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Erik Oostra

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  1. Another thing I'd like to mention for anyone considering taking a punt on an EPM is that the reporting requirements in Queensland are very strict.. We were told that a 'map with hotspots and a few photos of quartz showing colour' would satisfy the Department of Mining.. Although at first I thought 'you bloody beauty!' this turned out to be another 'alternative fact'.. I'm glad I finally got a hold of the station manager who told me that inspectors had closed down and fined EPM holders on the station three weeks ago for under-reporting.. Doesn't matter how remote the EPM may be, at some stage they'll come and have a look or at least go through your yearly reports with a finely tuned bullshit meter.. You also have to be aware of the new 'halving rule' (see below).. In our case we asked the company to put forward a business proposal as to why this 6.5 square kilometre EPM shouldn't be halved and be kept whole for further exploration.. This was accepted by the Department of Mines and met one of our requirements..
  2. Thanks again JP, that's exactly how it turned out.. This EPM isn't 'far apart' from the others, it's part of the station's fossicking areas.. I can't really say the exploration company was misleading us, it's just that they stayed away from answering direct questions on this point.. They made it sound like once you have an EPM it's yours to explore, they never mentioned having to share the place with other punters.. Just like they failed to mention that you're not allowed to camp in permit areas.. I also never thought to ask, assuming that camping there was all part of the show.. From taking to geologists working in Cape York, it turns out that the company was using the station's camp grounds (and paying camping fees) while they were prospecting this EPM.. I've also talked to the station manager and we've come to an agreement which will involve paying their $3000/year fossicking fee but allows us to camp wherever we strike likely ground.. He even said we were welcome to spend a week or two having a closer look at this permit area using the company's hotspot maps before we commit to buying.. But to compare paying $6500 for an EPM that we can't camp on to a station agreement where we can get stuck into any permit area which looks good (including the one we were interested in) is a big win for us.. Also, we've approached other cattle stations in North Queensland and we've never gotten the go ahead for a looksee on their land, Palmerville Station is a refreshing change in that regard..
  3. My son is with me on the island at the moment and we're nutting out the pros and cons of buying an exploration permit in Cape York (see another post).. As we were talking about detector prospecting it struck me the amount of times I mentioned Steve.. As in: 'Steve's timing matrix for the GPX 5000 just about explains all you need to know' or 'Steve explains somewhere about using hot VLF detectors when scrapping away the top layer to find really small nuggets'.. When he asked who Steve was, I was a bit lost as how to explain him.. Somehow I'd made Steve sound like a mate and a guru all at the same time.. So I told him to read what Steve had to say and make up his own mind as to who Steve is.. He read loads of pages I've saved from this forum where Steve explains the finer details about nugget hunting and the technology involved.. As he was reading he mentioned that he now understood much better how his Gold Bug worked.. He's been a bit unconventional in how he uses it as he's mainly a panning and sluicing dude and the Gold Bug is used to scan the ground to get an idea of black sand before he starts carting away buckets of soil.. It seems to work for him.. But it's little things like his moment of understanding that made me realize what an incredible source of knowledge Steve is.. I'm not trying to blow smoke up Steve's arse or score any brownie points but when I think about the amount of times I've referred to his wise words it makes me want to nominate him for nugget hunter Sainthood.. So thanks Steve, your willingness to share your knowledge is very much appreciated - even by the next generation..
  4. You're spot on Norvic and here's me telling everyone my intentions and just about giving away the permit area's exact location.. Thanks for your advice, the wise words of old time FNQers are always taken aboard.. The station has strict rules regarding where people can fossick and camp on their land, and I'm hoping that with the permit area being well away from these places that you wouldn't get too much traffic there.. That's not counting the dickheads that'll follow your tracks but you'd have to deal with them as they came up.. You'd also tell the station and together you might be able to keep the scavengers at bay.. The permit's rules regarding relations with landowners are pretty much the same common-sense rules that come with a fossicking license.. The only difference being that the landowner can't stop you from entering their land once you've notified them of entry.. But this doesn't mean the landowner can't kick up a fight, so it's better to smoke a peace pipe.. I've only ever passed through the area going up the cape but didn't have detecting/fossicking gear with me, so it's hard to imagine dealing with landowners and permits.. Also, I haven't bought the permit yet! I'm still seeking advice from knowledgeable folk like yourself, JP and Geoff.. I suppose if asking for advice comes at the price of a few scavengers, I'd be more than happy to pay..
