Should i go to where gold has been found before?

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VicGoldHunter

VicGoldHunter

Nic
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
187
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172
Location
Golden Triangle , VIC
I'm having a hard time picking potential prospecting places to go. I've been on geovic finding shallow workings but i'm just not sure how gold really works like will gold only be in those locations? or could i possibly go a couple k's away and still pick up nuggets? pretty much what i'm trying to say is should i be detecting on old diggings and workings where gold was prolific or can i go to areas that are untouched by old timers? not that i mean out of GT i mean for example in the same state forest as there workings but a different spot.

I've tried doing as much research as i possibly can, i know these are gold bearing areas but i'm not sure where it could be.

So Planning on going to dunolly/waanyarra does any of the ground around there have the potential for gold is pretty much what i'm asking lol.

Thanks and again sorry guys for so many questions/posts i just want to know as much as i can :)
 
Hi VGH asking is learning, it took me 6 months to find my first one. Than on my 16th, Some guys being doing it for years have not found anything but from lead or scrap wire, we are prospectors. Not miners. Its the 80:20 rule. 80% researching 20% digging. The problem the oldes had was the dreaded water, too much or none at all Thats the hint. Good luck
 
It's a good place to start VGH I'd back it in that's where we all started :Y:. Have you joined your local PMAV branch sounds like you are in the Melbourne area if so they have a branch monthly meeting at Miner's Den in Mitcham otherwise they have other branches as well. You will get to meet like minded people and enjoy field trips and at the same time gain a lot of information from people who have been prospecting for many years in a face to face environment. PMAV are Prospectors and Miner's Association of Victoria who are our voluntary state lobby group who work hard to keep Goldfields open for us to continue and enjoy our hobby /profession.
 
VicGoldHunter said:
I'm having a hard time picking potential prospecting places to go. I've been on geovic finding shallow workings but i'm just not sure how gold really works like will gold only be in those locations? or could i possibly go a couple k's away and still pick up nuggets? pretty much what i'm trying to say is should i be detecting on old diggings and workings where gold was prolific or can i go to areas that are untouched by old timers? not that i mean out of GT i mean for example in the same state forest as there workings but a different spot.

I've tried doing as much research as i possibly can, i know these are gold bearing areas but i'm not sure where it could be.

So Planning on going to dunolly/waanyarra does any of the ground around there have the potential for gold is pretty much what i'm asking lol.

Thanks and again sorry guys for so many questions/posts i just want to know as much as i can :)
Click to expand...

Gday

It does not really matter where you go to as long as you know gold has been found there before, firstly you may locate missed pieces of gold from old mine workings even if the rock was being worked you have to also remember that in the day the old timers did it all visually, and did not have the means to see inside the rock as we have today, so gold was missed in specimen form and also nuggets that had coatings of minerals, I have found nuggets that were white with a coating of calcrete minerals and I have found nugget that were black and brown and so on, so theres always the chance of picking up pieces around any sort of workings really.

The only true method is to get the coil to the ground and work an area to find out, there are some very good books about for research so have look at ebay or at your local library and see what is available, there are plenty of publications that will guide you to prospective spots in the areas you mention, these will give you insight in to what went on there in the past, the first step in detecting is to get yourself into known gold bearing areas so that you can see what they look like, then as time goes by and you gain experience you will soon learn to recognize potential areas and also get a feel for areas that have the right look.

There is no short cut unfortunately but you guys now have some real advantages that we didn't back in the early days of detecting, no internet, no forums, and few books, then later the likes of gold and ghosts came out but by this time most of these areas had been hammered even back then, but for research purposes and to get you into the zone so to speak they have made many people quite rich, research and time on the ground is the key to success.

cheers

stayyerAU
 
StayyerAU said:
VicGoldHunter said:
I'm having a hard time picking potential prospecting places to go. I've been on geovic finding shallow workings but i'm just not sure how gold really works like will gold only be in those locations? or could i possibly go a couple k's away and still pick up nuggets? pretty much what i'm trying to say is should i be detecting on old diggings and workings where gold was prolific or can i go to areas that are untouched by old timers? not that i mean out of GT i mean for example in the same state forest as there workings but a different spot.

I've tried doing as much research as i possibly can, i know these are gold bearing areas but i'm not sure where it could be.

So Planning on going to dunolly/waanyarra does any of the ground around there have the potential for gold is pretty much what i'm asking lol.

Thanks and again sorry guys for so many questions/posts i just want to know as much as i can :)
Click to expand...

Gday

It does not really matter where you go to as long as you know gold has been found there before, firstly you may locate missed pieces of gold from old mine workings even if the rock was being worked you have to also remember that in the day the old timers did it all visually, and did not have the means to see inside the rock as we have today, so gold was missed in specimen form and also nuggets that had coatings of minerals, I have found nuggets that were white with a coating of calcrete minerals and I have found nugget that were black and brown and so on, so theres always the chance of picking up pieces around any sort of workings really.

