blackjack

I tend to agree with GotAU? I think wheels or at the very least I guess a sled. I'm just asking the question 'why did someone invent the wheel', my answer would be because they were using a sled. Seems like people have come up with some good options for you N/E keep us informed, on your progress.

Like many others I'm sure, it's something that I put some thought into 45years ago, I was working in plastic fabrication at the time, my brother in law was an electronics wiz, I though of something with wheels and a tow line attached to a winch. I had in mind the large number of areas in W.A. that are flat, including salt lakes. Thinking about it was as far as I got. It's interesting to hear that the idea still has merit, good luck with it N/E, I hope you can make it happen, in fact I think you can.

Hey Chuck, just my opinion as usual, I've had both, granted the e-bike was an early model 10years ago, but the battery died and I never did like it much. It had a twist throttle and plenty of power but I just didn't like the high riding position, too far to fall at my age. I now have a chinese 'pit' bike 12" rear and 14"  front wheels, 125cc Lifan motor, cheaper to replace than a battery. It's electric/kick start, I've taken all the 'kids' stickers off it and added lights. It's 75 kilo's wet and I carry it on a tow hitch mounted rack, goes forever on a tank of fuel, and goes like stink if I want it to, my feet can easily reach the ground on rough terrain. Cost me $950 au brand new, I like it.

On 2/17/2021 at 11:32 AM, Gerry in Idaho said:

What does a Veteran Detectorist think of all the gold detectors?  I’ve been hooked and chasing gold nuggets for 25 years with a metal detector.  I really don’t care who makes it or where it’s from, as long as the detector can find me more gold.  I’ve used most all of the popular gold detectors manufactured and or sold in the US in that same 25 yrs.

I’ve watched metal detector manufactures grow, seen them make a few duds, helped a couple introduce some fine detectors to the industry and I hate to admit it, but have watched a couple big name manufactures close their  doors.   I think it might be fun to share my spin on the brand that seems to just keep getting bigger and stronger – Minelab.  Yes there’s a few guys out there who have been using detectors longer than I and maybe they don’t agree with me.  No worries, I’m not trying to outdo anyone or prove a point.  I just want to share what I have experienced and if someone feels different and wants to take the time to do a write up, that’s even better.  It adds to the discussion and conversation of what we here on DP love, detecting for gold.

Chuck had asked if Minelab had made a gold detector that was essentially not much of an improvement.  Jason gave his input and history of Minelab detector and how he ranked them.  I got to thinking, as a Minelab dealer for 20+ yrs and one who was even using their technologies and products in the field with success, before I became a dealer, I feel some more light could be shed and even going back before Jason was on board.

Minelab SD-2100. In 1996 I was blown away with the introduction of the SD-2100 and it's power (depth) over a VLF.  Yes, it was a heavy detector but I was young and enjoyed digging deep holes.  Definitely deserved a 5 star rating as this was the deepest detector I had ever got my hands on.

Minelab SD-2200d. The year 1998 a new version, the SD-2200d come along and the depth was on par with the 2100, but the 2200 had some discrimination, which worked ok.  This detector did not knock me off my feet, but I did use the DISC in some areas of Oregon to get good gold in trash.  I'd rate it a 3 Star.

Minelab GP-Extreme. 2000 was a good year and the introduction of the GP-Extreme with DVT (Dual Voltage Technology) allowed for greater improvements on smaller and finer gold than the SD's.  Minelabs claim of nuggets 55% deeper than an SD-2200d (wonder why they did not say SD-2100?).  I was pretty happy with their claim and my success…when I found an Extreme that ran properly as some of the early ones were noisy.  I would give it a 4 star.

Minelab GP-3000. The issues of the GP-Extreme were cleaned up and an improved GP-3000 came out in 2003.  Again, no big jump in depth, but cleaning up the internal noises allowed for cleaner smoother operation, clearer signal response and a few more nuggets.  In my opinion the GP-3000 earned a 3 star. 

Minelab GP-3500. Only 2 years later in 2005 and the GP-3500 was in my hands.  Again, no big depth difference in any types of gold, but the Ground Tracking Button was added to the top of the hand grip.  This change was nothing I wrote home about, but it was an improvement.  I'd rate it a 3 star at the time.

