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Just new to the forum hi to all. Just thought i would share a nice little photo of my work on Saturday. GPZ 7000

I will not only second that but I want to commend everyone who has participated in this thread. I watched as stuff like this can head off on a wrong tangent easily, with accusations, etc. The goal always on this forum is to educate and this thread has turned into a great example of how to go about doing just that. Thank you everyone!

Jeez Louise. I`ve got an idea just crazy enough to work. Anybody who doesn`t want the new coil shouldn`t buy it. I only started this thread because I thought SOME members of this forum might be interested to know the new coil will be availble soon. Anybody who doesn`t want it shouldn`t buy the damn thing. And I still want one

Barry, Thanks for your clarification. It is humbling to know that my 'common knowledge' and research is inadequate and incomplete in this matter. I'll have to look at more than Land Management and claims when I research open ground. Mitchel

Sadly, I'm not finding anything golden while the shearing is on, Mitchel, but wool prices are booming ATM, so it's worth doing. Can't wait to get a detector in my hands and walk Victorian ground once more. Steady on Paul! I'm doing my best trying to find something interesting to post with Reg away - Ok, here's something - "Also near Stirling Rush, Also 13 ozs (not to be confused with the other 13 oz Wedderburn bit posted earlier) just north of Horries specimen patch, Wedderburn" John Hider Smith was the publican of the Wychitella Pub in the 80's. This is a small town north of Wedderburn, at the northern limit of the rich western Victorian gold province. Horrie was a prospector who used to get annoyingly drunk and disorderly. One night, to teach him a lesson, somebody snatched his hat (permanently welded on his head because he didn't want people to know he was going bald, but everybody knew anyway) For a while it was tossed about the bar with Horrie becoming increasingly agitated, until eventually it ended up with John, who promptly stuffed it into a box of takeaway beer handed to a stranger. Horrie never returned, much to the relief of many. During the nineties, Ian Jacques was publican of the Logan pub south of Wedderburn, and it became the location for the annual "prospectors breakup" Much big gold displayed and many a brain cell gone AWOL, but some fantastic nights. Some familiar vehicles outside: The beer was excellent: And gold to be found not too far from the pub:

