Detecting Flood Gold

[Lesgold]

Hi Folks,

A few months ago my detecting mate Joe and I had a lot of fun searching for gold in an area that produced a considerable number of small nuggets on a consistent basis. After many trips to the area, the gold tally started to diminish in both size and number. We ran both the 6000 and the zed across what seemed like every inch of the gully exploring every conceivable possibility of recovering the hidden treasure. Towards the end, we got to a point where any small piece was considered a victory for the day. Finally, we decided it was time to move on and start prospecting some country that we’d never looked at before. We spent a couple of months researching, discussing options and exploring areas that showed potential. Unfortunately our hard work didn’t really pay off and we ended up finding very little for our effort. There we’re some tremendous days out in the bush and we saw some amazing country but the the gold was a bit thin on the ground.
 

With spring arriving our serious prospecting would soon taper off until next winter. It has been dry for a couple of months now and many of the intermittent streams have stopped flowing (including the gully that produced good gold for us in the early parts of the winter). Joe and I had a discussion about the dry creek bed and we decided that there could be some possibilities worth exploring in the old area. There was one particular section of the gully that produced some nice gold for us but much of it came from a pool of water that was about 3’ deep in places. It was difficult to detect with both the GPZ and the GPX as the gravel and soil on the pool bottom was quite mineralised and made the detectors very noisy. Holding the coil down was also an issue with the 7000 as it is quite buoyant. We decided that if the pool of water had dried sufficiently, we may be able to detect the area again and also move a bit of gravel around to allow the machines to sniff out any deeper gold. The plan sounded quite reasonable so last week we decided to hit the area with the Coiltek 10x5’s attached to the 6k’s. 

When we made it to the gully, it was as dry as expected. We decided to stop for a short while at a rock bar that had produced some small pieces on earlier trips. Large rocks were moved and some gravel was raked to expose rocky areas that were under water earlier in the season. A few micro specs were detected which was enough to get us inspired.

A short walk upstream put us at the waterhole that given up quite a lot of gold over a period of time. The water level had dropped leaving just one small pool that was about a foot deep. The areas that had provided nuggets in the past were now dry and we were able to run a detector over them without the constant protest of an unhappy, spoilt child. A nice little nugget was soon taken from its home which set the tone for the rest of the day. The plan was to use one machine and dig out gravel and move rocks from the exposed areas of the pool. As the creek had been hit by a couple of major floods in the past 12 months, there was a lot of gravel that had moved around and we knew that small gold would be held in or below some of it. Joe and I would clear about 3 or 4 inches of gravel from a small area and then detect it. If a target was heard, one person would wave the stick and the other would dig the piece out. When the cleared area was carefully detected, we would dig a little deeper. We soon discovered that this procedure was starting to produce some nice little pieces of gold. As we dug a little deeper we would eventually hit a sticky clay layer where some of the bigger pieces would hide themselves. The gravel above this layer was quite loose and was obviously deposited by recent floods. After exploring the areas that were exposed, we detected the rest of the pool and also moved some gravel around. By this time it was getting late and we were tired. On the way home we debriefed and talked about the outcome of the day. An area that we thought was finished came alive again due to a bit of hard work and perseverance. We knew that there was plenty of gold beneath our feet  but the detectors were not going to tell us about it unless we helped to make their lives a bit easier. It was decided that a follow up trip was required just to ensure that we’d picked the area clean. 20 small pieces and just over 3 grams put smiles on our dials and made for a memorable day out.

 

[dig4gold]

Nice write up & thanks for the adventure. Depending on the amount of water would it be worth highbanking the material or stockpiling for when the water returns? I know the 6000 & goldhawk finds some pretty small gold but there is bound to be gold you are missing. Sounds like fun times.

Hard work & perseverance is kind of what's needed these days to find a bit of yellow. Got to do what the average, lazy, person isn't prepared to do. It often rewards me. But admittedly, not always. If you don't do, you don't know.