  5. That's the way we're looking at it too.. The permit lasts for 3 years, that gives us 3 wet seasons to prospect 6.5 square kilometres of land in a region well known for its gold.. The costs of buying the permit, government fees and one year rent come in under the cost of a week ship cruise for 2 people.. And like a ship cruise, if my amazing luck holds a bit longer (and with a lot of hard labour) this adventure could be worthwhile.. Even not, we'd still have a great time in an awesome part of the county.. When I used your kmz files to work out gold diggings around this permit area, I did think about how many other punters were also using them for the same reason.. Just hoping the area's remoteness keeps them at bay..
  6. I'm hoping that this permit area is too remote for the average scavenger to have a go.. But its inaccessibility could also make the whole venture hard going unless you're happy with bush camps and plenty of scrambling around in rough steep country.. Would these hardships be worth it? The permit area's isolation away from the company's other ventures made it unprofitable for them to mine.. But just a few ounces of gold would easily cover the cost of taking over this EPM, government fees and the first year's rent ($330/year).. While the asking price for this exploration permit reflects this area's remoteness, it's the costs of getting to the gold that potential prospectors have to account for (just like a mining company).. Until I get more promised geo data from the company and hear back from the cattle station, this whole idea is just a lovely dream.. But there's also a few much better qualified and experienced prospectors than me (not hard on both counts) who are also interested.. Between us we're already working out detectors and solar panels and slide-on campers for the back of 4x4s.. We're also working out the cost of fortnightly prospecting trips up there during the dry seasons.. So far the costs and logistics for food, water and fuel are mind boggling, we'd need to find a fair bit of gold to cover costs.. There's a few cattle dams for water (and a wash) about a hour drive away but no firearms in the permit area means hunting is out.. There's good fishing in rivers about 2 hours away.. When supplies run out, we'd have to go back to a small town about 4 hours away along tracks that even dirt-bikes have a hard time grappling with.. Rise, Repeat, until Rich.. Sounds great to me.. 😁
  7. Thanks again JP, am just reading about this now.. This is from the 'Explorers Guide to Queensland' brought out by a law firm.. There's not much other info about access to EPMs out there, mining departments are pretty vague or keep changing the rules.. The way these lawyers put it seems pretty clear.. https://www.carternewell.com/icms_docs/322262_explorers-guide-to-queensland-3rd-edition.pdf
  8. Thank you very much for the detailed explanation JP, it's a bit different of course to how the seller put it, especially about exclusive access.. I'll be talking to the station manager this morning to find out what the go is with access to EPMs on their land.. The whole deal could easily fall through if the landowner won't play ball.. This is an EPM renewal, not an application for a mining lease.. The company wants to renew the exploration permit rather than let it lapse to allow interested prospectors a chance to try their luck.. I got the impression from talking to the head honcho that the permit area is too far away from their other ventures to make it profitable to mine, he did point out that this was NOT because there isn't any gold there.. Their survey in only a small part of the permit area showed promise, I just hope that translates into enough gold to make the venture worthwhile for a small team of prospectors willing to spend three years picking over 6.5 square kms in known gold bearing country.. Sounds a bit like true 'prospecting ' to me.. 🙂 What do you make of the anomaly map? I won't pretend to understand it but I assume the red dots with high readings are good.. Also is 80 mesh (0.177mm) in stream samples any good? In any case, the map and sampling data gives potential prospectors a basic idea of what areas to target first.. He said all the company's exploration data for this permit area comes with the deal.. Thanks again mate, that's all food for thought.. I'll let you know how it went with the station manager (maybe if you know him, you could put in a good word?).. Cheers, Erik..