This is disturbing to me Mitchel. I made that map and all it shows is who the land manager is and which sections have claims. The simple fact that the BLM is the land manager does not mean the land is open to prospecting or claim. I took the next step for you. I downloaded the Master Title Plat (MTP) for that Township with a click on the Land Status map. The MTP clearly shows that most of the the odd numbered Sections have restricted minerals - as in not yours. So no you can't just look at a simple map and say to yourself "hmmm no claims and it's BLM managed so I'm good to go". The reason this is disturbing to me is myself and others have spent a lot of personal time and money providing free tools and tutorials so the average prospector/researcher can know how to do their legally required Due Diligence before they put boots on the ground. The tools and information are now freely available. Abdicating your personal responsibility to know the land status before you prospect because I provided a map of claimed areas was not the intent of my work. Please don't use Land Matters as an excuse for criminal behavior. Ignorance is never a defense against a prosecution for mineral trespass or mineral theft. The talk here has been of "Claim Jumping". Claim Jumping is the act of trying to steal a mining claim with paperwork and lawyers. Taking minerals from a claim you don't have permission to prospect is highgrading - not Claim Jumping. Higrading in all cases involves the theft of minerals owned by someone else. Apples and Oranges. I get correspondence from a lot of claim owners complaining of higraders. This is not new to mining. Several studies of commercial placer mines have shown that higrading is the biggest threat to a profitable operation. Anyone that has worked for the larger mining companies know they spend a lot of time, money and hours ensuring their minerals are not stolen. Higrading is on every mining companies radar. I often hear excuses like "If the claim isn't marked it's OK to prospect" and the even more common "It's the claim owners responsibility to maintain signs". Neither is true, a few States require corners be checked on an annual basis but in point of fact most states have no legal requirement that claims must maintain markers. In several states corner markers are not required at all for some claims and monuments only have to be present at the time of location. Although as a practical matter the claim owner should do everything possible to put others on notice of the claim it is not the legal responsibility of the claim owner to use signs or markers to keep prospectors off their claim. Prospectors, unlike the general public, have a positive legal duty to know the mineral status of the land before entering to prospect. The claim owner put other prospectors on legal notice when they recorded their "Notice of Mining Claim Location" into the public record. That public record suffices as proper notice under the law even if there are no stakes at the mining claim location. The public record is open for inspection to all people. Potential prospectors need to examine the public record before entering the land to prospect. Land Matters provides links to all the County Recorders right on the Mining Claim maps to assist you in accomplishing that requirement. Where Land Matters could do better is in providing the subsurface mineral status of the lands. As you've seen above not all BLM managed land is open to prospecting or location. It's not just a matter of mineral withdrawals but more subtle issues like those odd numbered sections in parts of Rye Patch that were reconvened and were never open to location. There was no withdrawal there because there were no mineral rights to withdraw. Often those minerals have already been sold or leased. If you are found extracting minerals from these restricted lands the BLM will bring charges of criminal mineral theft. It happens quite often and is frequently prosecuted for something as simple as taking a pickup load of gravel or sand. Then there is the big mass of "dark matter" that is the subsurface estate still owned by the United States. There are nearly 7 million acres of mineral lands, often available for prospecting and location, underneath private lands in the west. Mining companies know this and have legally mined private lands for years. It requires a huge amount of research to determine just where these hidden mineral lands are found. The BLM is tasked with maintaining the records of this huge subsurface estate but between the BLM and mining companies the attitude seems to be "out of sight - out of mind". With very few exceptions these records are available but virtually unobtainable by the average researcher. Land Matters has plans to map these subsurface mineral rights but it's a huge project with little public interest beyond the landsmen and oil and gas industries. We need to see some real public interest before we will commit the resources needed to complete such a big project. Now to the tough part. Most of these complaints I receive of higraders are about metal detecting. Rarely do I hear of processing equipment being used. At least 9 out of 10 reports of higrading I receive are about metal detectorists taking the best and biggest gold. Several of you on this forum have been named by claim owners. I'm not the enforcement guy and I will not be calling you out in public but I do know. For small miners trying to protect their owned minerals from higrading the pointy finger is mostly about metal detectorists. I do know that few of you set out with the intent to detect someone's minerals. In most cases these violations are due to ignorance, intentional or otherwise. Assuming that signs are required or that unclaimed BLM managed land must be available for prospecting are just two examples. I have heard from many prospectors that the big mining companies (or someone who appears to be working for a mining company) allow prospectors to work their claims. I've never found a prospector who had a name, phone number or signed release but this seems to be one of those things "everyone knows". I can tell you that no mining company that has public shares could ever legally allow you to prospect their claims without a work contract. The simple fact that you haven't been caught or run off does not amount to permission. Please learn to do your own due diligence. Please respect mineral owners rights, those minerals are their private property under the law. With a little luck and hard work you could own a good deposit yourself. Barry

Haven't had the time but I found gold up in the Sierras with my GMT on a business trip. It was me, an SDC, and a GM1k. GMT kept up with both of em. Still have the mystery slugs on my desk. When work slows down I will take them to coin shop. Until then they will remain shiny lumps of some kind of alloy to me. At last I can say YES - I can find gold with a metal detector... Took long enough!

I also applaud the forthright and educational tone of the thread. I am sure most people looking on learned something. Thanks to everyone who participated.

It wasn't personal Mitchel. You know I'm always looking for a good opportunity to educate and you just happened to be the one to bring the right materials for me to work with. From our conversations and meetings I know you are always concerned with the status of the land you prospect. Thanks for letting me play a little on your dime. Barry

Hello all. New member here to DetectorProspector. I enjoy Metal detecting for coins and jewelry as well as getting up in the mountains prospecting and sluicing. I hope to get out alot more, and be able to contribute to this community in a few of the great forums on this site.. Thanks and happy hunting to all. G

For those that don't know, we have a permit system here in Western Australia that lets fossickers access your large exploration tenements to metal detect for gold. Honestly I have never really liked the system because it basically lets the department sub let my lease, and no one ever fills out the form where they are obligated to tell you where the finds were ( Its very hard to find nugget patches if all the surface gold is gone). I have had over 50 people camped on that lease this year and not a single one has returned the form to notify of finds despite dig holes everywhere. Except 1 , I received a form back today from a couple of yanks , I think they were from Nevada. Reported all there finds with weights and coordinates, with a thank you note. Now that's how it should be done! I think the other 48 Aussies who were there could definitely learn a few things from the only 2 honest blokes out there. If they are members here or anyone knows a couple of Nevadans that were over here let them know they are more then welcome to come back with free access to all my tenements.

Everything is just speculation at this point. If it is Nugget Finder building the coils then Minelab may approve of it. If not and warranties are made void that would certainly hurt sales. I do not think you have to mess with the waterproof integrity of the main control box to do a coil swap. It is also not trivial so this will be an open question until real information is available. I would prefer feuds fostered on other forums be left on those forums. They have no place here.

