Choosing where to detect

Hi - first post here. As a newbie I would appreciate any comments regarding choice of where to detect. My question is not about how to use my detector (GPX4500) but rather where. I have just been up to Hanging Rock near Nundle NSW, with the idea of detecting downhill from an old gold-bearing reef mining site (Dead Bird/Shamrock). After wandering around collecting the customary boot/horseshoe nails & bullets, I started thinking of the origin of the ground I was walking over - the quartz gold-bearing reefs & veins there were often quite narrow, so presumably they would have taken it all away for crushing, only leaving mullock heaps of barren rock for me to wander over. So my question is - is there any point in detecting over such ground, or should I seek areas where there is/was different types of mining eg surfacing? Any suggestions would be gratefully received, cheers!

G'day Topgun, welcome to the forum.

Your method of detecting is on the right path, but where you are detecting over most likely isn't.
If you are talking about a major mining operation, you'd most likely be wasting your time there. Major mining operations have put in a lot of time & money into chasing or gaining results & would have processed what ever they dug up quite thoroughly, leaving mostly their junk behind & little chance of gold finds by a detectorist. Not to say you wont stumble over some gold bearing quartz rock, which they happened to miss.
Even though the quartz gold bearing reefs/veins were quite narrow, they would have shed gold in more than one direction along their length.
Most importantly take note of the ground you detect or walk over & ask yourself is it deep or shallow, has it been surfaced or any signs of shallow surfacings near by? There'd be no point if the mullock on the flats bellow contained holes 6+ foot deep, for then you'd only be chasing gold left on the mullock toss out & that's if the mullock toss out has been given a good work over by detectorists before, but if you say you are finding, bullets, nails, steel junk etc, tells me that you're either in the heart of mining operations, or if the ground has been surfaced to where the gold sat or were found, (making it within detector reach)  you still have every chance of finding gold.
Personally & less its been hand worked only, I'd avoid any major mining operation, where a lot of their diggings were deep & have been pushed back over, leaving little chance for natural in ground gold finds.
Your best chance would be to search near by & around the major mining locality, for shallow surfaced to bedrock or clay, hand dug ground, withing reach of your detectors capabilities.

Cheers Kon.

Hi Kon,

thank you for your helpful reply - you have reinforced my suspicions as to the potential of where I was detecting - I don't think my boots were within 2-3 feet of original surface level anywhere I walked- massive amount of mullock and overburden, but hard to be certain as it's so old that it's heavily drifted over with pine needles and bush litter. There is a creek at the bottom of the slope downhill from where I was - my plan is to check out that area next time, it might be better crevicing and panning perhaps, and detecting the slopes downhill from the mines.
Thanks again for your help - one thing at least - it's still pretty cool to get a feeling for events of the past when wandering over such places, I love the sense of history - but I'd like to find some gold too!!

cheers,

Alan

You know the saying Alan, "nothing ventured, nothing gained" Take care out there & best of luck in pursuit of the golden ointment.

Cheers Kon.

thanks mate, and to you!