  9. I've come across an exploration permit for sale by a gold exploration company for 2 adjacent sub blocks situated in Palmerville Station, North Queensland.. Together the blocks total 6.5 square kilometres, which would be for exclusive use by the prospectors holding the permit.. I've looked up the permit number on the Dept of Mines website and it's owed by the company.. From looking through the records this company holds other gold exploration permits further south and this one is for an area pretty much in the middle of Cape York.. I've talked to the head honcho and he told me the company did surveys two years ago which showed promise but the blocks are too far away from other areas they're currently operating in, hence the sale.. Instead of letting the permit lapse, they decided to sell it and renew the permit in the new prospector's name for another 3 years.. He also told me the permit area was very remote, they didn't want to risk bashing their 4x4s up there and ended up doing the surveys on dirt bikes.. I'd really like to hear from any prospectors who know this area.. Would the pickings be grim there? Would its remoteness not make this venture worthwhile? Is is too good to be true? I'll talk to the station manager tomorrow to ask about access, I know the roads up there get flooded during the wet season so it'd be a dry season operation (unless you stockpiled a camp to last you through the wet whilst you kept on flogging the place).. A lot will depend on what the station manager has to say because he can deny access to the permit area.. The Palmer River region is well known for its gold, in fact the station itself allows prospecting on some parts of their land.. @geof_junk's 'Historical Gold Mines' kmz files for Queensland show about 20 small scale diggings south of the permit area and about 80 to its north.. Geoff's 'New Gold Mines' kmz files show around 30 diggings south-east of the permit area.. As for the company's surveys, he's only send me a few photos of some the gold they supposedly found there (see below) and a GoogleEarth Map showing anomaly hotspots.. When I asked him how much gold the exploration data showed, the honcho said: "the anomalies show gold in stream sediment data. I think it's -80 mesh. There's some rock chips as well with some juice".. This is the sales pitch for the advertisement: Exploration Permit Minerals EPMXXXXX is for sale by vendor. The EPM is 2 subblocks so about 6.5 square KMs, on the highly prospective Palmerville Station at the headwaters of legendary Dog leg Creek. Numerous nuggets have come off this EPM. It's in some steep country so that cuts out all the pretenders. Serious prospectors only. Its total back country so historical mining is limited. Open file mining and exploration data shows there are some hot on target areas and we've only scratched the surface of these areas. All the ingredients are there. Selling because vendor has interests closer to home. And here's the photos:
  10. Thanks a million for your advice Phrunt.. I really appreciate the feedback.. Would the detector calibrating with the batteries be a way to work out if it has the latest firmware update? How else could I check? Also, do you know how long the warranty lasts for? He's also sending the receipt, he paid $1,359 for it at Bundy Outdoors on 15/09/2021..
  11. This morning I sold some of the gold rings I've found for Au$ 1,800.. This didn't include gold rings that I've given away or those which were returned to their owner.. I could've made a bit more and during the haggling I nearly reached for the Vaseline a few times.. Thing is, the gold buyer lives on the island and to deal with my usual buyer I'd have to catch a ferry to the mainland and then 2 busses to his house (if he's not in the pub).. So hassle wise this worked out better but old matey on the mainland might have been a bit less stingy.. Since I had a huge amount of cash to splash, I decided to see if I could get a second-hand Goldmaster 24K in reasonable condition.. I've been very keen to buy one since trying out my mate's.. He offered to sell it for Au$ 900 last year but I didn't have that sort of money at the time.. I thought the GM24K compared well to his Goldmonster 1000 and my Equinox 800.. This is prospecting dry creek beds and exposed bedrock on relatively mild grounds (compared to further west).. Usage wise the GM24K felt a bit like my Gold Bug Pro, I've always liked pistol-grips.. Even better gossip: I bought the Goldmaster 24K with MS3 Z-Lynk headphones for only Au$ 750.. And the thing's