D4G 

[Lesgold]

Thanks D4G. You are spot on there in relation to highbanking or panning the material. You would recover a heap of small gold from what we dug. Highbanking is illegal where we live so you would have to pan the material off. I did take a couple of sample pans and there was chunky gold in it. There is no running water so a river sluice is out of the question. There is one small wet pool  that remains but it will drop away to nothing unless we get some good rain. There is only chunky gold in this area and very little black sand so you could speed pan very quickly if you were that keen. I love panning BUT if it came down to a choice between swirling a glorified hub cap and waving a stick, there is only going to be one winner….. Joe and I detected the area carefully and only took a few inches of gravel off at a time. We reckon we did a good job but there was occasionally gold to be found in the spoil piles. It really made us scratch our heads as to how it could be missed. Human error through poor detecting technique, noisy ground, digging too deep in one pass etc could all contribute to gold being left behind. The one thing that we did agree on was how variable the potential of the coil is. We have all told or heard stories of tiny bits of gold being found at incredible depths but you never hear of the larger pieces that are not heard just below the surface. The small area where the gold was found had been detected many, many, many times by us using both the 6000 and the 7000. Even on the day that we found the gold, the area to be dug was detected first. Quite often a couple of large rocks would be moved and a the top inch or so of gravel would be removed and a signal would come through. It really is a game of millimetres.

 

[Valens Legacy]

Sounds like a great adventure and some nice gold as a bonus.

Good luck on your next outing.

[dig4gold]

Hi Lesgold. Panning is back breaking work when doing it in quantity, as you will know. Not to mention time consuming. I knew dredging was illegal but thought highbanking was ok. That must have changed as I used to see on the Aussie forums, going back a wee while, guys at Reedy Creek using little home made set ups. James Beecham, I think his name was. Went by the handle of Banjo, was one of them. So thinking of that when I read your above post, how about using a true banjo? I know James called his little home made mini highbankers banjos but they weren't the traditional banjo. They don't require any pumps or motors so you should be sweet. No different to running a sluice box only you don't need running water. I am sure you know what I am talking about so I won't tell you how to suck eggs.

I knew a guy over my way who used a banjo to catch extremely fine flour gold in a creek that would dry up over summer. Even when the creek was flowing he stuck with his banjo as he reckoned he lost too much fine gold through a sluice box. He was retired & living on the bones of his arse so the gold he found with his banjo he used to pay his beer tab at his local pub. That & money he made from selling his books of poetry. That is how I meet him, in the pub. We got talking over gold & I ended up buying one of his books. Very cleverly written telling the history of his gold rich area & characters & incidences from back in the day. I doubt he is with us any more but ironically his name was Les. I won't say his surname.

I am rambling, so will leave you to it.

D4G

[King-Of-Bling]

Idk if any of my ideas are legal or possible. I'd back my truck up with a portable generator and jack hammer. Go deep , put dirt in 5 gallon buckets , scan with detector. Any good readings , take dirt home and process there. Backtracking yes , but could be very fun stockpiling gold at home.

[dig4gold]

I don't think a jack hammer would be of much use. An excavator would be better for shifting gravels. But that would be a BIG no no I would think. Even a generator too. Anything with motive power would be out. Hand tools only is my guess. Bit like in our public fossicking areas here in NZ where anybody can go for a play at no cost at all.

D4G

[Northeast]

4 hours ago, dig4gold said:

I knew dredging was illegal but thought highbanking was ok.

Just depends on the state D4G.  

Highbanking is still allowed in Victoria (and thus Reedy Creek) but it was banned a couple of years ago in NSW, which is where Les is.   I think there are still ongoing discussions/lobbying going on around making highbanking in NSW legal again.  

And yes, dredging is definitely banned in all states. 

4 hours ago, dig4gold said:

Panning is back breaking work when doing it in quantity

Ain't that the truth!  😉

[dig4gold]

I stand corrected. The James I spoke of above his surname wasn't Beecham as I found his address & ph number that I have. But I won't state his surname. I kind of didn't think it was Beecham but it does start with a B. I am sure a few of the Aussie blokes on here will know who I am on about. Do any of you know if James is still with us? 

Thanks Northeast for clarifying the highbanking situations as I wasn't aware of the ban in NSW.

D4G