know what I'm talking about. All of that needs to get dumped for a moment, and then flick the brain to Gold Mode. 

[Roughwater]

On 3/18/2017 at 0:50 AM, Ridge Runner said:

I posted this just to give you more to think about to make you a better nugget hunter.

Hey Chuck hope your doing well? 

As to gold hunting I've been a bench warmer for a while but have my thoughts.  

I guess the ideal is to have best of everything going for you:  The ideal set of detectors and good skill with all of them, access to good locations (location, location), dogged determination strong energy level, time spent researching and a little luck.  There have been folks you have read about go out with a radio shack detector, little experience and with a huge amount of luck find the nugget of a lifetime.  On the other hand one could invest in the best equipment and without the determination or skill and find little or nothing.  In this day and age gold is not likely to come easy and much land has been hit hard. If you put the list of requirements in percentages one could move the numbers around some I'm sure but it might look something like this:

1. Location- 50% - If you ain't where there is gold nothing else matters!

2. Equipment 15% - You need the right tool at the location to detect and get the gold.

3. Equipment skill 10% - If the gold is detectable at all at a good location skill is the difference between success and failure.

4. Research 10% - if research gets you to gold bearing areas then your are half way there.

5. Determination 10% -  even if you manage to fulfill all the other requirements for success don't guarantee it, it still will likely require a lot of determination and persistence.

6. Luck 5% - Luck is the wild card and most of us will not be dealt one on a consistent basis but it comes in handy now and then.    

You can play with the % above and maybe add a few more however you see fit but the more requirements you can put together the better your odds of success.

Other factors can up your chances of success also such as who you know and who helped train you?  Often buying from the right people can offer you professional training and tips on good locations to start your search.   

 Few can really make it pay so I believe for most of us the investment you spend should be considered an adventure and not a profit making one at least not financially.   

Terry 

[bloodgold2]

21 hours ago, kiwijw said:

Hi there GB Amateur, I would say that their motivation was all about making a living & dreams of striking it rich & being their own boss. Great motivation for any one. 

Bloodgold2 (Dave), You & the Goldhounds are true prospectors in every sense of the word. Modern day prospectors using a combination of science, geology, geography with the aid of computers & map over laying, sussing out fault lines that have never been mapped before or even known about & metal detectors to find gold in areas that have possibly never been considered as gold bearing. It is a credit to the three of you. I wish you guys the best of luck in you next endevour. Tell Dale to behave himself on his bloody motor bikes before he kills himself. Hope Tremains hand is on the mend. How is the video coming along?

Time on the ground is how you find gold in unknown areas. There is a lot of ground out there so it helps to know what ground is going to give you the best chances but you still have to swing a coil over the gold.

Good luck out there

JW  

Hi JW, thanks for the kind words mate. We are just one of many crews around that do ok in the field and use what we have learnt to the best of our ability. hahaha yeah there is going to be action a plenty this season with Dale on his new ktm 300.  Mate Tremain gets his hand out of plaster next week so hopefully all good,might have to put him on my quad for abit as he won't have to use a clutch like his motorbike. He said he was going to make a new vid and I gave him one of my computers to do so. How far he has got I have no idea, it has not come up in conversation. Cheers Dave.