nearly brand spanking new, it's only been used inside for testing purposes.. In Oz this detector cost around Au$ 1,350 and MS3 Z-Lynks go for Au$ 240.. I couldn't hit the 'buy' button fast enough.. I know some of you are thinking 'dumb bastard's been scammed' or 'buy in haste, repent at leisure' or the good old standby 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is'.. But once you've seen the pictures (the ad even had a little video), you'll realize you're just suffering from sour grapes and won't begrudge my amazing luck.. After this bargain I still had a great big fist full of dollars, so I also bought the 24K 6'' concentric coil.. I've never used this coil (only the 10x6''), how does it compare to 6'' Equinox or 5'' Gold Bug coils? The detector didn't come with any batteries (postage rules) so I bought some rechargeable ones.. They are 3800 mAh.. How many mAh are the batteries that come with the GM24K? Can higher mAh batteries damage the detector? Today's bill: Goldmaster 24K and MS3 Z-Lynk (+ 10x6'' coil, extra headphones, charger etc etc).. Au$ 750 24K 6'' concentric coil.. Au$ 370 8 x Ni-Mh (3800 mAh) rechargeable batteries.. Au$ 44 --------- Au$ 1,164 It's always great when you can buy a detector and coils from the proceeds of your finds, and still have a small fortune to spare! 😎
  12. It's the same with our 5 cents, they nearly always come in as a solid 10 on the Nox, just like many smaller gold rings (they even sound the same).. I hope the E1500 can tell the difference between the two but I know that's asking a bit too much.. Sometimes on windy beaches it can be hard to make out the 'mellow gold sound' over the background noise and having my suspicions confirmed by TIDs is always helpful.. I rely on all the target info available, even then I still dig if my gut tells me to.. This is from one of Steve's posts (I think he's quoting from the manual): "The target ID is also useful for assessing the target's shape. If the target ID fluctuates significantly when the coil is moved slightly off but still above the target, it likely indicates an irregularly shaped target, such as a bottle cap or a nail with a large head.''
  13. That makes a lot of sense Phrunt, thanks again for your clear explanations.. Also thanks in advance for the beach stuff, I'm especially interested in how it performs on small gold targets.. I agree there's nothing cooler than a PI detector with target ID numbers, I always wished my GPX 5000 had that feature.. I always found it hard to wrap my hearing around its high-low or low-high tones on different targets, especially in working out their size and depth.. Having target info expressed as a number is a big help on the beach when distinguishing between small gold rings and the most common junk like bottle tops and ring-pulls.. On the Nox and D2, the TIDs of gold rings are often the same as junk targets.. I'm hoping the E1500 might be better at telling them apart.. Iron targets are rare on my beaches except at some of the historical ones, where there used to be buildings or boat jetties.. This is also where old silver coins are found but I'm sure the E1500 can pick a shilling from a horseshoe.. Looking forward to seeing your next field tests, thanks again for sharing the results..
  14. Thanks for those links Lead Detector, can't believe I've missed them! I even follow Phrunt's Youtube channel.. Been out off the new PI loop too long..
  15. I haven't heard much about the accuracy of the E1500's target discrimination from those already using it in the field.. On the beach I rely on TIDs along with tones to work out what the target is before digging.. I like the idea of a PI detector with target IDs based on the conductivity and shape of the target.. On relatively stable ground (wet/dry salty sand) this target info will be very handy to help distinguish between low conductive gold rings and higher conductive junk like raggedy shaped bottle tops and pull-rings.. Also, how stable is the E1500s TID in the field on small low conductive targets? Air test show the TID locking on pretty hard but is that also the case in the wild? If your feedback on the E1500's TID turns out the way I'm hoping, it could make a good tool to complement my VLF detectors on the beach.. It would be a step up from my old GPX5000 on really rubbishy beaches, especially on historical ones where there's a few silver coins buried amongst loads of crap targets.. It'd be great to have some idea of what the target is before digging at these spots.. Thank you for your feedback!
