Mullock Heap Detecting, advice please.

Hi
I have the opportunity to detect over some old mullock heaps just out of Ballarat. They are on private property and according to the elderly owner they have not been detected, they would be well over the 100 year old mark. I walked the area today and saw no signs of detector dig holes. The old shaft can been seen through the scrub and undergrowth as a large gaping chasm. The mullock material has all been deposited in significant heaps on the southerly side of the shaft opening. Some of the heaps have large trees (pines/conifers) growing on them but there are bare areas as well. Some large rocks are strewn about and they have veins of quartz running through them. The heaps are quite steep and some places are going to be a bit hard to get at. I intend to have a very thorough detect (GPX5000 NF 14x9 elliptical, NF 8x6, Commander 11" round mono and DD) but would appreciate any advice before I start. For example are there areas of mullock heaps that may be more likely to give a result? (top, sides, lower reaches). Of the coils mentioned, and based on experience, is there one that would be preferable?

Regards, Wayne.

Find out what the gold was held in? Was it a quartz vein Was it a sandstone /quartz vein ? Was it a clay rubble / quartz vein ? Was there a battery nearby? Is there battery sand anywhere ? Can you find the shaft on the mines records ? Does the spoil from the shaft look all the same , surmising that the top of the heap is the bottom of the shaft have a look at the inside of the heap to see what changes they went through to get to the reef!
Or was it an alluvial gutter ? Is there water worn stones ? Is there white pipe clay on the heap ?

I have seen heaps that led to a reef and not a piece of gold lost in the heap! But the best heaps are the alluvial ones as there is always nuggets thrown out in the race to bottom !

I wish you well in your quest!!

Ark wrote:I have seen heaps that led to a reef and not a piece of gold lost in the heap!

I panned & sluiced about 6 buckets of material from a rather famous old VIC mine that was mostly crushed quartz.
I found about 6 teeny tiny cubes of tin(?)
I'm very interested to find how you go, give it a whirl, nothing to loose & let us know

Hi
Well I gave it a try in between the showers. So much trash in the lower areas, made things a bit difficult. No gold (GPX5000 NF 14x9 spoked) but found a great button with J Whykes, Ballarat on it. Internet search shows him as being a tailor in Ballarat in 1887. I suspect the same gentleman may have  also been the mayor of Ballarat in 1905. This mine must have been quite something. The large plates from a crushing battery? are to be seen and I am told a lot of material was taken away from the site for further processing. Hope to return when the weather improves.
Cheers, Wayne

Ark wrote:Find out what the gold was held in? Was it a quartz vein Was it a sandstone /quartz vein ? Was it a clay rubble / quartz vein ? Was there a battery nearby? Is there battery sand anywhere ? Can you find the shaft on the mines records ? Does the spoil from the shaft look all the same , surmising that the top of the heap is the bottom of the shaft have a look at the inside of the heap to see what changes they went through to get to the reef!
Or was it an alluvial gutter ? Is there water worn stones ? Is there white pipe clay on the heap ?

I have seen heaps that led to a reef and not a piece of gold lost in the heap! But the best heaps are the alluvial ones as there is always nuggets thrown out in the race to bottom !

I wish you well in your quest!!

It seems you have a lot of experience with mullock heaps. It would be an interesting read that others would be interested in if you had some time to go into more depth. I for one would appreciate the effort.

Thanks waveform for the kind words but when I try to do that I get bogged down trying to get what my experiences tell me into the written word!   There is a lot of info in what I posted but you will have to take what I said and apply it to where you are ! As you have seen what I have written as my experiences won't work in the Pilbera !!!!!! I would be all at sea !! Lol! 
The part where I talk of the change is very important no matter where you work . Research the goldfield you are on and then try to draw it all together what was the top soil made of ? How deep does it go before it changes ? The old timers would have written somewhere in the records where the gold intersection was . As to alluvial look for false bottoms !!!  One gutter I dug once was at 23 feet and the old timers dug it good !! But on the way down to the bottom they passed through a gutter at 12 foot which was fairly shallow and not too wide and I could see why they just kept going ,it just didn't look worth doing well after seeing what they left at the 23 foot level I checked all the way back up and tested the other gutter !!!! Wow !  15 oz later  I still had the smile on my face ! Took about a week to get it but was a nice pay day ! 

So my friend it is true no matter if you detect or wet wash for your gold the 3 most important things are RESEARCH,RESEARCH, REASEARCH! That way you will end up with the equation at 90% homework and 5% yaka ! Oh yes 5% luck!!!

If they are pipeclay you can run the detector a bit more aggressive than normal. I only work them once in a blue moon but they are good for a quick find. I mostly run an 8" commander or a 12x7 nugget finder, I start from the top of them and work my way round until I'm down the bottom. The smaller the coil can get you into those areas that are built up with tree branches. One thing watch out for the inch ants as they love living in the soft clays.
AP

Thanks AP, sounds like good advice. I read lots of good things about the 8" Commander Coil ( opinions of this coil from others would be welcome) and in relative terms they are not overly expensive. Might have to sneak one into the armoury.
Regards, Wayne.