Rob Allison

Hey Steve, I agree with you. The GPX 5000 is still a great unit and for the price you can get it at now, $4000 MAP, Minelab don't even have any in stock and the demand for them is now higher than it was when they first came out. This kind of reminds me of the GPX 4500, it was around $3999 MAP, then dropped to $2699 and I couldn't keep them in stock and if they were still available, they would sell like hotcakes even today at that price. Figuring now, the price structure is $4000, $6000 and $8000 (GPX 5000, 6000 & GPZ 7000). I also agree, to compare a Equinox to a GPX for hunting gold on moderate to high mineralization is just someone speaking with very little experience in my opinion. I love my Equinox 800 also, but to hunt the majority of the goldfields with it over a GPX is just a good laugh. To conclude my final thoughts on the GPX 5000, it could be considered the most difficult PI to figure out, or give someone the most anxiety trying to figure it out, reason for many DVD's on it, DOC's timing stickers and Quick Start Guides. However, once you can get a decent handle on it, it's like an equalizer where you can find tune adjust the timing and settings to various ground conditions. Wishing you all the best, Rob

Hey Guys/Gals, I agree, when you're searching for gold nuggets or even pockets of gold, you need to understand the origin of gold, how it's formed and the deposits it makes. Many gold districts throughout the US, some of the richest ones never probably produced a piece of gold bigger than a grain of salt. However, targeting free milling, pocket type lodes is where most electronic prospectors will have the most success. It's a needle in a haystack either way, but I would rather spend my time researching and looking in places where massive eluvial pockets have been found or historically large gold nuggets. See if you can find similar geology of these known gold areas further away and prospect and explore them for potentially over looked lodes, pockets and gold nuggets. The only true gold vein that I can say I located, with a friend was in a well known copper and silver area. There was no mention of any placers or dominate gold mines in the area, but a "foil gold" vein was located. If you could introduce some of this basic information in gold training, which myself and other do, it can be very helpful. Jim Straight, long time person friend and mentor was noted for his amazing knowledge in this area, especially in the California goldfields. Just my thoughts, Rob

Kicking butt Purplehays69! Keep up the great success. Rob

Hey Steve, That is surprising to say the least. I think there are handfuls of great trainers out there. You know, I think Minelab could get handfuls of very experienced dealers (dealers that actually use the product) along with some great field prospectors and assemble an amazing team of trainers across the Globe. However, when you toss in dealers that are trying to get the sale vs. really trying to train, this is the problem in my honest opinion. This is where I think maybe training should not be held by dealers if Minelab is hosting it. They probably have the right idea or concept by doing it with independent prospectors that are experienced and well rounded. I have no clue who these trainers are, as all the experience prospectors I know are not involved to my knowledge Rob

Hey Guys, Well I'm one of those AZ dealers, but I'm not sure if I sold it to him or someone else. That being said, regardless who sold it, there is no "perfect" metal detector that will find all the small gold, small specimens, have great discrimination and such. I'm still searching for that perfect detector, reason I have like 3-4 that I use. It's easy to rant and rave, but I would recommend the customer to contact the dealer and discuss it, or at least give them the opportunity in all fairness. The GPX 5000 is an awesome detector, I found pounds and pounds of gold with it. I hated to part with it actually, but when the GPZ 7000 came out, I just had to try it. Many of my best nuggethunting partners/friends are still using the GPX 5000 here in the Southwest with amazing success. I'm real surprised that Gerry didn't show you what the GPX 5000 could do over others detectors, with is plenty. The GPX 5000 is still in my opinion one of the most versatile detectors on the market with the 8 different times, various audio settings and such. If you think the GPX 6000 is the perfect detector, then you will realize it isn't, there are things that it's great at, but there are also things I don't like (which is with all detectors, including even the GPZ 7000). This is going back to my original statement, in my opinion there is no "perfect" metal detector for all situations, but there are the "right" detectors for specific applications. For example, if a customer told me they were only hunting mine dumps and inside mines, I wouldn't suggest a PI for the most part. You would have much better success with a lighweight VLF, super sensitive to small gold and specimens, iron discrimination and such. Any VLF gold detector would work great in this environment, including something like the Equinox 800 with the smaller coil. Hope this helps a bit, Rob

Hey Gerry, I sure hope, at least on Debbie's sake, they are not having her now train around the US beyond all the other stuff she is loaded down with. Heck, I might need the training, years ago a random detectorists said you have found thousands of nuggets, but you don't know how to run your detector .... LOL I told him it was easy finding thousands of nuggets, I'm eliminating all the iron rubbish and digging all gold using the new "Multi-Pulse Discrimination" mode. As I walked way, the prospector was messing with his settings for about 30 minutes, I think trying to find that mode Rob

