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Gold Nugget Hunting - Dead, Sick, Healthy, Thriving?


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The OZ forums are all full of "the wailing and the gnashing of teeth" about how all the big detectable gold is gone.

I know I sure feel like that sometimes here in Arizona, can't imagine a country the size of Australia with all that open country feels the same way too!

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I agree with everyone's comments but especially the Aussie's feeling that most undisturbed larger deeper nuggets and patches have been pounded and cleaned out. It would seem thirty years of improving detector technology has caught up to the resource. I know of several accomplished nugget shooters who have made very good livings doing it full time for the past 15 years in in Arizona, California and northern Nevada and this is their feeling as well. They say that the SDC and GPZ came along just in time to breath new life into their old patches making for a good year  but the writings still  on the wall. All  the pieces I've  detected in the last 6 months came from moving tailing piles, raking or digging  BEFORE  swinging, resulting in some nice finds but it took lots of work and patience. Wandering across the desert while swinging is what I enjoy most but I'm beginning to accept that to stay productive with my detector, this is what I have to do. Too bad we won't be around in a 100 million years when mother nature has had the time to "re-shuffled the diggs" 

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I am in full agreement Hard Prospector. There was a time when each leap in technology really did make a difference, but all along the resource has been depleting. For various reasons adding a couple more inches just is not going to do it anymore. As you note, the SDC and GPZ are specifically designed to go after gold missed by the previous Minelab models but basically all it is are leftovers.

The constantly increasing gold price also masked depleting returns by making it possible to get as much cash for lower weight returns. But now with less gold and lower prices it is starting to catch up. The guys to get hit first will be those who truly are in it to make a buck. I like to say I do it because I love it but I could also be looking for quartz crystals or other fun to find stuff. Fun is fun but the fact that gold does have value does make a difference. Even those not really finding anything like to think maybe, just maybe one big nugget could really make a serious payday happen. As chances for a monetary return become low to nothing there will be fewer and fewer people sticking with the detecting for gold gig.

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Nah, there is still gold out there, just in more remote spots, we`ve flogged where you can drive to that's all.

Biggest problem as I see it is civilisation spread is stopping our access to those remote spots. In OZ we have a fair number of large properties in gold country being bought up by environmental groups and tourist interests. The tourist interests are promoting to international tourists to come enjoy our great outback, even building 5 star accommodation for them. Local prospectors are not big spending tourists thus not welcome. Prospecting does not sit to well with environmental groups neither.

But it is still out there no worries, from my life time access was unlimited originally now it is not so unfortunately.

 

Anyone got a set of young legs they aren`t using.

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Like Scott, I detect for gold because it is a relaxing sometimes rewarding hobby.  I used to golf just as fanatically as I look for little pieces of gold.  But now being out in the cool mountains with deer, elk, antelope and the occasional snake is much more enjoyable.  If I take my 4500, I may or may not find a nugget, but if I have the Gold Bug 2, I always get a few pieces, mostly tiny, but real gold.  My brother and I are on a mission this year to get some gold every month of 2015 and so far so good.  It doesn't matter how much, just some measurable gold.  September, October, November, December yet to go, but we will find gold then too.

 

A group of us get together for a gold party upon occasion and show off our finds.  And we take our nephews, grandchildren and others out to show them that being away from cell phone for a few hours isn't such a bad thing.  So for us, gold hunting is not dead or sick, just much more difficult.  Cause we know that just six inches deeper, its a whole new world plumb full of nuggets. 

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Do not quit your day job for this hobby! I like a can of baked beans as well as the next guy, as long as them beans are sharing the plate with a juicy Ribeye...lol. One great hobby we have and yes Stamp collecting is easier, until the next hunt.

LuckyLundy

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Hard Prospector partial quote:

"the writings still  on the wall. All  the pieces I've  detected in the last 6 months came from moving tailing piles, raking or digging  BEFORE  swinging, resulting in some nice finds but it took lots of work and patience. Wandering across the desert while swinging is what I enjoy most but I'm beginning to accept that to stay productive with my detector, this is what I have to do."

 

Rob... a no BS observation that applies to my area as well. Oh sure, we can still wander about and occasionally find something worthwhile, but most such surface material is long gone. And despite occasional superlative large silver floats found in the outback, 99% of such floats are comprised of undesirable arsenides, not to mention that it is an iron-clad bitch to dig any of it in the heavy bush.

 

I've been doing exactly what you suggest for many years and doing it successfully. I pick my sites based on firsthand sampling experienced over the years and move a lot of material as per the photo below. In this application, I feel no motivation to acquire even deeperseeking units. What I do make good use of is a strong back, good leather gloves, a sturdy pick and shovel that can get the job done as efficiently as possible. Welcome to the real world of mineral collecting, or in this instance silver collecting. Thanks Rob.

 

Jim.

 

post-320-0-97389700-1440471977_thumb.jpg

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Jim,

 

Can you show some of the results of your trenching?

 

Mitchel

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