CoBill, I believe, I talked to you and your GrandSon out in Rye Patch a month or more back. If I remember right you didn’t have much luck. Your claim is on a main road with one of your claim markers. That would be a great place for you to place a map of your claim for Folks that are new to our hobby. Kind of like rest stop maps, your Here! My claim boundaries are within the Highlighted area. Remember only One Percent of Folks out there can understand claim paperwork. Just like only One Percent of Folks consistently find nuggets. Again, your claim was hunted for the last 25 years by the best in our hobby. I’m sure there are a few more left for you and your GrandSon to share the hunt in finding! But, the Hey Day’s of Rye Patch are long gone. Yet again, remains easy access for new folks to our hobby to have a chance of digging up a nugget! I’m more than happy for you and Rail Dawg in claim ownership. Instead of threatening verbiage try educating the young enthusiast in our hobby! Hope to see you in the goldfields with a big smile on your face and a sweet nugget to go along with it. LuckyLundy

Sherry, Of COURSE you can ask! No secrets here! If I had to guess, I'd say 12-15 hours probably. I was digging ANY tones above low foil; there just weren't a whole lot of targets -- barren, as you said, was how I'd describe it. I was surprised at times how long I could go without getting a signal. Again, though, my inexperience as to "which parts" of the beach to hunt means I am sure I spent a lot of time on unproductive areas where a more experienced hunter would have immediately ruled out. Sand bars, for instance. I tried the offshore sand bars, thinking maybe I'd get a recent drop from someone out there playing in the water when the tide was higher. But those sand bars produced almost nothing, and in hindsight that was probably wasted time. Most of my finds were either along the towel/chair line, or on the sloping wet sand. Nate (which came onshore 12 hours prior to our arrival) had things stirred up, too. Lots of sand -- sanded in, I was told. So lots of things going on, such that I'm not sure my experience there would be real applicable for an experienced hunter like you, in terms of trying to decide if it would be "worth your time" to try a hunt there. Wow, that is strange, how on some of your beaches you find very little, but if you do, it's often gold or silver...but then on another beach you find lots of jewelry, but almost always junk. Beaches, I can already tell in that short amount of time, are strange animals. Head-scratching, for a beach newb like myself! Steve

Rail Dawg, I met you and your Brother at the Pizza Joint at Rye Patch, a week or so back. You swing AT Pro detectors. 99.9% of Rye Patch detectable Gold is long gone for that metal detector! You seem to be blaming all the Claim Jumpers for taking your Claims Riches. Thousands of people enjoy Rye Patch for the relative easy access to hunt for a nugget. Being a Past and Current Claim owner, it’s a job with all the paperwork, checking your corner markers, etc. Most folks, don’t understand Sections of land like Section 8 or 18. Nor, do they understand claims! Here is what I’ve done in the past with folks wondering onto my claims. I tend to put up more signs than just corner signs, I know you only have to have your corners marked. But, most folks don’t know that, especially, when your other corner marker is over a hill or out of sight. I’d also, have with my paperwork, a map of the Claim at each corner. Again, most folks don’t understand coordinates, SE Corner of Sec 8, etc they are just out in the woods or desert to spend a day with Family or Friends. Your claims in the past 25 years have been detected by some of the best in our hobby. I’m sure there is a few left for you and your Brother to find and to enjoy our hobby with others! Here’s to your success LuckyLundy

Hello all, New here to DetectorProspector and thought I 'd introduce myself. I do enjoy hitting the beach from time to time and hope to be able to learn here as well as contribute a little too. Got my trusty X705 and try and hit the beach once a week or so. Cheers all G

That is the only reason I went with the Gold Bug Pro myself over the X-Terra 705. I really like target id information while in all metal. The 705 on the other hand has a decent iron mask function while in all metal. Very good but I lean towards the visual target id myself. Can't say that the phase info was ever any use to me however. I would prefer Fisher use that big number for the target id and put the phase number on the little "speedometer" instead. Bottom line for just looking for gold nuggets the First Texas 19 kHz models and the X-Terra 705 are a toss up. It is all the other features that a new detectorist should consider when trying to decide which way to go. My Steve's Picks are intended to give novices direction and as a rule all other things being equal I tend to recommend the most features for the least money. But with machines like the 705 and F19 / G2+ all going for under $500 now it is real hard to go wrong. It used to be the real bang for the buck was around $700 but everything just shifted down by a couple hundred bucks.