Realize from the SD2100 (I never owned an SD-2000), up through and including the GP-3500, the coils, shafts and power supply were the same, so in reality it's hard to get a big increase in depths.  The GP series with the DVT was better at smaller/rougher gold but depth on big gold was all pretty close and I felt in some cases the SD's could get a little better depth on solid nuggets.  Today, finding a good clean SD-2100, SD-2200, GP-3000 or GP-3500 and it runs properly, at a decent price, would be a wise move for someone on a budget wanting to step up to a PI.  That’s why I am willing to take some of the older units in trade, but the price has to be right.

Minelab GPX-4000. 2006 was the GPX-4000, yes a new series "GPX" and there was improved capabilities again on smaller gold, specimens and crystalline gold.  New lighter battery, digital readout tuning and more timings.  No claim of extra depth from Minelab but I felt the adding timings, and digital adjustments were in fact getting me a few more pieces of gold.  I give the GPX-4000 a solid 4 rating of 5.

Minelab GPX-4500. In 2008 we were offered the very popular (even to this day), GPX-4500.  I personally did not see a big difference in depths and or did Minelab make any claims of such.  But it did have SETA (if I recall, a smoothing filter?) and added Timings, improved battery with built in Amp and a better waist belt, for what that’s worth.  Even though this machine was not a wow factor for me, it did prove the test of time and to this day is a fantastic PI detector.  In fact it was fazed out in the US and then later brought back at a better price point.  At the 2^nd better price point, certainly a 4 star, maybe 5, but at 1^st when came out in 08, I rate it a 3 out of 5.

Minelab GPX-5000. Fall of 2010 we get the new improved GPX-5000 with 2 added Timings and some other fine tune adjustments.  No big depth differences for most folks, but the 2 timings did have their merit and some folks to this day prefer a 5000 over a 4500.  If I was looking at price differences today, I think the 4500 is a better deal at $2600 vs the $4000 price point we see for a GPX-5000 today.  Realize the 5000 was priced $5800 and stayed there for a few years with great sales.  I don’t recall Minelab stating any depth gains of the 5000 over the others, but I could be wrong?  I did find more gold though as the Fine Gold Timing was good for certain kinds of gold.  I would rate the GPX-5000 a 3 star.

Minelab GPX-4800. Came out about the same time as the GPX-5000 while they tried to faze out the GPX-4500.  The 4800 in all fairness a relabeled 4500 in my opinion and it did not sell well, or last long.  Still a good reliable detector though and event today finding a used one at the right price is a good move from a  VLF.  This was in my opinion, Minelabs 1^st flop of a gold detector introduction.  I rate it at a 1, but performance at a 3.

All 4 models of GPX detectors use the same power cords, battery (although the 4500,4800 and 5000 battery have built in amp), same headphones and shafts.  Heck even the coils, shafts, headphones are all interchangeable with the SD and GP series as well, nice bonus for us all these years.  An interesting spin on the GPX gold detectors, is they are now the most desired detector of the serious Relic Hunters back East.  Those East Coast dealers are finally getting to make some money selling a multi thousand dollar unit that performs above all others at depth.

SDC-2300. Introduced in 2014, I felt this was a good breakthrough for Minelab and the gold nugget hunting community.  Easily the coolest looking most compact gold detector Minelab has made to date, but heavy and awkward.  Well we learned to deal with it, as it’s simplicity and performance for the majority of gold (small gold) was a big win.  The 100% waterproof had a liking as well and I enjoyed a few nice water hunts with it on some black iron sand beaches with gold & diamond success.  No it’s not a deep PI on big gold and Minelab never claimed it was, but boy did and still do, many people have fun and gold finds.  I rate the simplicity/performance of the SDC-2300 a solid 5 star.

GPZ-7000.  Early 2015, a Field Staff Expert and I took a prototype GPZ-7000 to Nevada to test the 40% more depth claims Minelab was touting.  Another easy to see benefit of the GPZ was the simplicity when compared to a GPX and we liked it as we also realized most customers felt the GPX detectors were not easy to understand with the 250K variables of timings/sub timings/options/settings.  The easier to set up and run 7000 was going to be easier to train and in fact we were worried it might be too easy and nobody would take the training.  That eventually went away, as we realized most people still did not have an understanding of proper coil control, a good beep form a bad one and difference from ground noise and a real target.  Did we find the 40% depth increase claim to be true?  Well no measuring sticks were used, but I know for a fact the 7000 sees a variety of gold deeper than any other previous bigger PI detector I or any of my Field Staff have ever used.  Our biggest complaint about the detector was the actual weight.  In fact my 1^st prototype did not even have the swing arm, which is almost a must for most folks.  I rate the GPZ-7000 a solid 5 of 5 stars.  I will say this though.  Early on, I would have rated it a 4 as I had not spent enough time testing the settings and getting it dialed in like the settings I currently use.  Today, I feel the performance of the GPZ-7000 is easily a 5 star.