  16. G'day Cudamark.. I've been using the 18'' for 2 months now, here's what I've found..
  17. Best thing is they get smaller as their value increases, making them far easier to lose.. A 50 cent piece is huge compared to a one dollar coin, and the two dollar coin is a midget.. This is somewhat born out by the larger amount of small coins I've found.. Five cent pieces are even smaller than two dollar coins and they're also up there with the most commonly found coins.. Five cent pieces come up a perfect 10 on the Nox and sound a bit similar to gold rings.. I sometimes wonder if the Equinox was designed exclusively for Ozzy coin hunters.. I mean every coin has its own distinctive TIDs and tones, although the $1 and $2 coins do ring up and sound the same.. Whatever the case, it makes them easier to separate from rings and other jewellery.. I've edited this post to include a photo of some of the coins found during 2023.. The 20c pile is much smaller than it should be, as with the 50c pile I keep using them.. The 1c and 2c are out of circulation (since February 1992) but still very common to find along some bays, especially Picnic Bay, Youngs Bay and Cockle Bay.. At the beginning of the year I take last year's coins to a bank on the mainland... The island bank won't run them through their machine as I'm not a member..
  18. Sadly, Magnetic Island has recently caught up with the rest of the world.. At the beginning of this year the island's busses switched from cash to cards.. Since then I've noticed a huge drop in the amount of coins at beaches with bus stops.. On a quick whip around these beaches on Monday mornings, I'd usually make at least $10-15 in gold coins alone.. During the week I'd pick up a few more at less-accessible beaches.. During school holidays I always found enough for a case of beer by the end of the week.. Now my only source of freshly dropped coins is beaches with pubs and cafes, but there too most people pay with cards and I can't rely on them for a fist full of dollars.. The Sunday markets at Horseshoe Bay are still mainly cash, but the pickings have become pretty grim there too.. There's a few food vans still operating (like 'Tropical Juices' and 'Seafood Hut') who set up along popular beaches and draw a good crowd, but they're also a bit hit and miss.. Same goes for the fast food vans that set up along the beach when XBase puts on live music or hosts festivals.. There's always a few coins to be found after these events but they're not on everyday.. Yup, the busses delivered a steady supply of goldies.. And I took it all for granted.. So yeah, I'm really starting to miss coins.. They'd become my bread and butter, just enough cash in your pocket to pay for a few groceries without having to reach for the card.. Luckily, the amount of rings and jewellery hasn't dropped.. Also the same amount of iPhones, car fob-keys, sunnies and other valuables.. It's still the same amount of people, just far fewer using cash.. But from reading the above posts I get the impression you guys already know all about it.. We're just a bit late on the island catching up with the rest of the world.. Photo of the good old days.. After a hunt at beaches with bus stops during the school holidays..
  19. Well said Jeff, that sums it up for me as well.. With the Equinox 600/800 I'm also finding that after digging loads of junk within the same TID range as gold rings, you begin to recognise a certain tone as 'Dig Me!.. To me this tone seems more solid or whole compared to the slightly harsher emptier tone of junk targets within the same TID range.. I know it's all highly subjective but even being hard of hearing I can make out this subtle difference in tone.. With the D2 it's a different story, I'm still getting my hearing around what gold rings sound like.. As mentioned above the D2's wider TID/tone range on gold rings compared to the Equinox 600/800 makes it harder to be sure of your target and more frustrating to learn.. With the D2 I'm yet to experience that 'Yes it's a gold ring for sure!' moment but I've also got way more hours on the Nox.. Thank you also for your testing and comparisons.. I always make sure to read them..
  20. Sounds good Caleb! You're on! See you Wednesday.. I'll message the details.. A plane will come in handy if the pickings are grim on the island.. We can also try out those glasses from the air.. We're very likely to make a fortune.. You'll make enough to buy a fleet of subs.. Thanks mate.. We'll go 3 ways on the loot?
  21. I've decided to throw away my gold detectors as I no longer need this ancient technology.. I haven't bought one of those weird deep-probes with antennas sticking out all over the place, nor have I lost my mind.. I've simply started thinking outside the box.. All I need with my latest purchase is a shovel and I'm good to go.. I'll let the manufacturer explain what this new technology is all about.. I've also included some pictures of the device in action.. Impressive stuff! This device shows you where gold lies underneath the surface of water or land.