One thing the Gold Bug Pro (and the G2+, now also $499) still has over the 705, is the ability to run in all metal mode and simultaneously still give disc readings and ground phase. So more information at a glance while in all-metal mode. That alone would make me pick the G2+ over the 705. Even with the 705 at $499, I have no regrets putting an Equinox 800 on pre-order. ... but now wonder if it will have the ability to run in all-metal while simultaneously displaying target ID and ground phase like the GBP/G2.

Be happy location first drops you onto southside Cocoa Beach.. Minutemen Cswy / Coconuts is where the local $$s and Orlando "society" tend to congregate.. From 520 north to The Pier and on into Cape Canaveral are the "working man" beach locations, and even fake bling is nearly extinct up this way these days.. It isn't just the beaches either.. There was a thread running earlier this year discussing the possible / probable causes responsible for now-time dearth of gold bling and rings ---> http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/3413-i-am-having-to-do-a-complete-reset/ We never have picked back up on it, and I'm sure we all know the majority of the reasons as to why not.. I did hit the end of 520 yesterday (Sun) afternoon BTW for low tide (low tide?, what low tide??) in total disregard to web cam advisement and common sense.. Waste of time and guzzeline.. Still all slope, roil and rip.. Mebbie after this front moves through late tomorrow things will finally flatten out.. Swamp

Ahhh...That helps a wee bit.... Itseemsd like that bunch of ruffians from the Ballarat area are picking up a few nice pieces daily.. Must not be too hot over there...

It takes a real man and a true prospector to say this on an open forum of peers. You've got my respect Mitchel. Trust me I learn something new every day about mining for gold.

Thanks Clay ,I just renewed my membership

Cobill, Love your History lesson! I’m not here to get either of you claim owners upset! All claim owners have the same problems w/Unauthorized minerals withdraws. Like Clay’s above information everyone should know the basics to know where they are in searching for a nugget! The underlining problem is only One Percent do. Next time your out in the Goldfields, stop and ask someone where section 8 or 18 is located. Like, Clay mentioned above not knowing where your at isn’t much of and excuse...but, it’s a fact. Until all Prospectors are educated on researching open/claimed mineral land status this is a never ending story we face with our claims. Now, I’ve had adjacent claim owner problems as well...they all ready know your sweet dredge or Detecting spots. LuckyLundy

We have been finding a lot of trash in Rye Patch so the area isn't as picked over as it might seem. Square nails, screws, bottle caps from a long time ago. Some of this trash a few inches deep so it's obvious that the ground wasn't hit by metal detectors. And we did find gold on Sunday. We do need to upgrade from the ATX Pro and are going to be buying 2 of the Minelab GTZ 7000's. My original post was only to call out that we saw prospectors hi-grading in Section 19 and we are well-versed on who owns those minerals. I didn't realize as a new member to the forum that maybe those prospectors were here! We have many claims that we work out there and have worked very hard to gain the knowledge necessary to locate and maintain those claims. No they weren't bought off eBay we did it the hard way lol. To Rudy and Lucky Lundy you guys were great to talk with at the Gold Digger Inn. We go out to Rye Patch almost monthly so maybe when we see you again you can give us some pointers on operating the 7000's. We're not going to spill any secrets but there is definitely gold still at Rye Patch in certain areas. Again Clay Diggins is the MASTER of claims and all things land-related. His words are worth their weight in gold. No harm no foul we move forward from here as fellow miners.

Clay. Thank you. It’s what we live by as miners. You have taught me plenty over the years.

Paul is the only guy I know who gets paid to watch this thread! Oh, wait a minute ... we all should be making something while reading online. Only a few people like Reg and JR (maybe JW and Norvic) find enough gold to take a break to read this.

The deer and the antelope still play in Rye Patch. I've been there many times during the winter months and seen them. BLM is concerned with more than just minerals when they manage the land. I think in this particular area they've cut a deal with the mineral owners (big mining companies) to manage the land with all the other sections for the benefit of the wildlife. If you look outside of this area you will see the checkerboard of private and public lands is still in effect. You will have to look that up on My Land Matters. (Give them a few bucks for taking difficult BLM files and making it easy for us to understand. I do.) A few nuggets on the surface (less than 2 feet) is of little concern to a mining company. Mining companies want deposits, not nuggets.

