Im a newbie!

I'm going to go and buy my first detector but only have a budget of $1000. Now i know Minelab is a very good brand but was wondering if whites Gmt detector, Garrets or any other brands at a similar price were any good. Or should i just not worry about it and get a Minelab X-Terra 705 gold pack. I'm guessing that the Minelab detectors are probably better suited to Australian soils but if you listen to every manufacturer they'll all say the same "our product is the best". So to all you gold hunting veterans out there, impart some of your knowledge upon me. I would be truly thankful.

G'day Adztre. Welcome to the Forum

What exactly do you intend prospecting for,eg coins,relics,gold nuggets etc,in parks,on beaches,or out in the gold fields?

Cheers kon61.

searching for alluvial gold. also wondering if there are any maps or such to start me off in the right direction. i live in south australia.

G'day Adztre

Firstly a big welcome to the forum mate,

A detector to suit your'e budget would be the X-terra 705 gold pack, very easy to switch on and go,
also not to shabby on the gold, very well priced and comes with the 10x5 DD coil, you will need to get some
headphones and the minelab RPG's are fine for that detector.

As to where to go for a starter, grab yourself a copy of "Goldfields of sth australia" from Miners den s.a at
salisbury sth and take a look at the "old echunga diggings up on "Diggings rd" just a way past Mylor.
The best places to hunt are on "Poormans hill & gully" & "New rush", i have also done quit well around "german dam".
There is an interpretive sign at the main entrance gate so have a look and read the history of the goldfield.

The main thing to remember if goin to the 'old diggings" is that the gold was very rich but was only patchy,
also the best way to get some nuggets up there is to buy yourself a good strong steel rake and rake off some
of the mullock piles free of branches/twigs and mulch, this gets you onto good undetected ground where you
will have a far better chance of scoring some nuggets, remember if the ground is easy to detect cause its
nice and clear it will be hammered to death by previous blokes a 1000 times over.

Although "jupiter ck goldfield" is not far away i would say to stay away from that area as the ground is very heavily
mineralised and the 705 will have no hope of ground balancing out the interference from ironstone etc.

Good luck on your new hobby and hope to
hear of your travels and finds in the future.


Pete in WA

Cheers for the helpful tips mate. ill let ya know when i dig up my first nugget. hope its the size of my fist, but more likely to be the size of a peanut.

adztre wrote:Cheers for the helpful tips mate. ill let ya know when i dig up my first nugget. hope its the size of my fist, but more likely to be the size of a peanut.

peanuts don't come that small! the best of luck!!!!