Garrett Axiom At Nome, Alaska

[Valens Legacy]

A beautiful article with great scenery of the area and a nice amount of gold found.

Great job Steve and glad that you were able to enjoy yourself while going home.

Now that I said that I just have one question for you, why didn't you take me with you.

Good luck on your next hunt.

[Gold Catcher]

9 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The clay is settled glacial silt, but the placer is more complex than just simple glacial deposits. Coarse gold can and does occur in glacial terrain. Geology is rarely simple, and here we have chunky gold, with lots of quartz. Plenty of bedrock sources at Nome, many still undiscovered. Long story short more than one thing was happening here geologically. Did you know the Northern California high Sierra gold country is full of glacial deposits, and also has very large gold nuggets? https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/620-glaciers-gold/

Yes, the miners are engaged in serious commercial scale operations. I got to hold a jug with 450 ounces of gold in it. 

Many thanks, Steve! And yes I am aware of the CA glacial deposits. Although I have not spent much time in the very high up Sierra Nevada regions,  I have plans to explore some areas more thoroughly. I will PM you to get you thoughts on a specific location that I have in mind...

GC

[deathray]

Amazing hunt, and well written. Good job!

[Steve Herschbach]

I probably miss more gold than I find. The key is being on good ground, usually sites with proven past production, and putting in the hours. I was on good ground. I'm not some kind of tuning wizard either. In general though, when I put my mind to it, I have good technique. The real secret is coil control - getting the coil directly over the gold. People obsess over having detectors that get another inch, then give that inch or more away though sloppy coil control. Be willing to roll rocks, and more, to get the coil closer to the gold.

You also want to have a good ear for the faint targets, which many people seem to lack. People pass by targets all the time, due to just not hearing those tiniest of signals. If your pouch does not have a decent helping of small targets on a regular basis, like birdshot or small scraps of brass, then you are passing over gold. If you can’t hear tiny bits, you also can’t hear big ones at the edge of detection depth. It’s all the same - really faint targets.

Anyway, I hunt behind the countless others who have hunted the locations that I frequent, and I am sure people can hunt after me also and find gold. Nobody gets it all, though the finds certainly thin with time. Most people simply want more gold per hour than most places will deliver these days. Patience is another strong factor when it comes to metal detecting for gold.

I never pay attention to a location having dig holes unless to think that means there is gold there. It amazes me how many people think an area is not worth attention because "it's already been hunted." As long as a single target remains in trashy areas, then gold remains. In that regard, I consider trash to be my friend, and I think the best prospects we have left today in the U.S. are in some of the trashiest locations. The trash drives the more timid away in search of easier digging, leaving good finds behind for those willing to dig every target, no matter how long it takes. And it might take years. 

1. Good ground plus hours (patience)
2. Good, properly tuned detector
3. Proper coil control - get coil close to gold
4. Ear for small (faint) targets (a big nugget deep is a faint target)
5. Willingness to dig trash
6. More patience 

Some knowledge of geology can help in deciding what to detect first, but in general the beauty of metal detecting is the ease with which you can detect anything. Rather than think too much about the pile of dirt, just go detect it. Gold gets found in plenty of places you would think it should not be. Old mine workings in particular, that odd pile of dirt, the berm of the road, the road itself… it all can produce gold. They were excavating and moving dirt around, and over time more than once, so you have no idea what might end up where. Be curious, and give it a go, and see what you find. A little luck is helpful, but by and large when it comes to metal detecting for gold, people make their own luck.

[Dig It]

Outstanding Steve !!!

[Robert Eaton Jr]

I'm trying to look for some people that have this detector and are using it for themselves and enjoying it. I think Steve is awesome and I love reading his posts and his experiences. But I'm wondering if all this is a lot of Garrett promotions? Was this the trip that you were on Steve? I can't really find any other forms talking about the detector. Doesn't matter much because I've sold everything I have I'm just wasting away dreaming about the day I could once again have freedom to look for gold.

[Steve Herschbach]

20 hours ago, Robert Eaton Jr said:

I'm trying to look for some people that have this detector and are using it for themselves and enjoying it. I think Steve is awesome and I love reading his posts and his experiences. But I'm wondering if all this is a lot of Garrett promotions? Was this the trip that you were on Steve? I can't really find any other forms talking about the detector. Doesn't matter much because I've sold everything I have I'm just wasting away dreaming about the day I could once again have freedom to look for gold.

No, I did not go to the AKAU operation. I know the owners, but have never been there. KG and Ringy are long time detectorists who are sponsored by Garrett. The marketing machines these days focus very much on social media like YouTube and Facebook, and that is where the marketing money gets directed. But you'd have to ask them about all that. Seem like nice guys to me, hope to meet them some day.

I'm more like an independent consultant who works with various companies. My posts and my stories are my own. If I was part of the marketing machine, I'd be making YouTube videos and posting on Facebook, but chasing eyeballs is not my motivation in all this. For me it is about having some relevance, in nudging and pushing companies to produce better technology, ultimately for my own use. I share stuff on these forums exclusively, and whether anyone pays any attention to it or not does not keep me up at night. It's more like how I keep a diary of my activities for myself, and I am very glad I have. My Steve's Mining Journal is something I will treasure as I enter my latter years, with memories that will have faded with time, had I not recorded each of them over the years right after they occurred.

There is a lot about Axiom on this forum because I own this forum, and have an inside track on the Axiom. I invited Gerry to be a part of all that also, and as he is an active poster here, you get a double helping. Other prospecting forums are generally Minelab centric, and so Garrett gets little in the way of open minded discussion. Rest easy about one thing though. I could care less if you or anyone spends their money on metal detectors. I'm happy to share what I know, as honestly as I can, but I'm 100% not doing any of this to sell you metal detectors. If that was true, I'd be a dealer still. Had enough of that. The reality is I'm selfish and self centered, and do all this for my own enjoyment and satisfaction. I'm a very fortunate soul, to be able to do what I love, to be involved in it to a degree most can only dream of, and have a heck of a good time while doing it! 

Anyway, long story short is Garrett knew nothing about my posting here about this. It is as much a surprise for them as anyone, and I only just told them about it this morning. They might link here from their Facebook page, but that's up to them. I'm sure they'd rather I was doing all this on Facebook, but oh well, I march to my own drummer. Last thing I need are a million "friends," not one of whom is a real friend! 

[Robert Eaton Jr]

Awesome. Your word and advice is as good as Good as gold to me. I'm a long way from being able to buy a new detector anytime soon. They probably have a whole bunch of new ones by the time that they comes. But the Garrett looks pretty cool. Living the dream

[Gerry in Idaho]

Boy that sure will fire up some prospectors.  Those nuggets are certainly getting better and bigger.

Glad to see you out there scooping up more gold Steve.

We need to get back up to Moore Creek with these Axioms as you know it has more Hot Rocks than any other place I have ever detected for gold.

Funny, how I am about to post a nugget that was found under a large Hot Rock and my VLF's missed it as well as other PI's.

Well done my friend.