Hey Guys/Gals, I'm sure the 14x9 will be one of the first aftermarket coils from Coiltek for the GPX 6000. It has always been a long time favorite coil for all detecting needs. A smaller coil will also be nice, as there are goldfields with tons of brush, boulders and such that don't even allow a 11" round coil to hunt the majority of the ground. Steve - There is a smaller NF coil, the Z Search 12" Round for the GPZ 7000. I have been using this coil since the release and I really like it. They are back in stock again, plus they now have heavy duty skid plates for them. I have never tried a X coil to date on any Minelab PI or GPZ. Rob

We have everything in stock currently for the GPX 6000's - Minelab GPX 6000's Lower Shafts Li-ion Batteries 17" Searchcoils (limited stock) all skidplates Doc's 5 piece Blue Camo Cover Kits Free shipping & Insurance, No Tax if you are outside of Arizona. Military Discount (15%) available with proof of service, active or retired. We would love to earn your business.

Hey Trevor, That is great news! However, please do us a huge favor and allow the US market to get their fair share. Since Coiltek started selling coils, I have been there with you. I got only a handful of coils for the Equinox to date, while there are thousands of customers still waiting, most getting them from overseas dealers rather than the US market. I just hate to see a huge hype on GPX 6000 coils and we only get a handful to boot. Coming from a loyal, longtime dealers and supporter. Hope you take my honest opinion to heart. Rob

Hey Bishop, Congrats on the Arizona gold. I used to love chasing that bedrock and digging the small and large gold nuggets from it. The GPX 6000 is a great metal detector and you can get even more depth with the new 17" coil that is now out. However, chasing exposed bedrock, I would stick with the stock 11" and cover the bedrock real well, but if you find some decent gold in a wash that has some depth, consider the larger coil at some point. Wishing you much more success! Rob (Arizona)

Hey Guys/Gals, More back in stock, 9-13, but they will go quickly. Just a FYI for anyone still searching. Rob

Hey Condor, No problem my friend. I didn't have them listed on my site yet, didn't expect to get what I got when they showed up. I ended up selling most to close friends and then a few others found out I still had a small batch left and snagged them up. They are great coils, big asset to the GPX 6000 for depth and coverage for sure. Rob

Hey Steve, Thanks, all mine are sold after some customers realized I still had some. Anyone else looking, I recommend contacting the dealer you deal with and getting on a list with them. I think these coils will be coming in, but very slowly. Thanks for all the continued business, friendship and info shared on this great forum of Steve's. Rob

Hey Condor, We still have a few left in stock, but selling quickly. Rob

Agree, sometimes I just gave up if they were too small. Wishing you all much success. Rob

Hey Guys, I don't want to get too far away from the placering mostly in a gulch, but a few bits of advice for any new mine dump hunters- If the dump is a good slope, it's always best to dig a small shelf below the target area, as I have chased targets all the way down the hill, even lost a few. Only dig a tiny bit at a time, small targets and fragments of gold will easily fall down deeper into the dump, so try not to get too crazy when you dig. I've dropped small fragments of gold, very crystalline out of my hand and never recovered them due to it working deeper into the dumps rocks. I normally always started at the bottom of the dump, as a lot of times Gravity and Mother Nature has worked some of the best gold down near the bottom edge, kind of like dredge tailing piles (top and bottoms seem to be best). Just a few pointers from experience and lost gold.

Hey Goldseeker5000 and all, Thanks for all the continued comments. This method, whatever you want to call it, can be used in many locations like you mentioned. At one point in my metal detecting for gold phase, I concentrated in mine dumps. The same method is used, but mostly just raking as that tailings are normally on a slope and gravity can be a real help. Using this method on mine dump can be rewarding, but you have to understand how they dumped the material and what is where. Majority of all mine dumps is waste rock, wall rock/country rock and low grade ore. Normally the best, high grade ore would be placed into high grade piles, not tossed into the dumps. However, when they would hand steel or blast and muck the ore into carts or whatever they used to moved the material at that site, high grade ore could be missed in with waste rock. Normally, they would dump the material in layers, so if you get into a good layer, which is normally where there was some high grade stuff missed with waste, you can do well. I would only target "free milling, coarse gold" locations. I didn't mess much with sulphide ores or complex ores that required chemicals, but rather in locations where it was above the zone of oxidation and Mother nature done most of the work for you (physical and chemical weathering) and left the good stuff behind, GOLD. Most of these locations were shallow, free mining gold mines, primary commodity being Gold, secondary could be Silver, Copper or whatever in any order. Keep in mind, some good gold mines gold listed in the databases as Silver or Copper as Primary and Gold like the secondary or third listing. High end VLF's normally 50-71khz worked best. This is where the Fisher Gold Bug 2 really stood out in my opinion, the ability to find very small particles of gold within quartz, ironstone and ore. One of the last ventures on a dump was one of my best, finding many pounds of small gold laced ore right on the outer, surface of the dump. I'm thinking they got sloppy or something happened. All I had to do is detect the surface and rake a few inches to stay within the best layer, once I got beyond that, it was nil. I did find another layer on the other side of the dump that was about a foot or so deep, but much smaller and didn't last very long. Hope this helps a bit, Rob

