Having played around with metal detectors of sorts for a few years, and hoping to find gold at places like Clermont and the Georgetown area, we finally purchased a Minelab SD2100v2 with a Double-D coil. The first few months, zero gold but the quality of rubbish was better!
Then the last few days of the season our first gold specimen – 23 grams with at least 16 grams of gold, our excitement was indescribable. After a few days, about 16 ounces from the patch, one nice golf ball size – 205 grams, netted 170 grams gold, we moved the car, it was parked on two 90 grammers.
The next season the SD2100v2 located a little over 1½ ounces, one beautiful 16 grammer. So at the end of season we traded some gold for the GPX-4500.
Three trips to Forsayth for 4 months each winter, we picked up over 26 ounces total. Some real nice nuggets between 20 and 30 grams, and a real nice 1852 Florin in hard ground 40cm deep. Close by, a 27 gram of gold beauty in soft sand... only 10cm deep.
Last season (2012), nearing the end of our stay, it started to get very hot. We located a specimen on Long Gully about 50cm in hard rocky ground.
While clearing the top off the hole, my wife tossed some rocks out of the way, and one was 468 grams. The GPX-4500 didn’t take long to find it.
After a specific gravity test, my calculations said it had 100 grams of the good metal. I now think I was right after smashing the rock and losing some. It turned out the gold is like powder in this burnt type of rock.
So I bought a mini gas set. Melting rock and gold, I hope I end up with 2 ounces. My wife says I’m crazy, and after 53 years married she must know me.
Anyhow getting gold out of rock and melting it into marble size blobs beats mowing lawns. PS the gas and gear has cost about $1000.00. H&D.
Harold - NSW, Australia