The only true method is to get the coil to the ground and work an area to find out, there are some very good books about for research so have look at ebay or at your local library and see what is available, there are plenty of publications that will guide you to prospective spots in the areas you mention, these will give you insight in to what went on there in the past, the first step in detecting is to get yourself into known gold bearing areas so that you can see what they look like, then as time goes by and you gain experience you will soon learn to recognize potential areas and also get a feel for areas that have the right look.

There is no short cut unfortunately but you guys now have some real advantages that we didn't back in the early days of detecting, no internet, no forums, and few books, then later the likes of gold and ghosts came out but by this time most of these areas had been hammered even back then, but for research purposes and to get you into the zone so to speak they have made many people quite rich, research and time on the ground is the key to success.

cheers

stayyerAU
Click to expand...
In areas of "surfacing" far from water, the miners would only take basal gravel etc to the nearest creek/dam. You will see such areas are covered in small. shallow (e.g 1 to 2 m) holes only a couple of metres apart. Often to get to the stuff they wanted, they would pile the "waste" stuff that they dug out next to their shafts (they had to have somewhere to put it) and in doing so left some shallow but gold-bearing ground unworked (beneath these piles). Also. since they did not always have water at the site, they found it difficult to tell good stuff from bad (" not much gold in that last pile let's move away from here a few metres") and would often put some good stuff on these waste piles and it would never see water for treatment. It was even trickier if instead of true alluvial gravel, they were simply washing "soil" over or immediately downstream of a gold-bearing reef. Often what they bothered to take to water was very hit and miss, since it all looked just the same. You can tell the difference - gravels will often have workings in linear lines, often heading downslope, but workings in soil over reefs will be randomly spread out over a large area - also will commonly lack rounded pebbles but be a mixture of soil and angular fragments of bedrock and quartz.
 
goldierocks said:
StayyerAU said:
VicGoldHunter said:
I'm having a hard time picking potential prospecting places to go. I've been on geovic finding shallow workings but i'm just not sure how gold really works like will gold only be in those locations? or could i possibly go a couple k's away and still pick up nuggets? pretty much what i'm trying to say is should i be detecting on old diggings and workings where gold was prolific or can i go to areas that are untouched by old timers? not that i mean out of GT i mean for example in the same state forest as there workings but a different spot.

I've tried doing as much research as i possibly can, i know these are gold bearing areas but i'm not sure where it could be.

So Planning on going to dunolly/waanyarra does any of the ground around there have the potential for gold is pretty much what i'm asking lol.

Thanks and again sorry guys for so many questions/posts i just want to know as much as i can :)
Click to expand...

Gday

It does not really matter where you go to as long as you know gold has been found there before, firstly you may locate missed pieces of gold from old mine workings even if the rock was being worked you have to also remember that in the day the old timers did it all visually, and did not have the means to see inside the rock as we have today, so gold was missed in specimen form and also nuggets that had coatings of minerals, I have found nuggets that were white with a coating of calcrete minerals and I have found nugget that were black and brown and so on, so theres always the chance of picking up pieces around any sort of workings really.

The only true method is to get the coil to the ground and work an area to find out, there are some very good books about for research so have look at ebay or at your local library and see what is available, there are plenty of publications that will guide you to prospective spots in the areas you mention, these will give you insight in to what went on there in the past, the first step in detecting is to get yourself into known gold bearing areas so that you can see what they look like, then as time goes by and you gain experience you will soon learn to recognize potential areas and also get a feel for areas that have the right look.

There is no short cut unfortunately but you guys now have some real advantages that we didn't back in the early days of detecting, no internet, no forums, and few books, then later the likes of gold and ghosts came out but by this time most of these areas had been hammered even back then, but for research purposes and to get you into the zone so to speak they have made many people quite rich, research and time on the ground is the key to success.

cheers

stayyerAU
Click to expand...
In areas of "surfacing" far from water, the miners would only take basal gravel etc to the nearest creek/dam. You will see such areas are covered in small. shallow (e.g 1 to 2 m) holes only a couple of metres apart. Often to get to the stuff they wanted, they would pile the "waste" stuff that they dug out next to their shafts (they had to have somewhere to put it) and in doing so left some shallow but gold-bearing ground unworked (beneath these piles). Also. since they did not always have water at the site, they found it difficult to tell good stuff from bad (" not much gold in that last pile let's move away from here a few metres") and would often put some good stuff on these waste piles and it would never see water for treatment. It was even trickier if instead of true alluvial gravel, they were simply washing "soil" over or immediately downstream of a gold-bearing reef. Often what they bothered to take to water was very hit and miss, since it all looked just the same. You can tell the difference - gravels will often have workings in linear lines, often heading downslope, but workings in soil over reefs will be randomly spread out over a large area - also will commonly lack rounded pebbles but be a mixture of soil and angular fragments of bedrock and quartz.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the helpful info, so in summary can I pick any spot to camp in Kingower Forest and have a chance of gold? I read a post once and loamer said 100% of the ground around Waanyarra/dunolly Kingower has a chance to contain gold. The thing about prospecting that makes me uneasy is thinking am I even in the right area or wasting my time on areas that have no chance of gold like the top soil is to deep etc. makes my confidence shot
 
