Detector Finds From Tailing Piles & Hand Placer Digs

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:43 PM, Drellim said:

Gerry wow it tells the story pretty clean  I always have my gold master  / old one  that I use to find the patch then work from there  with the PI   It’s amazing what one can hear and another nothing but man your stories and pics make me think I need a lesson or two  to get out of my righteous  mindset    Thanks for opening up my vision  hell we are always learning right   Thanks  

I just returned from my last 3 Days Field Training at Rye Patch NV.  Funny you mentioned about "always learning".  I spent 2 weeks in NV and was able to hunt for 10 days.  3 times was me alone in the field with different detectors, coils and settings, trying to teach myself to become even better.  I would find a potential nugget and then spend the next hour learning/listening to which the different detectors/coils and what their response/feedback to me was.  It keeps me on my toes and tuned at a level above most others, in my opinion.  I'll be posting a read for everyone when I get caught up.

Knowledge is Golden my friend.

[RiverRat]

On 11/3/2023 at 11:11 AM, Allen in MT said:

I have had the big Minelab's, the Garrets, Whites and Fisher detectors and I keep coming back to the reliable Fisher Gold Bug 2 and I would guess it has found 90% of my gold total. The one pictured was with the GB2 in tailing piles in Idaho and is my biggest. It is 5.56oz

Hi Allen, really nice find.

Just wondering what coil or coils you like with the GB 2 for tailing piles?

Thanks,

RiverRat

 

[RiverRat]

On 10/18/2023 at 2:00 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Thanks for agreeing with me and showing proof Glenn.  It takes a lot of time in the field with many detectors to learn these things and most folks will not do that.  Yes I agree with you, the Axiom does not see/hear some invisible gold, but at the same time it also will find more of the invisible types than many of the older PI's.

As for a PI being able to do as well as a VLF for such gold?  I really don't see how they can do it as the technologies used are so different.  Maybe if a manufacture were to build a VLF within a PI so you can switch back and forth.  Wonder how much that detector would cost us?  Well f it was Minelab selling it, I recon $10K.  If it's someone else, say like Garrett, I would expect them to be more reasonable. $5000.

Love seeing your finds my friend and sorry I never made it up there this year, maybe 2024?

Yes it's a hard pill to swallow when someone with a sub $1000 detector can find a $1000+ piece of gold and a $5000 or $8500 machine can't even make a peep on it.  I've pissed off a few folks in the 3 days training sessions we offer, by showing such.  They just assume the more money you spend the more gold you find.  We Staff and I provide Knowledge and some of it is stuff many dealers don't even know about or have seen.  What you do with the knowledge (being pissed or happy you learned that about your detector) is up to you.  My training shows and explains what kind of gold your detector is best at and I also want you to know the kinds of gold and hunts it's not so good at.  That way you are not wasting time in the field with a detector that is not good for the task.

Why so many folks don't research out a good reputable dealer who's actually in the field showing success, to help them make a detector purchase, instead just order on Amazon and then wonder why they have not found any gold....is beyond me. 

You're one of the wise ones my friend.

Hi Gerry,

Thanks a bunch for posting about detecting tailing piles.

What coil or coils do you like with the GB 2 in mine tailings and Dredge Tailings?

I picked up a used GB 2 with the 6x3 and 10x5 coils in primo condition a few months ago at a great price, and then picked up a GPX 4800 with stock DD coil also at a great price.  I'm  ready to retire and get back out in the goldfields.

I got into prospecting in my teens after finding out that my family has been involved in gold prospecting since 1849. Now I'm switching to the detecting side.

My focus is on mine tailing piles and dredge tailings in Siskiyou county Ca where my family had a producing mine in the 1880's.

thanks,

RiverRat

[Gerry in Idaho]

7 hours ago, RiverRat said:

Hi Gerry,

Thanks a bunch for posting about detecting tailing piles.

What coil or coils do you like with the GB 2 in mine tailings and Dredge Tailings?

