Erik Oostra

The location of 'The Dot' mine site is different to the waypoint i've been using.. I did find evidence of mining at the waypoint marking so it's a bit confusing.. will be checking this out today.. i'll come in from the back of these hills so I can also take another look at the 'Butler' mine sites.. those quartz reefs the article talks about are not obvious and so far remain elusive.. 

27 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

Erik how correct were the location in google earth

They were pretty much spot on for most of them.. In some sites I found evidence of past diggings (like an old pick) and in others white quartz scattered about (in some places it was stacked up).. Thanks again for those waypoints, they've been invaluable in searching for gold across Queensland..

Here is a very old newspaper article from the late 1800s (I can't find the exact year anymore) describing gold on Magnetic Island.. I think it talks about a mine site that later became known as 'The Dot' (named after the wife of Townsville's first doctor).. It mentions brown quartz which is obviously different to the white quartz I keep finding at the gold diggings.. 

This is some of the quartz I'm finding along the creek.. the quartz gold is associated with is pure white.. I don't have any pictures of the quartz at the mine sites.. the second picture is at the easiest to get to gold digging on the island (Hawkings Point), right by the ocean.. there's no obvious igneous intrusions or white quartz at this site.. 

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

what do historical reports say about the gold

Both geological and historical reports show there is gold on the island.. the reports on the old gold diggings (active in the late 1880s to early 1900s) show that it was nearly always associated with white quartz.. where fine bands of gold run through large quartz veins.. I can't find any records talking about nuggets or alluvial placer gold.. at the moment I'm trying to find these quartz veins by sluicing and panning in creeks below the outcrops containing obvious igneous intrusions (to see if there are any little grains) or where I figure fault lines could be (at these spots I whip out a detector and usually search up gullies).. I've been to all the mine sites, some of which are bloody hard work to get into with thick bush and steep hills and plenty of snakes.. Nearly all sites have large pieces of white quartz scattered about..  

During the last few days I've been having a looksee in new areas on the island away from the old gold diggings.. The geology here is very similar to the areas surrounding the diggings with many quartz veins running through granite outcrops.. where the creek I'm following meets the ocean many igneous intrusions can be seen running through the granite shield that forms the island (which itself is also a massive intrusion).. No gold yet but plenty of snakes! I'm also making the most of the running creeks (they're dry in the dry season) to sluice and pan so I can work out which areas might have some of the yellow stuff.. Despite the existence of 8 old gold mines, so far the island hasn't produced any gold for me.. I was using an equinox before and have recently upped the ante and am now using a GPX 5000.. I'll keep you posted on how I go..  

This picture is of an igneous intrusion where the creek flows into the ocean..

1 hour ago, geof_junk said:

which would make the mountain one of the wettest places in the world.

With all the rain over the last week it feels like Magnetic Island is the wettest place in the world right now.. I've had a hunt in the Bartle Frere area with my Foxy Noxy whilst my son runs his sluices.. You're spot on in saying the area is very dense with rainforest and very steep.. We figured this might stop other prospectors from looking too hard in this area but it does get pretty daunting.. I like your advice to try some flatter and less vegetated areas further west in better known historical gold sites.. Thanks..

I've managed to get a hold of a second hand GPX 5000 with 4 coils for AU$ 4400.. Now I'm really ready to go out where the Big Boys play.. Can anyone recommend any areas in North Queensland where I could go to learn how to use it? It's going to be a steep learning curve but I've got this year set aside to finally find that nugget with my name on it!

46 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

a few expletives was expected.😠

at the end i was nearly thinking them aloud..  

At 1:30am this morning I made the most of a very low tide (22cm) to hunt inside the stinger net at Horseshoe Bay.. Once again I only went for gold coins and 50c.. The total for a one hour hunt was $64.50.. not too shabby.. 

I took the keys to the pub across the road to see if they could find the owner.. the bar staff told me they were claimed last night by an 'old bloke' who was at least 70 years old.. you can never tell, obviously the man is a bit of a stud..  

Found something at Jeffrey Bay this morning that made me laugh.. Whoever the keys belong to: It was no doubt my pleasure!

1 hour ago, phrunt said:

I miss Red Rooster

3 hours ago, klunker said:

for the cost of my steamer fare I hold you responsible and expect compensation - in gold

Dear Mr Klunker

There's a carrier pigeon on its way to you with a large kangaroo shaped nugget.. It should be there in a few months.. If you need your compensation a bit faster, I suggest you break out the gold spray-paint and spray a few pebbles.. Even the most experienced detectorist won't have a clue..

Best regards,

Sir Erik

I humbly apologize for this video, not just because of all the shaking but mainly because it’s a FRAUD..

Yes, that’s right! I admit it.. I know it’s very hard to tell but the huge ‘nugget’ is really a concrete garden statue that I spray-painted with gold paint.. I buried a bag of silver coins underneath it to make the detector sound nice and loud to complete the deception.. I’m surprised everyone fell for it, there were clues everywhere.. If you can get past all the shaking you can see the paint can early in the video..

I would also like to apologize to all those high bidders, I realize kangaroo shaped nuggets are extremely rare and valuable and I’m very sorry to have gotten your hopes up.. also if I ever find a real nugget I doubt I’d ever sell it.. 

34 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

an amazing find

Thanks a million Steve, your support always means a lot.. the shaking was because of my uncontrollable excitement at finding my first nugget! I can't describe the feeling.. I doubt I'll ever get over it..

ps.. do you know anyone who I can sell it to? cash only..  

In Oz we just have to worry about drop bears..

I'm finding that i have the most luck searching after really high tides.. even if there was nothing to be found the days before, the high tides seem to remove just enough sand to get a bit deeper.. I've also noticed that along a few beaches here the sand gets stripped from one side and deposited further along the other side.. these beaches are constantly moving and i've found they're the best for detecting as objects don't get a chance to settle too deep to detect.. 

11 hours ago, geof_junk said:

Erik have an elliptical coil in your collection with a 12 to 14" range

I'm a bit stuck with the range of coils i can get for the Nox.. we've mainly been using the 6'' coil for detecting bedrock in rainforest country and the 15x12'' coil in open country out west.. we've also have a couple of 11'' coils which my son uses on the Nox 600 when i'm using the other coils.. thanks again for the kmz files, they've saved a lot of leg-work in getting to these mine sites.. according to one old matey up here, we're the first with detectors in some of these places.. they're certainly bloody hard work to get to, which makes it all the more worthwhile..    

2 minutes ago, phrunt said:

maybe Reg can help as he uses the forum

I've been in contact with Reg and he's been very helpful.. unfortunately he's out of stock at the moment.. (he also told me about the upcoming PL4..  

I especially want to thank Geof-junk for his Queensland Historical Gold Mines kmz files.. they have been invaluable together with Google Earth (especially its 3D function).. it makes the whole adventure a fair bit less daunting if you can 'see' how and where these old gold mine sites are located.. Thanks again..  

2 hours ago, phrunt said:

You could ask about just buying the control box portion of one new

Thanks for the advice Phrunt, it has indeed been a bit of a battle getting a hold of one.. am still hoping the GPX 4500 and 500 will drop in price a bit as they're still unaffordable at the moment..

Who could i ask about just buying the control box? does the manufacturer sell them separately? is there any truth to the rumour that there's a P4 in the works? it'd be the bee's bollocks if it was..    

Travelling through gold country (video contains only one swear word).. 😬