GPX-6000. Introducing in late Spring or early Summer 2021 the most impressive of all GPX-6000.  The claims of XXX depth over a variety of gold is impressive to say the least.  The ergonomics and feel from my Staff that played with it seems to be a 5 star.  The User Friendly cleaned up turn on and go (somewhat like a GM-1000) operation rates a 5 star. Now we just need to get it in our hands and in the field for some actual real prospecting.  Then we can rate the stars on Performance vs what Minelab claims.

Again, I know some folks will have differing opinions than what I have mentioned.  I also know their soils and detecting ground or overall detector knowledge will be different.  I realize a few people have higher expectations than some of us and or not as fast to sell their old to try the new, technologies.  But when I look back at my 25 yrs of using Minelab detectors, I find very little faults in their claims of depth increases.  I’ve also found each new gold detector actually was an improvement over the other (minus the 4800) in some way or another.  Do I justify each of us running out and purchasing the next new model?  Heck no, I don’t know your income level or how high on the fun scale you rate detecting and digging up gold.  But for me, I have found enough gold to pay for all my different Minelabs and I consider detecting to be my #1 passion.

In my eyes, Minelab has been the most consistent metal sensing detector manufacture in the last 25 yrs and will probably continue to do so.  Each new unit they have come out with has produced more gold for my staff and I.  We all expect this new GPX-6000 to do just what we want.  That’s to find more gold, with a better ergonomically designed and user friendly detector.  Will we find a particular nugget that one of our other detectors may hit at stronger, or a little deeper, or in a certain EMI or soil condition?  Could happen, but I don’t worry about the rare anomaly occasion, I look at the overall variety of gold I pursue and chase.  I’ll go out on a limb and rate the GPX-6000 a ----  shooting star.

Would love to hear your responses.

The video is some of my guys and I putting a spin on one of Minelabs 5 Star rated gold detectors.

 

Thanks Gerry your comments on older models and those on a budget confirms what I have been thinking. To have it confirmed by someone with your credibility is reassuring.

49 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

The permits are approved by Federal, State, & County agencies. All plant, wildlife, & water are considered in the plan.  The tailings water is contained in a settling pond. This operation is about 1/2 mile from any creek. The water is actually being taken from a flooded mine shaft which formed a pond 1700 ft or so to the NW on the mountain. The State of California granted the water license and the operation was monitored. All disturbance was put back under the plan and was covered by a bond to the Federal government. After two years it was hard to see that any mining activity had taken place. The Federal government holds the bond as security until all reclamation has passed muster. If you don't follow the plan you are pretty much finished as miners. Reputation means quite a bit. Ours is very good. That is why our permit applications continue to be approved.  

Thanks Ghostminer My question was based on curiosity not malice, please read my answer to Tahoegold. after reading all 194 pages from you I think I have gotten some insight into how you would operate.

44 minutes ago, Tahoegold said:

Hi Black jack,

   So, GM has had this operation permitted. This permitting process covers all aspects of a mining operation and expressly describes every aspect according to California and Federal Law. Each time a permit is applied for, government entities approve each action the mining operation will take. 

    The question you ask seems to allude to something nefarious occuring outside of the law. Think about that, here you have men trying to do the right thing by permitting this claim through government channels. It appears that these men have every intention of adhering to all applicable laws. They want to work their claim and live the American dream of hard work = rewards. 

   Are insinuating these hard working American Miners are breaking the law? Do you have actual knowledge or eye witness account of any statement you have made? 

   The kind of questions you asked seem pretty unfair given the facts of the operation. I'm not trying to be mean. If you didn't understand the process I hope now you can now see these are hard working law abiding Americans trying to make a business work and to provide for their families.

   

Hey Tahoegold, now that you point it out I can see that it would be easy to think that I was questioning the process. I can assure you and others that was not my intention, I understand that  Ghostminer is operating a legitimate business, further more I know how strict the rules would be in California, this was the basis of my question, I was curious as to what was required to operate legally. In asking the question I though I was giving Ghostminer the chance to share with others some of the details of his operation. For those who took it another way, that is understandable. I commend you for jumping to his defence.

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

   June 6   2002

 

   The crew was up before dawn and we had coffee together. Everyone was in a hurry to fire up the trommel and see what kind of yardage the plant could handle. At sunrise the temperature was nearly 60 degrees and we expected a sweltering day. Jacob said this may be the beginning of the big heat he had talked about. He said it could last until well into September. I know one thing, I am happy to not be digging with a pick and shovel now. Those old crews must have been as tough as they come.