I think if your new to all this one of the best things to do is just get out there and have a look around . You can do all the research you like but unless you can actually lay eyes on the ground it can be hard to understand. Just remember it takes time to learn and a lot of bloody minded persistence when you havent found anything for a while. :goldnugget:
 
Get out to an area where there are diggings, take you pick with you and have a good walk around the whole area, where the diggings stop at either end of the gully or along the outer edges of the workings dig down with the pick and see how deep the top soil, gravels and clay layers are, if you are getting little top soil and good gravels down to clay base at about 6-8" then it is worth detecting these spots, the more you walk around the diggings and test the grounds with your pick the better understanding and picture you'll have of what the ground is doing.
Sometimes the old timers stopped at a spot and missed pockets of rich gravels so the more you test with the pick the more chance you have of finding these spots.
Document what you find so you'll know for the future, use a GPS to mark good looking grounds etc. as it all starts to build a picture of the area and you have a good reference for next time you visit the area.
Leave the detector in the car and get to know the area first so you know where the shallow and best ground is, it will help increase your chances instead of detecting over ground that is too deep or no alluvial gravels underneath.
It's better to spend 2 hrs detecting on good ground you have found by testing rather than spend 8 hrs detecting on untested grounds.
When you start detecting, take your time and be very thorough to cover the area.
Again, it's better to cover a small area thoroughly rather than detect a larger area quickly thinking you need to cover as much ground as possible in the time you're there.
Get out there, relax and enjoy it, the ground has been there for thousands of years and will continue to do so.

Good luck :Y:
 
ProspectorPete said:
Get out to an area where there are diggings, take you pick with you and have a good walk around the whole area, where the diggings stop at either end of the gully or along the outer edges of the workings dig down with the pick and see how deep the top soil, gravels and clay layers are, if you are getting little top soil and good gravels down to clay base at about 6-8" then it is worth detecting these spots, the more you walk around the diggings and test the grounds with your pick the better understanding and picture you'll have of what the ground is doing.
Sometimes the old timers stopped at a spot and missed pockets of rich gravels so the more you test with the pick the more chance you have of finding these spots.
Document what you find so you'll know for the future, use a GPS to mark good looking grounds etc. as it all starts to build a picture of the area and you have a good reference for next time you visit the area.
Leave the detector in the car and get to know the area first so you know where the shallow and best ground is, it will help increase your chances instead of detecting over ground that is too deep or no alluvial gravels underneath.
It's better to spend 2 hrs detecting on good ground you have found by testing rather than spend 8 hrs detecting on untested grounds.
When you start detecting, take your time and be very thorough to cover the area.
Again, it's better to cover a small area thoroughly rather than detect a larger area quickly thinking you need to cover as much ground as possible in the time you're there.
Get out there, relax and enjoy it, the ground has been there for thousands of years and will continue to do so.

Good luck :Y:
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, makes a lot of sense Im trying to get on google maps looking for potential spots but unless Im there I cant see the ground Im just confusing myself. Ive just been on geovic looking for shallow workings and maybe will base myself around these and work the area. So if the ground is almost like clay with little top soil and quartz its worth investigating? I went to castlemain couple days ago and noticed the black soil was VERY deep this is top soil?
 
Thick black soil will be your top soil or decomposed leaf litter etc, no point trying to detect that stuff.

I really think the best way to not confuse yourself or overload yourself with too much information is to just pick an area like Waanyarra or Kingower and head to where you see all the test holes / diggings along the gully, set up camp and stay there for the weekend an try to work out the best areas to detect around that spot.
You may or may not find gold but you will gain valuable knowledge, if you spend the weekend going from place to place you will come away frustrated and little knowledge learnt.
Try not to over think it, the longer you spend in an area the more secrets it will reveal and the easier you will find good targets.
The hardest bit is deciding which area but really this should be your easiest decision, remaining positive and focused to learn the area you decide will be the test, but worth it if you stick at it.
Pick a spot and go, otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy..........or me :D
 
deepblue said:
Let me know when you want to go out and I'll take you to a few spots that should get you started.
cheers db
Click to expand...
Hey VicGoldHunter, I would seriously try hooking up with deepblue, it's an offer too good to knock back as you will get a first hand lesson to get an understanding, a few hours with someone in the field will be more beneficial than weeks of online research.
 
Must add that time on the ground learning for yourself is also one of the best forms of edumacation. Plenty here have learnt for themselves picking up little bits of info here and there on there journey. No one can teach you everything. Get out there and enjoy the journey and the experience.
 
Good topic and some great advice, thanks! I should have thought of reading the Minelab blog... will check it out as well as the other tips.
We've tried a few areas around the GT and got some tiny bits but it's easy to get frustrated and think all the gold's all been taken out already. Still plenty of lead shot around in many spots, though.
 

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