Gold North East Victoria?

After hanging up my White 6db detector some 12 years ago through shear frustration.
I have finally bought myself the new GPX 5000, "Typically" I have one of the dud C107 mono coils, Just my luck!
I'm trying to detect around Beachworth Eldorado area, has anyone had any success detecting in this region.
Is the gold in this area simply to fine? as I had become very efficient with a gold pan, every time i go out detecting I will fill a small bucket with dirt from the area, the 8 times I've been out with my new Minelab, 7 times my bucket of dirt has produced fine gold specks.
So I'm starting to wonder if I'm wasting my time trying to detect in this area.
Anyone with any suggestions on North east Vic will be greatly appreciated

Hi there someday,
I have detected with a little success around that area, Chiltern to be exact, but I must say it is difficult, and if you are going to work around old diggings, there can be a significant amount of rubbish on them. The old workings are different to the triangle and I found the area to not have been that rich compared to the triangle, for nuggetty gold, with workings spread out here and there, the gold I believe was fairly deep in most parts, some shallow ground can be found for nuggetty gold but there is not too much of it, the whole area is predominately known for its flour or fine type gold which was very rich but not for nuggets, especially Beechworth/Eldorado, hope this helps, it may be a different story down towards Myrtleford or Yackandandah perhaps,
cheers
Lucy

Thank's for that Lucy, I'm a believer that pastures always look greener in other fields, when in fact their not, but in this case I think your right.
However, this is how my brain works? the fine gold must have eroded away from somewhere, and when I pan there's always gold sitting on top of the gravels, SO it's still coming from somewhere, or I'm just wishful thinking, Hmm!

I lived in Wangaratta for a couple of years and spent many hours panning and detecting the Woolshed creek.
I never found any gold in the mullock heaps but did find a bit in old gravel wash layers high up on some old dry banks about half way between eldorado and beechworth. Nice flat water worn pieces up to a couple of gms. Found these by washing the gravel. I found fine gold everywhere along the creek but if you work carefully you might find a nice little leader on the inside bends in the creek . I have found thin leaders there that were no more than a cm wide and stretched around the curves maybe 15 to 20 feet. These little strings can be quite well worth the effort of concentrated panning.
Also found waterworn pieces on bedrock in the creek where the bedrock was only approx one foot down and no water running. I think if I had a half decent detector at the time they would have been detectable and for sure the 4500,5000 or even the Infinium would have found some of those pieces.
So if you go up the centre of the creek and detect where the bedrock is close then you might find some long lost pieces.

Adrian SS

Perhaps if you used your panning skills to do some "loaming" in various places you might be lucky enough to find the source.

Robert

I did not do any Loaming in the Woolshed valley because it had been Dredged to death in the early days and that the gold found there had come down from in the hills above the Woolshed falls and that area had been heavily mined also.
I never found any gold in that creek (reedy)that was not flattened and well water worn, it had travelled some significant distance.
In fact my main interest in that area was Topaz & Agate because I was making cab jewelery at that time.
Some of the creeks to the North ( I think?) Been a while since I was there)of the Woolshed might be worth a look at today if you have the energy to trudge through the bush n over the hills to find them.

Adrian SS

Hi Goldnomad The idea of finding fine float gold can be a challenge beyond all challenges, our weird weather pushing water from hills and valleys every which way, Honestly I don't know how the old timers kept their sanity, Obviously when they stuck a shovel in the ground and came out with an ounce of gold they had something to work with! a couple of flakes could come from "Well almost anywhere" Without a doubt from somewhere, that's a real needle in a haystack.
If I dug deeper and there was still gold, that would be a different story, but like I said It's always float gold. Dig deeper and NOTHING.

Funny how many new people to the hobby want to detect outside the golden triangle, i myself had that theory.
It usually is based on the assumption these areas have bean less detected, though some of them produced nuggets at times
they must be out of reach to detectors, or was it the geological conditions that were obvious to the early miners so all the ground got worked.
Many years of experience taught me go to where the gold is being found, ie: golden triangle, the time i spent waisted
digging deep holes for trash, walkng steep slopes and thick bush in the East & Nth East has not resulted in any detectable gold!

I only know of one person who got lucky with two little nuggets around a gram out east! Heard of a few bits detected here & there
but can not confirm stories or locations. I think East & Nth East are more suited to panning & sluicing due to the sometimes reliable
streamflows.

The golden triangle still produces gold to experienced hard working detector operators using the latest technology!
Perhaps for every detected piece found in Victoria outside the golden triangle there would be thousands of nuggets found
in the golden triangle. Increase your odds and go to wear the gold is.

WA sounds even much more productive but i have not bean there, its a long trip for 4 weeks holidays a year, bit hard without
a good caravan and support gear. Maybe one day?

My 2 cents worth!

monoloop,

Prob just saved me alot of time by that post, just wondering what everyone elses opinion is????

HueyDuck....

Gidday Someday
I lived for 10 yrs.(1996-2006) in Beechworth and with a good mate sluiced reedy creek from the falls to Eldorado and done very well. The Beechworth area and surrounds is all fine gold as it shed from decomposing granite in the surrounding hills. If you travel over to Yackandandah there are heaps of reefing areas but the terrain is very steep and rugged. When we were forming the NE mining assoc. branch I was shown a lump of gold that was acid cleaned from Quartz that weighed around 10 ozs. I think. There are places like Stoney ck., german gully towards Gapsted that produced nuggets of which I scored some also down around Benalla. Chiltern was also a nugget area
So as you see if you do your homework you will find that there are quite a few places to way a wand around Wang. best of luck to you.
Regards Dave C.

Just to throw my bit in I did hear there was good pannable gold to be had somewhere 20kms out of Shepparton.Anyone know anything more about that?

prospecting club at Yackandandah might be worth joining if your around that area

Most of the goldfields surrounding Benalla (from 3 t0 20 miles out & generally Westward) were deep leads and reef gold and were not payable in those days; Might be different now.
There is some alluvial ground w n w of the town within a few miles of Benalla. It is of course all on private property now.

Its the PMAV in Yack ,Phill,an not a bad bunch either,meet Bi Monthly an we usually go to the pub for a countery an beer before the meeting,next meet Jan 19. lot of experience and knowledge there, cheers hope ya well mate .

Gotta agree with "monoloop68"
Not a lot of bigger nuggets nowadays but still plenty of little tackers. Patience and skill are rewarded. The more time out there, the more skilled you become. Just remember though, you still have to walk over the gold so do your research.

Robert

Hllo Jed, if '' someday'' needs it the contact number is on here under clubs,been a while Jed, I'm doing great, just starting 5 weeks of fishing, fishing and fishing, merry xmas to you and yours ,regards phill