   We had all taken night watch shifts and everything was quiet. Vern fired up the big pump and the pristine morning air and silence was suddenly broken with the smell of diesel fuel and throbbing gas and diesel engines. 

   Jim ran the excavator while Jacob tended to the trommel and I got in the skid steer. Jim dug up piles of virgin gravel while I loaded the trommel with pay gravel from the bucket of the steer and pushed tailings. Within one hour we had processed roughly  20 cubic yards of gravel and we were hardly running the trommel at half speed. We had it up on a pad with a ramp for the steer to come up to its hopper and feed it. It was a beast. After a few minor adjustments to the water flow we cranked it up to about 80% and let it work. By 2:00 PM we had run 150 yards through it and shut it down. We wanted to see how the recovery was so we cleaned out the mats and all four of us participated in the cleanup. Jacob had the biggest grin on his face I had ever seen. In the holding pan there were 17 ounces of gold. We broke out the whisky and beer and had a toast to the old crew. If only they could have been here.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

If this question has been covered before, apologies, but I'm wondering were the water from the trommel goes. I presume it cant go back to the creek, do you have closed system from a dam and if so what rehabilitation work is required when you finish. Riparian zones are protected over here, unless you are RioTinto or BHP, then I think some concessions apply.

2 minutes ago, Deep Beeps said:

Sorry to hear. Ive been hit on occasions over 10 times in the head alone... Im not allergic but couldn't sleep either time those nights from the venom to the thinker.

Murphy's Law... You're always in some tough place when it happens. Never next to your truck door.

Thanks, they say 'once bitten twice shy' I must be a slow learner, but from now on it's 'twice bitten three times shy' I can see how things could get nasty really quickly.

25 minutes ago, Jim_Alaska said:

I live in Northern Calif. There is not all that much snow here. Some places farther south may have got more snow, but I don't think it will affect much. It's usually flooding produced by rain that moves gold, and even then it has to be something like a 500 year flood event.

I agree Jim, after record floods for us in Tasmania in the winter of 2022 we had high hopes for replenishment of a 20 meter section of river that we took 3 ounces out of in the 2021/22 summer. The summer of 2022/23 just gone, not one crevice/crack/gully that we had worked for gold the previous summer had even a speck of gold and none of the crevices had been compacted, the indicator in our river of an unworked crevice. This area that we know well looked much the same as it did the previous summer, except for one small section that had less gravel/overburden, this gave us access to some new bedrock and more gold. A nearby river that has been worked by others was the same, no replenishment. One thing of note is that upstream and downstream from the section we have worked, probably no more than 30 meters of river, has no gold in the crevices that have been compacted and therefore we assume are unworked. I can only speak for what I have observed in these two rivers and in particular the section that I know like the back of my hand. Who knows Jim it may take 500, 500 year flood events to replenish some areas ?

On 5/2/2023 at 5:33 AM, Chase Goldman said:

 

Also, where is the hobby headed?  Relics and gold are not replenished and coinage and jewelry  are disappearing as we are now content to buy stuff with our phones and wear non-metallic silicone SafeRingz instead of gold wedding bands.

 

Sorry C-G you nailed it first, I missed it.

On 5/2/2023 at 6:46 AM, Digalicious said:

...or the seemingly newer trend of not wearing gold or diamonds, but wearing no jewelry, or alternatives / replicas that look just as good, at a fraction of the cost. Then the fact that circulating silver coins haven't been in production for about the last 60 years, get more and more out of detection range, and most people now carry little to no pocket change

 

Nailed It 

9 hours ago, GeoBill said:

I keep bees and currently have several hives but I can only speak to how honey bees behave here in norcal. In general honey bees will only sting if defending their home or if trapped against your skin (stepped on, caught in hair, etc. ]

Yes I agree, this is my experience with 'Domestic' bees in my topic " Killer Bees ! Or Famous Last Words " Corey had a bee caught in his hair, which stung him, that set off a rapid chain reaction from the bees. However years ago my wife and I were the target of an 'unprovoked' attack from a wild hive. It happened on the top of a steep rocky hillside, which made a rapid escape difficult I was stung at least 6 times but my wife with her long hair was stung more, about 10-12 times. We were about 20 meters from the hive when it happened. I have no idea if we have/had Africanized bees in Australia. This happened in 1989 in Western Australia at Kalbarri.

