nebulanoodle

SD is the old Super Detector Minelab made before the 3000. SD2000,2100,2200s.

Ah maaan! I am seriously wanting to put my coil over RP!!! Excellent, excellent.

Probably just bits of your excavator bucket. Does it happen to be made of gold? That would probably explain why there are so many in such a small area. I’d invest in a steel bucket, much more durable. Although it could be exhilarating to continue using the golden bucket that I think you’re using, since it creates the illusion of finding nugs no matter where you dig! Just a thought... Daniel

Hmmm I dunno, looks more like you stumbled upon a healthy cult of nuggets involved in some sort of exotic ritual involving a Merc dime??? Daniel

Hello! The area I found these two nuggets in is actually a known and producing patch that I have been exploring and observing. I personally have found just over 10 nuggets from this deposit ranging from multi-gram to sub-gram, and I am also aware of a few other detectorists who have pulled many nuggets from the very same location. However! I am not completely convinced yet as to what type of deposit this may be... Sometimes the gold and the ground suggest it is a high and dry ancient channel that has been concentrated over time on this hilltop and in a nearby gulch. But other times the gold alone says it isn't far from its original source. Maybe it's both!!! I have yet to completely explore the possibility of a nugget producing lode on this hill of mine because there is plenty of placer for me to exploit currently. Between detecting and drywashing, I can assure you this is absolutely a Gold Deposit! Like I said originally though, I have much exploration still to do! 3 acres can sound relatively small, but when trying to thoroughly explore a very remote 3 acres by yourself, that relativity scale certainly tips towards the large side of perception. Here's a little more confirmation that this is indeed a Gold Deposit:

Hey, thanks GB!

Hello from the West! I go by the name Tree, given to me by some jokers making comments about a jacket I wore once! Anyways, my number one is gold prospecting; detecting, drywashing, and panning. In that order. Though I am interested in other methods of course. My number two is general rock hounding. My mantra is, “Always be prospecting.” And it is always suitable! I have been aware of my prospecting habits for 7 years now and there’s no sign of them ever going away! I am seriously, seriously grateful for these prospecting forums. Where a great variety of knowledge and ideas can be communicated and the inspiration that perspires from that is magnificent! So, I’m hear to learn and occasionally share some stories. Because sometimes you just need to read a prospectors tale! Thanks!

That’s what I was going for!!! 😂

First off, hello all! Great reads here, and a big thanks to Steve for all of the generous work put in for the lay-detectorists. I have gold fever. I’ve had it since I first dug up my own gold in 2013 and I’ve learned that it never goes away. It just gets worse as it sinks it’s claws deeper into its poor host. My summer job this year really hasn’t left me much free time for prospecting. Mostly a very brief opportunity to pan some gravel in the Feather River for flood gold. Much of the time for prospecting it has actually allowed me has been in the form of Google Earth prospecting the reminiscent values found in old patches and pure fantasy of what’s left to be found elsewhere. All of this imagination mixed with the ungodly lack of personal time has really flared my case of gold fever to a boiling point... no, something more closely resembling a nuclear reactor nearing criticality... yes. But, ah! Finally! After 3 months of work with only 10 days at home to take care of personal matters, another 2 days off without the chance of being bothered. An opportunity to go prospecting! In all the time I’ve had locked inside of my own head with my thoughts and stupendous ideas. There was one idea I had been diligently working to manifest into reality; I was going to use a mountain bike to subtract the amount of physical exertion it normally takes me to hike in and out of an old, arduously located patch! Well, my imagination is quite the steadfast optimist! And it kept being so, no matter how hard each and every contour line of this rugged desert terrain attempted to beat it into accepting the reality of the situation. Until finally, I submitted. My idea did not work. It was not smart, to try riding a mountain bike for my first time on the equivalent of an advanced, single track, rocky bike trail, with a backpack full of sustenance, plus a detector on my back. I had travelled 2 miles from where I parked and ridden the bike for maybe 500 feet... That translates to pushing the bike along in front of me with its front tire in the air for over 10,000 feet, not to mention the elevation gain involved! It was 8 o’clock in the morning, and I looked like I just got out of the shower fully clothed in Georgia during an August heat wave at 3 in the afternoon! Without shame, I laid the bike on its side next to the trail and proceeded on foot without looking back. I dried off quickly and was pleasantly relieved at how much easier it was to just hike after the whole bike ordeal. Eventually I made it to the old patch, where I had another plan thought up to explore the ground conditions for some future drywashing. This plan however was much safer, much less chance of failure. And I pulled it off without a hitch! It simply involved digging up a 5x5 foot area to see how deep the residual deposit laying over the area was. Of course more future exploration is planned, the purpose of today was just to have little teaspoon of medication for my fever. But I didn’t bring that detector for nothing!!! After dreaming of nuggets all summer, you bet I was gonna listen to what the dirt had to say today! I threw my old SD together with my trusty stock 11” DD and in two minutes I had a beautifully screaming target that stayed faithful after scraping away the surface. I couldn’t believe it happened so quickly! Soon I was looking at my first nugget after a 2 year skunk streak. A beautiful little half grammer! In another 20 minutes I found its little sister about 20 feet side slope to the left at a quarter gram. After exploring another one of my ideas without anything to show for it, I decided my day had been good enough and I’d head home and continue enjoying my short amount of time off. Plus I still had to push that dang failed plan from earlier back as far as I had pushed it in... but now with a Whopping .75 grams of extra weight of gold in my pocket