Looks like the new White's MX7 model has the 950 concentric as the stock coil based on Chuck’s photo above. Here is the old MX5.... White's MX5 metal detector and the TreasurePro.... White's TreasurePro metal detector and the MX7... White's MX7 metal detector

Steve, if you don't mind me asking, how many hours did it take you to acquire that magnificent hoard? That would be about 10-12 hours worth on our barren beaches. My results may be skewed since I don't usually dig low-high tones unless signals of any kind are REALLY scarce. About the best thing you're gonna get on our beaches with a low-high is a quarter, and I have yet to see one worth digging out a foot of sand for. Our beaches around Indiatlantic are weird. Jewelry of any kind is rare. I'm doing really well if I find one piece in a 4 hour hunt, BUT out of the jewelry I do find, about half is either gold or silver (mostly silver). At Cocoa, about 12 miles north of here, I can collect a pouch full of fake crappy bling in about 2 hours. But out of about 10 trips up there this year I've managed only one thing that was the real deal. Strange. Happy Hunting! Sherry

Well here I am at work waiting for more sustenance..... More pictures or more stories....lol I can't get over the picture on green grass!!!!

I would not take a camera that does not belong to me. It might belong to a hunter or is there for some other reason, maybe monitoring cattle by those who graze there.

We're with you Bill! We also have claims in the NE of Section 18 (also Section 8). Absolutely no tolerance for claim-jumpers. Just glad the sheriff is willing to write citations.

Hey Rail Dawg, If you see any claim jumpers on my two 20-acre claims in NE Sec 18 run them off! Those claims were expensive. I was out there in May and a neighboring claim owner stopped by and we talked...he had to run some guys off my claims. They dug holes without back filling them, left a pick and Kellyco bag....my buddy has them now. Bill Moore Laporte, CO.

Pershing County (Rye Patch) Sheriff will write citations based on video evidence. At Rye Patch we only called the claim-jumpers and told them next time we'll press charges. It's not that hard to do it right and get your own claim.

" but we aren't the police and didn't want conflict." ......................... good judgment "Perhaps these prospectors had the required permission " ..................... maybe they did? My advice is that unless you know a crime is being committed, don't do anything. Now, you could contact the owners and say, "I see you are giving permission to detect on your claim/property. Could I get permission too" By asking, you may be the only one that ends up getting permission.

From the Minelab Facebook page

That's quite all right KJW. If Reg wasn't OS I'm sure he'd tell us which motor, etc he has fitted. All I can say is that it goes like the clappers when he puts his foot down, and you can hear it coming from a long way off! This album has partly been copied from a web archive fragment I found on the "Wayback Machine" but much has had to be re-written. I do this by uploading images (from a memory stick containing the entire album, obtained from Jannine) to a webhost service and then send them in small batches to Reg in a personal message. Upon receipt of these he sequentially labels them and returns them to me, whereupon I post them here. A bit cumbersome but it works. With Reg away, I'll post more recent stuff I'm very familiar with. This one is a reminder to all that big gold is still waiting to be found. Take heart Mitchel and KJW: 27 oz from 2015 south of Ballarat. Reggie can still find the biggies and is determined to break the 100 oz barrier. I'm certainly not betting against that possibility!

Good to hear my country men are so well behaved.

Well this thread has successfully caused me to have to go out and purchase a personal AED machine.... thanks

Hey Mop! I only meant the biggies are gone from the areas worked by the prototype SD's. Make no mistake, the damn things are still hiding elsewhere!!!

There are many things for me to be thankful about right now. Mainly I am thankful that all my family and friends are in decent health. If you ever lose that you find out nothing else really mattered. Going into my second winter in Reno I sure am glad I am not still in Alaska. Highs in the 20s and lows in the teens in Anchorage at the moment. If I were there I would have put my detectors away a month ago and would have five more months to wait to use them again. Instead, today I drove over to California to test out some detectors around an old mining camp. Did not find anything of note but learned a lot. Mainly I learned I am liking 60 degrees in late November! Of course it can't last but no matter what it will seem like it is over before it even starts by my standards. And Arizona is just a days drive away if I wish, though I am finding I do need at least a little down time every year. Life is good here, and I hope it is for each and every one of you also. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi JP, The Arizona boys hunt that way, up before the crack of dawn and big siesta mid-day, then hunt again at end of day. It rarely gets hot enough around here to make me do that but then again I sat out middle of last two summers going to Alaska. Next year I stay closer to home. Well, storms coming and wife just told me to go look for gold so I guess I will wander over to California again today. May be last chance for a bit, they are calling for snow tonight in the passes. Anyway JP, enjoy your time at home with the family!