Coota

X still producing on the little run. Didn’t want to take the 17x12 off the Zed and use the 19. Coiltek 18” pinged a fair percentage of these, punches deep.

Another ounce and a half today with the X

17 x 12 Spiral, pings tiny .1 gram bits no worries. Pain in the butt digging them but sometimes they lead to bigger and better chunks as was the case for me today. 76 grams at 18 inches, any detector would have heard it, same with the 6 gram bit. 14 gram bit was a different story, 20 inches down and very quite but definitely a dig me signal. With the X running so quiet it was no worries. A bloody pleasure to use, a complete contrast to my stock 14” which is so touch and knock sensitive, it’s had a hard life so maybe just worn out but it never ran as quite as the X.

It’s not that hard a job, making the patch lead. Just take your time and follow the instructions to the letter. A mate and I made mine today, took our time and double checked everything. Fingers crossed after reading this thread but she fired up beautifully, balanced nicely and pings .20g bits easily. Not bad for a 17 x 12 Spiral. One tip, some solders melt at high temperatures, we had both but used the lower temp one, made life easier.

Here you go Condor, a little WA gold to whet your appetite. Picked up over a few days last winter. Happy hunting.

Getting harder and harder to find anything decent Meeka way Jen, a very busy area. I specifically wanted to try the new salt setting in one particular area there, it loses a lot of depth but is usable.

Next trip I headed up Wiluna way for a week then on to Meeka to meet up with a mate. Just the one little patch at Wiluna, nothing deeper than about 6 inches. Had me a little excited for a while but she dried up after about an ounce.

I was up Madtunas way about a month ago, beautiful weather cool nights and around 25-26 C during the day. A few frosty mornings when I had to scrape the ice off the quad before heading off. I ran into Steve one day (going where even a mountain goat would think twice about), had a yarn and a couple of ales and garnered a little local knowledge and marked a couple of spots Steve recommended. Shifted camp the next day to an area Steve mentioned and picked up the bulk of my finds there, 26 grams so thanks for that Steve.

I visited a mate in Bunbury recently, he had one and I tried it coupled to the Zed with the 19" coil but only for a few minutes. I was impressed enough to leave $365 with him, the Prospectors Pick being closed at the time. My first trip out will be mid April for about a month, I'll give a rundown on it when I return.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/311777725050 This is the little unit I purchased, about au$300 including postage. Phoenix I used Map gas, cranked it up full bore first go and caused a little damage to the kiln, they burn a lot hotter than I expected. Toned it down after that, taking 10 minutes per pour start to finish. Wombat, I searched everywhere in Australia but couldn't source a locally made one. I do prefer buying local when possible.

My little kiln arrived from America and I gave it a workout the same day then sold the gold the next day. I used the chapman flux supplied and only lost a few grams. The purity was around 88-89%, the rest silver. Pulled in au$9,742 @ $48 a gram, spot at the time was $52. Happy with that. Try as I might, it just will not allow me to post a photo ?? Submitted the post then hit edit and the photo option worked.

Hey Lanny, I suppose there was some hard work involved but looking back I've enjoyed every minute of it....Maybe not the staked tyres, flies, midgies and mozzies but those memories fade. Haven't ventured out this year but big things planned for the cooler months. cheers

Hi Northeast, I use one of the re-released GPX4500's coupled to a 14 inch Coiltek Elite for patch hunting, a great combination. If I do happen to find a few bits I give the area a good going over with the Zed. Still leave some behind though, old patches and known areas revisited always give up a little more.

Hi Mitchel, here's a pic of most of last years finds. I'm awaiting delivery of a little furnace from your neck of the woods, couldn't find one anywhere in Aus unfortunately as I prefer to buy local. When I do smelt I'll post a video. Heres a picture of my best bit so far, haven't had a specific gravity test done as yet, no rush. Cheers Mick