NEW TO THE PATCHES

Hello Everyone - Our names are Graham & Joy and we are new to detecting.  We have a GPX 5000 and are presently in Meekathara.  We have done some training with Minelab but really would like some help as to the type of ground to look for in WA. We are a bit confused, do we look for red gravel mixed with quartz or ironstone as well?  Any help on some locations here would also be much appreciated.

Hi Graham and Joy. I don't know the Meeka area, but "Salt and Pepper" ground is a good way to start. That is a mixture of the small shiny ironstone and small bits of quartz. Old workings are also worth a try, but not right on them as they are typically full of trash.
Welcome guys and good luck. cheers Pete.

Thanks so much Pete. Will look out for this. Cheers, Graham & Joy  

Hi Graham & Joy.  I am at Nullagine and will move on to Meekatharra the first week in August.  Like you, I'm unfamiliar with the ground here in WA.  

I found two small nuggets (0.23 gm & 1.64 gms) near some old pushings (where the top surface had been graded).  There was quartz but little ironstone to be seen but lots of red rock.  Some of the scrapings had a greyish shale in the area. There had been a lot of rain about a month ago so I detected along a run off area and got lucky.

One chap said the gold can be deep if the top is not scraped so a larger coil is necessary but another told me a lot of gold is close to the surface and small, so a small coil is the best.  Guess it depends on the area. Lots of Spinifex (sharp & hurts) so big coils would be difficult to manoeuvre.  Keep an eye out for the odd snake.

Good luck in your quest.
 
Annie

Hi Anniel

Thanks for your information.  Well done on your finds.  Today we came down to Cue to try our luck.  It must be popular because the caravan park is full.  

Cheers


Graham & Joy

G'day Graham & Joy,

I spent a few months swinging a GP3500 on some of the fields around Cue back in 2008 and did alright considering that those with the GPX units were cleaning up in most areas. Both Borefields and Klondike were quite productive, but I guess like most known areas, they have been worked to death over the past 5 years.

Good luck.

Jeff

A good way to maybe see what size coil you may need is to dig a hole and see how far down the cap rock is. If it's deep then maybe a larger coil is the go. They are harder for a beginner to use but you should get better with practice. Ground balancing, EMI and pin pointing are more difficult with larger coils.