SusieRoo Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 My husbands been watching a TV show called Aussie Gold Hunters and there seems to be people driving out into the bush and digging up thousands of dollars worth of gold nuggets. I must admit there is something very appealing about treasure hunting, but this looks too good to be true. Anyone tried it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 My husbands been watching a TV show called Aussie Gold Hunters and there seems to be people driving out into the bush and digging up thousands of dollars worth of gold nuggets. I must admit there is something very appealing about treasure hunting, but this looks too good to be true. Anyone tried it?My brother in law did it every day for 6 months in the Golden Triangle. He was good and thorough but, apart from a thumb sized nugget, not lucky. Finding a nugget is the exception rather than the rule but get yourself a license and have a go. Plenty of worse ways to waste your time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Know loads of them who have been doing it for years. Very few have covered the costs. If he wants to go for it, pm me and I will send through some tips (i am an exploration geologist specialising in finding gold). But, my advice would be to assume it will be a hobby. The vast majority (over 99%) of gold in Australia is in rocks and at sub micron scale 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I like the story of the 'budding' prospector in Kalgoorlie; he went to the prospecting/camping store in Kal, and asked if he could try out a 'pinger'. He and the shop assistant went to the carpark (plain dirt , no bitumen top in those days 1970s) and pinged up a nugget that paid for the pinger... Of course, plenty of other things to ping up. If one goes to the old gold mining towns, there are plenty of incidentals, old coins, metal badges spoons etc. Then, if you are fairly serious about it, Australia has some good fossicking areas for sapphires, garnets, etc, etc, which makes for good camping holidays. Cheers, Bobj. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 We walked round some old gold mines a while back and there were people there with pingers and little picks. I did wonder if it was legal to take from such places, this was all signed up as a historic site for example with a car park. How does it work if you find something? How do you know who the land belongs to for example? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 If you have a Miner's Right, what you find is yours, to a point...You cannot enter private grounds, or areas designated National Parklands, etc. Palmerville, in FNQ is closed to ALL fossicking. Still, plenty of common land to fossick on. No miner's right needed in the Northern Territory, it is too vast for a couple of wardens to cover in a very hostile environment. Cheers, Bobj. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Husband has a decent metal detector, so we consulted the geological maps to find rives with gold lodes up stream, found a likely area areas where gold is most likely to accumulate behind a boulder in the dry creek, cranked up the detector and "wooooooo" - something there. Dug down a bit, retested the site "wooopwooowoooooo". Something large. Dug down a bit more. And found a fork. Went home one fork the richer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 On 01/07/2018 at 05:02, VERYSTORMY said: The vast majority (over 99%) of gold in Australia is in rocks and at sub micron scale I used to deal with a hobbyist on a regular basis who was convinced there was gold to be found locally. So he'd go collect rocks, get them assayed and bring me the results quite proudly that there was, in fact, gold present. Turns out he was taking samples from a rock wall down the harbour and the assay was showing amounts on the limit of detection at 2 parts for billion or something. But yeah, gold was there. Though i suspect the harbour master wasn't about to let him quarry the harbour wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Eera said: I used to deal with a hobbyist on a regular basis who was convinced there was gold to be found locally. So he'd go collect rocks, get them assayed and bring me the results quite proudly that there was, in fact, gold present. Turns out he was taking samples from a rock wall down the harbour and the assay was showing amounts on the limit of detection at 2 parts for billion or something. But yeah, gold was there. Though i suspect the harbour master wasn't about to let him quarry the harbour wall. Lol, he would have got almost 2 ppb from pretty much any rock on the planet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 14 minutes ago, VERYSTORMY said: Lol, he would have got almost 2 ppb from pretty much any rock on the planet Doesn't the human body have something like 10 ppb? Better off hanging around the cemetery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 (edited) On 06/07/2018 at 13:01, Eera said: one fork the richer. Great name for a heavy metal band Edited July 8, 2018 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Not strictly gold hunting , Dad used to be a very keen metal detecorist , he had a couple of the top machines available at the time he found 100’s of Roman coines , James 1st right through to current coins He also found a virtually brand new Rolex in Blackpool beach one day ( had it checked out a genuine one ) but his pride and joy was the 6 Bronze Age axe heads he found just outsude of Mold , N wales which he donated to the museum of wales for every one to see it was as if they had just been made so sharp amazing the fact they had been buried for around 3500 years 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OWENH1 Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I go gold prospecting around Bendigo in Victoria. A feeling I can’t put in to words when I find gold. I have the fever now! Plan to go hunting in WA next year. That’s where the bigger gold is generally found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypherage Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 I’m watching the show now and it’s definitely staged to some degree because they find big nuggets and then the drone camera view zooms off for an amazing scenic shot while they roll around on their backs all ecstatic and / or there’s three cameras all lined up perfectly at each of them at that exact moment they make the ultimate find etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 2 hours ago, Cypherage said: I’m watching the show now and it’s definitely staged to some degree because they find big nuggets and then the drone camera view zooms off for an amazing scenic shot while they roll around on their backs all ecstatic and / or there’s three cameras all lined up perfectly at each of them at that exact moment they make the ultimate find etc. There is a new show at the minute. I can’t remember the name of it but it’s fossicking for opals. ‘I think a lot are staged but then people wouldn’t watch it if there wasn’t a bit of drama or action. ‘I worked at a veterinary hospital and we had our own TV Series, a number of cases were falsified just to get the viewers in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Thinking...Thinking! Can I justify a couple of grand for a pinger and a trip to Warrego, central NT next year? Had a cheap pinger many years ago and pinged up a few things on the old Kookabookra goldfield of northern NSW. My interest is growing... Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 On 09/07/2018 at 13:02, Rallyman said: Not strictly gold hunting , Dad used to be a very keen metal detecorist , he had a couple of the top machines available at the time he found 100’s of Roman coines , James 1st right through to current coins He also found a virtually brand new Rolex in Blackpool beach one day ( had it checked out a genuine one ) In the days before pingers were on the market I spent as many hours on Blackpool beach with just a shovel and sieve. I've lost count of the numbers of watches, rings, bracelets etc as well as money that I found. In summer I could work a patch in the early morning or at night when nobody was there and a week later work it again and till find stuff. Either side of Central pier was the most lucrative. Under the pier was also lucrative but mainly cash only dropped through the pier from gaming machines and stalls or from dirty buggers having it off. It actually kept me fed on many occasions when I couldn't nick something 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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