I picked up a used GB 2 with the 6x3 and 10x5 coils in primo condition a few months ago at a great price, and then picked up a GPX 4800 with stock DD coil also at a great price.  I'm  ready to retire and get back out in the goldfields.

I got into prospecting in my teens after finding out that my family has been involved in gold prospecting since 1849. Now I'm switching to the detecting side.

My focus is on mine tailing piles and dredge tailings in Siskiyou county Ca where my family had a producing mine in the 1880's.

thanks,

RiverRat

Welcome to DP and hopefully some of our knowledge will help you succeed.

I'm usually running the stock coil with a VLF when in tailing piles and occasionally the larger.  For the GB-2, I recommend the stock 10" Ellip and on occasion even the 14" Ellip.

I'm not a fan of using a PI in tailing but when I do, I prefer a DD so I can use Iron ID.  If using the buddy system (both detectors at once), then you can use a MONO on the PI.  Watch out with a PI as they are extremely deep and those tailing also have big deep trash.

Best of luck to you and I look forward to hearing of your adventures.

 

[Gold Dozer]

 Simply amazing finds.  Great to see these types of things are still out there.

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:35 PM, Gold Dozer said:

 Simply amazing finds.  Great to see these types of things are still out there.

Gold Dozer - Welcome to Detector Prospector and hopefully we see you on here more often in the future.  We need some of the newer DP members to start posting more so us old geezers have something to read.

Just curious where you're located and what you swing?

As for making finds.  Not sure if I am spoiled or just in the right area.  As for area, heck I travel to get to many of my locations so I feel maybe it's "Time".  I seem to have more patience than most and am willing to put in the "time" at those "areas" that have been productive for Prospectors in centuries past.  I honestly feel I could do even better, provided I had more "time" on my hands.  Who knows, maybe when I fully retire and quit selling/educating new Prospectors, all though I do enjoy training.

Keep up the positive spirits.

[Gold Dozer]

Thanks for the response.  I started with panning and sluicing and have gravitated towards detecting about 2 years ago.  I swing a Gold monster and a GPX 6000.  I'm in Utah and yes I've also found that I've had to travel some good distances to find stuff big enough to make the detector ring.  Recently went down to Arizona and got permission to work a claim.  Spent 5 days on the claim and this is what I came up with using the GPX.  Had the time of my life.  Hoping to get more opportunities to get out there and find some more.  As of right now my biggest is .53 of a gram.  Hoping to better that with some more field time.

 

Been eyeing the GPZ 7000 but haven't pulled the trigger.

 

I've really enjoyed meeting new people that enjoy this hobby like I do.  It does take patience but I find the rewards to be very fulfilling.  Not only the finds but the time out in nature and going places you'd only ever go to if your a gold enthusiast. 

[Amgminingco]

On 10/18/2023 at 8:22 AM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Thanks for asking a very important question.  As you view some of the pics, you'll see my coil size and selection varies based on the detector used.  When running the older GP and GPX series with some Iron Identification, one must have a DD coil and the detector set up accordingly.  I really like the 10" Ellip DD in some of the rough terrain areas and also the lighter coil on those bigger heavy machines is more manageable.

When running VLF detectors in such sites I'm swinging the stock size coils as I'm not really interested in tiny bits and pickers.  Back in the day on a Fisher GB-2, Tesoro LST, White's Gold Master series, I used stock 10" Ellip and larger 14" Ellip.  With MXT series the 950 coils and or even 12" round.  When newer Fisher GB came out and after some testing, I liked the 11" Semi Ellip. spoked coil.  Then came the X-Terra series by Minelab and my testing provided me best results with the stock 9" round Concentric coil in the 18 kHz and if really rough terrain the 10" Ellip DD in same 18kHz.  After that was the Equinox series and boy did the EQ-800 with stock 11" round coil and extreme light weight really get it done.  I even used the larger 12x15 in a couple areas that had produced a few bigger pieces and managed to squeeze out one more sandwich of gold.

Below for my big mouth fans...

 

Below pic was found with NOX-800 and 12x15" coil.

