Gladstone/Calliope Gold?

Hi guys,

I've only been gold prospecting for a month or so but still haven't found anything yet (apart from plenty of junk). I got a Minelab GPX4500 with 11" DD and 18" mono coil. I've also got a sluice box that I haven't had a chance to test out yet. I've been watching endless Youtube videos on how to pan, sluice and detect and also where to go looking for gold but there's so much more to learn.

Can anyone recommend any gold bearing rivers/creeks around the Gladstone region (within 100kms) that I could use my sluice box in? I've been out to the Norton gold mine searching through the tailings piles with my GPX4500 but all I found was junk. There were a few small rivers around the same area that we searched with the detectors but still no yellow stuff. I was thinking if I used my sluice box around these rivers and found some small gold, then maybe there will be some bigger nuggets not too far away on the property. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Also, I'm keen to go detecting with others in the Gladstone region on weekends. I've got a decent 4x4 so can get through some tough terrain.

Any helpful tips or advice would be greatly appreciated