Using The 7000 To Pick Up The Scraps Missed By The 6000

[Lesgold]

My detecting mate and I have been working a dry gully for quite a while using our 6000’s with 10x5 Coiltek coils attached. We had been finding a bit of small gold but lately our returns diminished and we had almost decided to move to a new location. In a bid to squeeze out a few more pieces, we decided to detect the ground with our 7000’s and try to uncover a few deeper nuggets.  We weren’t expecting much as we had spent a considerable amount of time working this area on the short gully and thought that if we could come home with a piece or two we would have achieved our goal. The Six with the small coil really suited this area as there were many potential gold traps and hiding spots for the tiny pieces that inhabited this location.

The Zed’s were fitted with Nuggetfinder 12” Z search coils and after a ground balance and tune were running exceptionally well. The hot rocks and noisy ground that played havoc at times with the 6, were ignored by the 7’s so we knew that we had a bit of potential to find that really subtle signal. We moved slowly and tried to get into difficult areas and hopefully jag something for our effort. After about 20 minutes we added a couple of small pieces to the rattle jar from steep banks on the sides of the gully. It was agreed that the shallow pieces would have been picked up easily with the 6000 but were now happy that we hadn’t been “skunked” for the day. Joe was working a stretch of ground that had produced well for us in the past so I decided to move upstream about 50m to give him some space. I started at a rock bar that had given up some treasure about a month or so ago. We had pulled about 6 very small pieces on and around the outcrop and made a concerted effort to cover all the ground in that area very well. Every subsequent trip resulted in a repeat of that process just in case we missed something. The same region was detected today with the Zed and to my surprise, a very faint signal was heard. It was in an ideal location next to the rock bar on the inside section of a bend. You can see the hole in the photo.

We had hoped to find a piece of gold at a depth that the Six couldn’t see and it finally happened. It must have been on edge as the signal was initially very soft and only increased during the dig. What popped out was a pleasant surprise.

The 6000 has dominated our detecting for a couple of years now and the Zed barely gets pulled out of the cupboard. It was good to get its coil scraping on the ground again and put through its paces. We had forgotten how quiet it could be when the ground suited. We had also forgotten about digging deep holes until we were quickly reminded of its power. Rusty nails and bits of steel with soft enticing signals generally resulted in ugly growls and swimming pools being dug half way to China. We moved upstream and continued to detect some old ground looking for that deeper target. I was lucky enough to get a really faint signal behind a large rock. After digging a deep hole, a small, shiny nugget surfaced. I could see why the Six would not see a piece of gold at that depth. When the hole was inspected with the coil, another break in the threshold told the story of a surprise awaiting inspection. When a piece of gold ended up in the scoop, I called Joe over and we started moving rocks and detecting a small area thoroughly. A bunch of small pieces resulted. We had a lot of fun working that area together. Joe finally moved 20 metres upstream and found another patch of deep, small pieces of gold. The river worn gold was often visible in the scoop or in the ground like the piece shown in the picture.

Joe pulled a couple of pieces on the walk back including one that was in a pool of water. Boots and socks came off and a slow and frustrating recovery followed. It’s great to see a prize for all the effort put in. The final picture shows the result of our day out. Quite a few of the pieces were so small that they wouldn’t move the scales but they all added up. It is pleasing that the Zed can still earn its keep on the tiny gold. Most of the pieces found would still be in the ground if we had used the 6000’s on this trip. Having a combination of machines has proved to be a winner in this area.

[RickUK]

Very well done and a well presented post,although i have never done any nugget hunting your post certainly gets the case over on how you do it....many thanks.

[Gold Catcher]

Beautiful finds. The Z with the NF12 remains my preferred detector for a reason.

GC

[Lesgold]

Agreed. The 6 makes life very easy but the 7 is a real workhorse. I accidentally left the guide arm at home which made for an interesting outing. Using a detector without one puts a lot more strain on the body. I found my concentration span was shorter yesterday due to this and short, regular breaks were needed to maintain focus. 

[phrunt]

The ZED is unrivalled on deeper targets, with a smaller coil attached it becomes a real weapon on the tiny stuff too.  

Nice post, great gold too.

[Doc]

Everyone is all over the moon about the GPX6000.  I know it has it's place, but not when you put it up against the Zed.

I have not given up on the GPZ7000 yet and I doubt I ever will unless they make it lighter.

I have found all size of gold at all kinds of depth and it never fails to amaze me.  1/10th of a gram at 9 inches, another at an absolute 8 inches.  I was taking only a 1/4 inch of soil off at a time because I didn't believe the first 1/10th was actually at 9 inches.  I figured it had fallen deeper in the hole as I dug.  So when I got a second target 2 feet away I thought I'm going to go really slow so I know exactly what kind of depth.

Another was a 2.1 gram nugget at 21 inches in a crack in bedrock.

So yeah, the GPZ7000 is still my machine, but you have to know how to make that detector float like a feather.

Doc

[Lesgold]

They are good finds Doc. You are right about its ability to sniff out deep targets. When we were onto the small gold, we just got into the zone and forgot about getting the phone out to do some filming. As things slowed up a bit, we finally drew breath and took the time to take one small bit of footage. It’s just a raw, unedited clip so apologies if it is clumsy. It is what it is. We had our machines running in sensitivity 15, high yield, difficult. Except for the really small pieces, they were banging through really well.

 

[phrunt]

You could see in that you were used to using the 6000, leaving the Zeds coil way too close to the dig hole setting it off all the time digging?

You can get away with doing that with the 6000, but not the GPZ. 

[Steve Herschbach]

That’s some really nice gold, thanks for sharing!

More people in the U.S. are cleaning up small gold missed by the 7000 with the 6000 than the other way around, so your video makes for an interesting counter perspective.

In general if you hunt ground that was well hunted with with a GPZ 7000 by following up with a 6000 you will find smaller bits the 7000 missed. Conversely, in deeper ground, following a 6000 with a 7000 is likely to find larger deeper gold the 6000 missed. It can work both ways.