 

The Manticore and coil size.  No option yet, just a bunch of BS teasing us.  Yes, I have used Manti with success and the 11" round DD is fine and will be more preferred coil.  Eventually, I'll step up a size for a select few areas...but at the rate things are going, it will probably be next year before I get to swing one as winter is setting in around my closer sites in ID, NV and Eastern OR.

As for the GPZ-7000, I used the stock 14x13" coil but only in a few select sites as there is no Iron ID.  Same with the newer GPX-6000, the stock 11" round is just fine.

With the newest of the big boy detectors, the Pulse Induction Garrett Axiom and it's variable capabilities and coil options is ideal for a variety of such style of detecting tailings/diggings.  It has Iron ID capabilities the 6000 and 7000 do not.  Plus, the Axiom's advanced PI technology does better on many kinds of specimens and invisible gold many other PI's miss.  My own style of detecting and the size of gold I'm chasing with the Axiom at such sites, I've been swinging the 12x13" MONO coil.

One piece of advice for those who prefer to use a big deep detector, be sure to have a good VLF with target identification capabilities nearby.  Doing so will save you so much time and energy.

Realize what is different about me than most.  I don't really like chasing small gold, unless that's the only gold remaining in the area.  When you have dug up a couple trophies, it's tough to step back to small again.  Yes, I know there's more small gold than big and that's exactly why when my Field Staff and I do training, we teach most to use smaller coils as they provide better results for the majority of what's left.

Always varying scenarios and choices out there and not 1 way, 1 machine or 1 coil is best for everything.  Options in different detectors and coil selections allows me to find more heavy metal.

 

I had a 6.7 (or 6.9) I always forget.. specimine with over a lb of gold in it and when I got within 6 inches I swung the gm1000 over it and it pinged out on the iron side. And was grunting like there is no tomorrow. If I didn’t know the area had lunks, (I’ve found 4,5,5,and 6 lb specimens within a 150 feet area aswell as multiple ounces of smaller nuggets) if I didn’t know this I probably would have thought it was a shovel head or a pick. The monster didn’t ping gold or even give an indication until the specimen was out of the ground.  Do you just leave it if it says iron? 

[Cascade Steven]

Gerry:

Thanks for starting a wonderful and very educational thread.  I am still on the bottom end of the learning curve in regards to this type of gold hunting.  There are a few tailings areas in northern and central Idaho I would like to test this coming summer.  I will be using my White's Goldmaster 24k and am curious what coil(s) you would recommend?  Any suggestions on instrument settings would also be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your help.

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 11/26/2023 at 9:49 PM, Cascade Steven said:

Gerry:

Thanks for starting a wonderful and very educational thread.  I am still on the bottom end of the learning curve in regards to this type of gold hunting.  There are a few tailings areas in northern and central Idaho I would like to test this coming summer.  I will be using my White's Goldmaster 24k and am curious what coil(s) you would recommend?  Any suggestions on instrument settings would also be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your help.

The VLF technology of the 24K is quite capable gold detector in tailing piles.  I tested it for White's and did manage a few nuggets using the small round 6" coil.

 

Also dug some nice specimens in ore dump piles using the small 6" round.

 

Interesting thumb nail nugget below.

 

Some really good ore dump specimens with 24K.

 

 

 

And one dandy specimen, below.

All were recovered with 24K and 6" round coil.  That's not what I would recommend to you though.  Only reason I used the small coil, when they handed me the machine to test, that's what was on it.

So here is my recommendations.  For all the gold below the 1st pic with small pieces, I recommend the stock 10" Ellip coil.  For the tiny stuff, then use the smaller coils (6" round or 6" Ellip).

As for Settings, I don't like cranking up the Gain and you being newer to the gold detecting game, try to stay around 7/8.  If you go "10" that kicks in the Audi Boost mode and for new ears, the extra noise and unstableness could be an issue.  As for exact settings?  each site is different and their own soils, hot rocks, salts etc.  Some great videos on YouTube showing the 24K.

Good luck and keep us posted of your adventures and or success.