  22. When I start hitting targets that I can't reach with another coil I always start to wonder what else I've missed.. The smaller coils missing several high-conductive targets still has me freaked out..
  23. During the last month I’ve been taking my new 18’’ Nox coil along to compare it to both the 15’’ and 15x12’’ coils on wild targets.. To keep the swapping around to a minimum, the 18’’ coil is always kept on a Nox 600 and the others are swapped around on a Nox 800 on alternate days.. I realise this doesn’t make it a fair comparison as from one day to the next I’m comparing the 18’’ coil to either the 15’’ or 15x12’’ coil, never all three at once on the same wild target.. In my defence I can only say that I’ve found that both the smaller coils are pretty similar in performance.. Some days one might sniff out a target that the other one’s missed, on other days it’s the reverse.. In terms of depth and sensitivity to targets there’s no real noticeable difference between the two.. What I’m after here is a comparison between a very big coil (for a VLF detector) and its more modestly sized cousins.. Is bigger really better? As far as added hassles go, it’s been worth the effort of walking back to where I left the other detector as for me wild target comparisons are the best way to get very intimate with the latest addition to my coil harem.. So far there’ve been no ‘Wow that’s deep!’ moments but I wouldn’t be surprised if the knockout blow is yet to come.. I’ve still got a gut feeling that given time the 18’’ coil will sniff out deeper targets than the other coils, just not sure if that’s gonna be by as much as 30% as Coiltek claims.. Having said that, the 18’’ is surprisingly sensitive for such a big coil.. It didn’t pick up a small gold ring that the 15x12’’ coil sniffed out, but to my big surprise it did hit on two silver 6-pences, a copper 1 cent piece and bits of junk that the other coils couldn’t find - despite cranking up the sensitivity.. Not even a faint iffy signal or a quick flash on the target ID, whilst with the 18’’ coil all these small deep targets screamed ‘Dig Me!’.. While I can see the large coil missing a low-conductive target, I didn’t expect to see the smaller coils missing high-conductive targets.. What voodoo is at work here? On wet/dry salty sand I’ve been running the 18’’ coil on the same settings and sensitivities as the smaller coils (between 21-23).. In bays with layers of black sand beneath coral sand or in moving salty water I’m using lower sensitivities (between 18-21).. In trying to make the coil run ‘better’, I haven’t noticed any real depth loss or gain by mucking around with the sensitivity settings only between the Beach 1 and 2 programs.. Which is the same as the other coils.. I’m finding the same amount of targets at the same depths running within the same sensitivity range I’d normally use in that situation.. The only real variables for me are black sand and moving salty water but these just make the coil a bit noisier compared to the others and don’t seem to effect its overall performance.. In bays with high EMI it sometimes squawks its head off.. Coverage wise this thing is a monster but it’s not much heavier to swing than the other coils.. It’s been great for making sure I’ve covered long stretches of beach as best I could without missing anything too glaringly obvious.. I haven’t used the under-the-armpit-around-the-neck-along-the-arm harness yet but that’s mainly because I’ve been swapping around with lighter coils.. After a long day swinging this coil you’d definitely be a bit sore by sunset.. While I’m waiting for it to stun me with its touted knockout depth, I’ve got no regrets so far about buying the 18’’ Nox coil.. Whatever voodoo it used to sniff out those small coins when the others couldn’t makes it worthy of its place in the toolbox..
  24. I can only find one person who uses the XTerra Pro exclusively as a scuba detector, there's a lot of people who use it for wading.. The dude that uses it as a scuba detector is Korean, he's got loads of videos on Youtube.. Looks like he's doing alright with the standard coil.. Here's one of his videos:
  25. I was considering this concoction as a cheapish way to get me through after my second pair of D2 bone-phones conked out and my Nox 600 started leaking.. I'd also be keen to know how single frequency detectors perform underwater, especially on the XTerra Pro's lower frequencies (5, 8, 10 and 15kHz).. I figured a small coil like the V8X or even the Coiltek 10x5'' would lessen the salt water signal compared to the standard coil.. But the drama has been resolved with a new pair of over-the-head headphones for the D2.. 😁
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