⭐ Gold Detecting Show'n Tell

[BushChook]

New MK II 12x8 coil???
Is this a thing...
Have just bought a 12x8 evo not knowing there would be a MK II

 

[OzzieAu]

From what I’ve heard production of all the current Evo line of coils has ceased and a new design MkII version is in development.
The 8x6 MK II Sadie has been released, but unsure when all the other sizes are forthcoming.

 

[Potbelly11]

It's been a while! Almost 12 months between swings...
Back to a gully I've got a few from previously
Anyone else here running a 45 with a 12" NF ?

 

[Mackka]

Well done mate. Cheers

 

[Goldfield Joe]

It's been a while! Almost 12 months between swings...
Back to a gully I've got a few from previously
Anyone else here running a 45 with a 12" NF ?

Yep, have been for 4 years now it's a great coil and detector combo. Well done with the colour!!!

 

[Potbelly11]

Got another little one this Arvo

 

[Hawkear]

First swing for 2025. Got a small bit in a heap yesterday arvo. Went for an early detect this morning and wandering a bit got onto a small run up the hillside before the heat arrived. All in a straight North South line over about 12 meters.
Called Gina over for a go and she pinged another one on the same line before it got too hot for us oldies.
Flat, rough and has not travelled far so thinking may be onto a small quartz vein “shoot” there.
Got a few more days to work it further with our detectors. Unfortunately left all my digging gear at home so unable to do a small shallow trench to check for a quartz vein that could possibly be the source.

 

[Hawkear]

Update. Another 8 bits from the “line”. Cranked up the 6 to auto 2 with threshold. Hard to search in as area is also very scrubby but the 6 was able to pull out more bits alongside and on the edge of my earlier holes mostly at the top end of the run. The bright bit was the only one significantly lower suggesting it may have travelled more. Started getting some good looking Quartz in situ in one of my holes and am now certain that there there is a small vein to be found there. Covered up as best I can and will have to give it a rest until able to return with better gear to trench for the vein.

 

[grubstake]

This run of nuggets is fascinating, Geoff - so rough and rugged and almost all so similar. Is the greyish coating ironstone or something else, do you think?

 

[Hawkear]

It is ironstone. One of the bits in the first pic is a small speci of gold on the end of a bit of ironstone. Apart from that one and the bright piece which had probably travelled further down from its source, the others from near the top of the line were rough and hackly.
If nuggets are coated with ironstone after their release from their matrix, I would expect them to be smoother. I suspect that the brown is actually ironstone from their source matrix.
I would also expect hackly gold like that to also shed fines, so I’ll try to grab a few buckets of the soil I’ve already disturbed to test for that. Not looking forward to that as Its a fair distance back to the car for old bones.
The fascinating thing is I’ve never encountered a run of nuggets so lineal. You could almost run a builders line along the finds, except for the lowest one which had obviously travelled further down and across the slope.

 

[Bora68]

It is ironstone. One of the bits in the first pic is a small speci of gold on the end of a bit of ironstone. Apart from that one and the bright piece which had probably travelled further down from its source, the others from near the top of the line were rough and hackly.
If nuggets are coated with ironstone after their release from their matrix, I would expect them to be smoother. I suspect that the brown is actually ironstone from their source matrix.
I would also expect hackly gold like that to also shed fines, so I’ll try to grab a few buckets of the soil I’ve already disturbed to test for that. Not looking forward to that as Its a fair distance back to the car for old bones.
The fascinating thing is I’ve never encountered a run of nuggets so lineal. You could almost run a builders line along the finds, except for the lowest one which had obviously travelled further down and across the slope.

Such dark staining on those nuggetts. Can you reveal what state you found them in ?

 

[Hawkear]

Such dark staining on those nuggetts. Can you reveal what state you found them in ?

GT Vic.
Regret still a fair bit of work left for me to do, and unable to give much more than that as I will have to chance leaving the site pretty much as it is until I can return in weather more amenable for some heavier work to prove the value of the site. For now will just concentrate on gathering some soil, ironstone, hot rock and quartz samples to take home to do as best I can with those.
Reminds me of some other nuggets I found elsewhere in the GT many years ago that were also embedded in an ugly ironstone matrix. I soaked them in hydrochloric acid for about a week, and it softened the ironstone so it could be just washed off leaving beautiful bright pseudo crystalline nuggets.These ones are a lot smaller but I’ll give the hydrochloric acid a try as well.
Hydrochloric acid doesn’t always work on ironstone if the percentage of iron is low as that means there is more silica in the remaining matrix to keep it solid and attached. If there is a higher percentage of iron and that is dissolved the remaining lower silica matrix can be softened and weakened allowing it to be cleaned off easily.

 

[retirement stone]

That is magical to find something so promising and untouched. Good luck, the cooler weather will be with us soon enough!

 

[retirement stone]

A quick 2 day trip to NSW Central West, going over old ground. Its still in the ground just a lot of dirt, lead and rust between it!

(I have always used Alibrite to clean my gold)

I will be in Victoria for a week in March to see what you Victorians have missed! Lock up your gold..............................

 

[grubstake]

For a couple of days on old ground, I think you did rather well - that's nice gold! A promising start to the year, I reckon.

 

[retirement stone]

For a couple of days on old ground, I think you did rather well - that's nice gold! A promising start to the year, I reckon.

Thank you mate. It never come easy. Effort equals reward.

What I have learnt over the years is people are lazy. I have found plenty of gold in half dug holes. They have given up thinking its ground noise or a tree root.

I know they are lazy CAUSE THEY DONT FILL THEIR HOLES. There lazyness ensures there will always be gold for the astute operator.

Looking forward to trying to get something bigger in the GT. Staying in Bendigo and will branch out from there.

 

[Moneybox]

It took me a while to work that button out, never seen one of those.

 

[Hippyty79]

Sometimes they are that lazy they leave their pick!
The hole was full of lead shot or maybe the lead shot was hiding something bigger, who knows.
Great start for the year, good luck in the GT.

 

[retirement stone]

Sometimes they are that lazy they leave their pick!
The hole was full of lead shot or maybe the lead shot was hiding something bigger, who knows.
Great start for the year, good luck in the GT.

That is tough looking ground! I would leave my pick there as well!

 

[retirement stone]

It took me a while to work that button out, never seen one of those.

Yeah I had to get my sons to help decipher it! One day a soverign will turn up cause people are conditioned to not dig rubbish signals! You cant possible know exacty what it is every time unless you get it out of the ground. People dont like wasting time, (insert lazy here) Once I get to that stage "I m not digging that" I know its time for a break! (self reflection and learning about my own metal concentration limits)