Hey Guys, Thanks for the comments. To add to Valens comments, actually you don't need to spend a fortune to get over some gold. First, make sure you're going to known or near known areas where gold nuggets have been found, if you're targeting nugget gold. Secondly, a good VLF detector will be fine to start with along with basic hand tools (good pick with magnet, scoop). With a high end VLF, White's, Garrett, Fisher, Minelab, Tesoro and others, search for shallow areas or exposed bedrock to find that first gold nugget. From there, if you start finding a decent concentration of gold, you can start placering the area to get down into the deeper areas. Once you collect a decent about of gold, you can look into a used or new Pulse Induction metal detector. Many think you need to invest thousands of dollars to find nuggets, when actually if you have a plan and some areas in mind, you might just surprise yourself. Hope this helps a bit, Rob

Hey Gerry, Great looking piece of gold and congrats on your first of many nuggets at depth to be found with the new Minelab GPX 6000. I wish I had more free time to visit other State's goldfields, hopefully some day when I retire. Speaking of retirements, what is the secret, "sell more detectors?" Thanks for sharing, Rob

Hello Areospace, I will let Gerry answer the question more directly, but I will just toss in that any PI in my opinion will find a 3/4 to 1 ounce piece at a foot or better with no problem if you are paying attention. It might not be a screaming target, but still something you would investigate and dig hopefully. There are so many variables when it comes to depth and some like to use the "stretchy rulers." Wishing you much success out there and hopefully a nice whooper under your detector coil. Rob

Hey Guys, Oldmancoyote - TwoToes sent me one of his crevice tools months back and I use it all the time. I had it in a few videos and actually always have it with me. Randy, Beatup and dig4gold - Thanks for the comments. I will do what I can to get a final video of what we have done. I think it's starting to lean out, the pockets only stay so good once they are cleaned out you have to move on. The gravel and overburden is now getting deeper and requires much more man power to get down. Rob

Hey Guys, Been getting a lot of questions on this method of digging, raking and metal detecting. Some have asked if you can do it anywhere and the answer would be Yes, but you might not find anything. I normally only use this method when we have found some nuggets concentrated in a small area, normally in a dry wash bottom. We have dug out nugget patches on the sides of the hills and benches also, but normally when mother nature does the work for you in the washes, you could have better luck in the right spots. We normally use two metal detectors, one for depth due to pockets and deeper crevices and a very sensitive detector like a VLF or now the GPX 6000. In our case we normally use the following tools - Minelab GPZ 7000 with the Nugget Finder Z Search coil 12" Minelab GPX 6000 Metal Detector with the 11" Mono coil Garrett AT Pinpointer (find this one to be the most sensitive to small gold) A couple of good digging picks, we use Apex and Doc's pick with super magnets Large metal rake with metal handle, any other rake is junk and will break quickly Plastic Scoops for recovery Small crevices tools like screwdrivers Plastic straw or narrow hose to blow out cracks/crevices Battery Powered Hammer Drill with Chisel Bit Also, whatever PPE, but we recommend eye glasses, good gloves and even hearing protection if you are using the hammer drill a bunch Hope you all enjoy. Keep in mind, this method has been using since the beginning of placer mining. It's not something we came up with, we just customized it with more modern day tools and technology to make it profitable in some areas to recover more gold. You can also add a good Drywasher and Vac-Pac to the mix if you want to work the gravels for smaller gold. In some areas you might be tossing out ounces of small gold you can't even see.

Hey Joe and others, Here is the link to my vidoes and you should have a "Subscribe" button on this page where you just click it and then you will be following our Youtube Channel. Hope this helps. https://www.youtube.com/user/Nuggethunting/videos Rob

Hey Guys, This method of digging, shoveling, raking and metal detecting is used by many to find more gold nuggets deeper in gold bearing dry washes. Here is a short video of another small pocket on bedrock we found. Hope you enjoy. We would love for you to LIKE and Subscribe to our Youtube Channel to follow us along on our adventures in the Southwest. God Bless, Rob

Hey Steve, The old "scrap and detect" method works great in certain spots. We have been using it for years in smaller washes and even nugget patches to get down a bit deeper. We have been using this method with hand tools, shovels, picks, pry bars, rakes and detectors/pinpointers to remove overburden and get closer to the paylayer or bedrock in many of my recent Youtube videos. Congrats on your recent success in Alaska. Rob