12 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

BJ the 7 areas are the states, note I included Tasmania 😁

Ha, the penny drops g-j, I was looking at Hobart, Melbourne etc. Thanks for not leaving Tassie of the map. Judging by the way  property prices have gone recently I think the secret is out, we were happy to be left of the map.

On 4/23/2023 at 4:28 PM, geof_junk said:

All seven areas have gold. Just keep clear of my patch. 😁

 

Hey g-j, Canberra is the biggest square, what are you trying to tell us ?

12 hours ago, GotAU? said:

All the posts I’ve seen about people successfully finding nuggets in the US these days mentioned digging in areas with trash and pellets. Steve also mentioned recently that presence of trash and pellets was a good way to know an area hasn’t been thoroughly detected.  It doesn’t come easy, and that’s been something I started learning as well.

This is a really good point, if you're finding lead then you are on the right track, I had to find three bullets before I found gold. But I knew I was on the right track, lead is relatively rare in a lot of the West Australian fields, unlike bloody boot tacks !

7 hours ago, mn90403 said:

It could be time to get in a wetsuit and go to the creeks.

 

After California’s Heavy Rains, Gold Seekers Are Giddy - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Sniping is an easy and successful way to find gold, if you get into the right river/creek. Finding gold by eye is unique, there's something exciting about seeing every piece of gold you find. Going for extended periods without putting your snuffer bottle away is simply exhilarating.

1 hour ago, geof_junk said:

It is very hard to find gold in virgin location. When the nuggets were laying everywhere in 1979-80 I spent about half a years working hours searching virgin ground with no finds. It taught me you have to be in the right ground near (a few miles)  known mines or diggings. However once you have got the eye and feel it can be very rewarding. Have a look at an old post of mine. 

 

I wasted a lot of time as well g-j in 1979-80 looking for the fabled virgin patch instead of going to where it had been found by the old timers, eventually I caught on. Last summer I finally found my virgin patch, but I had something the old timers didn't have, a 7mm wetsuit and mask. 

11 hours ago, Bishop said:

(I'd rather get less gold if it means less trash)
the old timers were everywhere. when you are finding miners trash from the 1800s
its probably a good idea to slow down and have a look around.

 

Yes they were

11 hours ago, dig4gold said:

 

The best general areas to go is where gold has been found before.

Yes this is true because the old timers were everywhere. The old adage was "gold is where you find it", now I believe it may be "gold is where it's been found before".

Hey Eric it's always good to find pre 1946 silver. I'm guessing Horseshoe Bay would have always been popular, especially when arriving by boat, because of it's shape and it's location, it would mean it's sheltered from the S/Easterlies ? Florence Bay looks like a good place on the right day and Radical Bay and Balding Bay, you're spoilt for choice.

6 hours ago, dogodog said:

Nice job Erik, I highly doubt you would wear a yankee THONG. And if you do PLEASE do not post a photo of that!!! As for the flip flops I wouldn't be caught dead in those. I'm like an old cowboy, Die and detect with your boots on!!!!!

I'm a bit envious of where Eric lives, I'm sure most of the time he's in bare feet and thongs are his version of safety footwear.  I wonder why they are called flip flops ? 😉

On 4/19/2023 at 12:52 PM, oldmancoyote1 said:

Seven years.  I got a bit frustrated and paid Ray Mills considerable cash for help.  After an introduction session that Fall, he took my buddy and me to a better place that Spring.  Over the next few days I found 63  mostly sub-gram "nuggets".  My buddy the @@@,  fount 79.

You've got to admire him on two levels, honesty and persistence. It's an interesting topic, a good percentage of people started finding gold when the technology improved, I do wonder how many small pieces I missed with my ground hog, before I found a piece large enough for it to register. At the time we had no choice the A2B was state of the art. 

3 hours ago, Ethan in Adelaide said:

Jack do you have to kayak to your destination? LOl

Yes Ethan, we are mostly sniping. I've posted under Gold panning, Sluicing, Dredging, Drywashing etc. forum

A great post from Eric 'Randy' Oostra  😉

28 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

Oh ... too much information!

16 minutes ago, Valens Legacy said:

Eric,

Please tell us that you accidentally put the thong on after waking up next to a beautiful woman before running out the door with your detector before her husband came home.

Second did you also wear her high heels while metal detecting?

Nice hunt and nice looking ring.

The joys of language, I'm sure Eric meant to say flip flops. Get that other image out of your heads please

I see what you mean, I looked at the mouth, Thongs ? that's going too far !