The Filthy Yellow Stuff

I used to do quite well out of black springs NSW and down in Hotham VIC. I never Hit a big one but always made enough with shooting goats to pay for the trip.

I always used mine to scan likey spots in dried creek beds then panned the spot.

shadow

Found and made plenty of that filthy yellow stuff in the winter camp grounds while swinging the detector around, but by the time I have a chance of selling it, it's usally melted before I can can it valued. Taxman can help himself to my yellow stuff. Plenty up Mt Hotham and Mt Buller.

Found a tiny one (<1gm) on an instructional day with Coiltek in Vic. Wife found one as well.

Hoping to hit the fields in a few months.

If you want to find some gold, grab a pan - there's heaps of colour still about if you just want to be able to say you've found some gold.

Footloose ,
I am in the same boat as you - I hear stories of booty , but never see any proof .
I spend a month or two around the WA goldfields every year , but have never made the leap into fossicking , although I love going to old mining areas and poking around and reading about the goldrushes etc .
I guess you need to be asked out with a fossicker for the day , to see if you enjoy it . It's a big investment to buy the latest detector and then find it bores the tits off you .
Willie

There's an old bloke who I see occasionally out near our property near Avoca(vic)... I've asked him on several occasions how it's treating him. He reckons he doin great and shows me a specimen jar with half a dozen or so little nuggets in it('bout the size of a corn kernel)... Some how each time he shows me, I get the feeling I know these nuggets, nothing changes about them except the jar is getting dirtier by the year... He spend ~$7k on a minelab detector about 6 years ago, not sure if he carries the yellow stuff around to make himself feel better about the outlay or if he's actually living off the stuff.

My Dad and I, have spent many a long weekend (and many school holidays) looking for the yellow stuff in the WA Goldfields, and usually finds enuff to pay for the trip.
Even if he doesn't, it makes a good excuse for a few days away.

Since travelling with SWMBO, he is now struggling to find enuff due to petrol prices, and the trade off for a week in the goldfelds is a week overseas holidaying.

Usually only found small nuggets, and quartz veins - has yet to strike it rich !!

RD

Aaahhhh.....THE YELLOW STUFF. Plenty of oit out there, lots still being picked up. Have a look at this site and several years of archived very interesting articles all about THE YELLOW STUFF. Gold Net Archives

We live in Yalgoo WA, (120kms from mount magnet) historic gold country.

Have an old Minelab basic model...been out a number of times by never seen as much as a glitch of gold.

found spectacles, bullet casings etc etc

the old story...if you invest in a $$$$$ detector you have a better chance as they 'probe' deeper etc. but it all comes down to the priority you put on it.

Rev

Seen on the news a few months back about a small group of about 4 or 5 went out around the Bendigo / Ballarat way in Vic, one bloke scored himeslf a nice nugget with a detector. Can`t remember excactly but it was worth something like $80,000 or $180,000.
I used to work with a mad keen prospector that came from America, in all the years (around 25) he had been doing it he has never found anything with a detector, all his gold has been from panning and sluicing. Says sometimes he can dig a hole chest deep before finding any decent payable gold. Digs trailer loads of dirt for a small return.
Dunno bout you but sounds like to much hard work for me.
I think its all about knowing how to read the land and knowing where to find the stuff, rather than just plonking down at any old spot expecting to find pans full of the stuff or wandering around aimlessly in the middle of the bush hoping to find it. I`ve had a go at panning at various camp spots, but its only really an excuse for something to do while I`m there, haven`t found anything and don`t really expect to.
Cheers

I've been prospetcting since 1985 - 5 years of that full time and taking out tours as well. The rest was part-time whilst working.

It's not all beer 'n skittles out there and there is a lot to learn other than just swinging a "bipper" machine. Research, a bit of geology, persistence, abililty to survive - sometimes against the odds, and the ability to enjoy it even when yer not finding it.

What have I found over the years? Enough to pay for 1 year old Ford Maverick tray back ute, a camper trailer, $20K off the mortgage on an investment property, a $30k share portfolio, a few other bits 'n pieces, a whole heap of bush knowledge and a barrel of laughs - and I've still got 60 ounces left.

I reckon that's OK, don't you?

Bilbo

I know a couple of couple of full-time prospectors around Kalgoorlie. That's all they do and they seem to be living well. They have a bit of plant in addition to the detectors ranging from a mini-bobcat to a Cat Traxcavator. I think you need to be fairly switched on to really make it pay, but it can pay and pay well.

I used to work for a prospector called Mark Creasy. We were doing a bit of RAB drilling up in the northern goldfields of WA one day with him when a TV crew rolled up out of the blue. Turns out they wanted to interview Mark about the $150 million bucks he just scored for the patch of dirt next door. He was still sleeping on a bit of plywood on the ground, eating dry museli bars and driving a 1969 petrol Landcruiser. No bull.

Remember thinking if I had a $150 Million in the bank I'd buy an Engel and a new set of tyres at least.

I guess you could say the opportunities are there for the clever ones.