Anyone ever go Fossicking / Panning for Gold?

Although I live in the wrong part of Australia ( SE QLD ) , I thought this would be a fun activity, you know get my hands on a Minelabs detector, get a fossicker license, go camping near some old gold fields and have a poke around. I hate fishing, would this be a frustrating as hell hobby ?? What would be the reward / pain in the arse ratio ? Ultimately I would like permission to prospect an existing claim, and split profits with the owner, I hear you can do that, at least you know you have a good chance.

Any info or links to video , how to guides would be great.

 

Great idea,
we actually had a thread on here a few months ago, but nothing eventuated from it.
But id love to go, i dont have any equipment, but would bring some shovels, hammers, and a wok ( for panning )

not sure where to do it in SEQ .

there is an aussie forum that deals with fossicking and they probably could help more.

( google it )

but im up for a weekend away somewhere with other stackers.

imagine we strike a rich vein and than we liquidate each other - just like in them old stories hehehe

 

The only places i've sussed out around here are thanes creek near Leyburn, Nanango area and gympie area, but these are popular and most likely fished out , so to speak

I'm trying to find somewhere to hire the detector for a weekend to give it a go before wasting good $ on it

 

Recalcitrant - I'd direct you towards the local lapidary clubs - they often go fossicking and I'm due to head out with them sometime in the next month or two.

Once I'm in the knowledge of spots, might be a good social for SS round Brissy/SE Queensland area... I too have wondered about one of those Minelabs jobbys. How much are we talking for one?

 

There is a lapidary club here, don't know what that is , but I'll check it out. These Minelabs detectors can be $800 used upward to $4000

 

& more depending on model- heads- spare batteries- car charger etc nothing worse then getting there & your battery goes flat in a couple of hours If your getting a pan get one with riffles .

 

For the latest minelab series your looking at up to $6500, but yeah as low as $2500 for older models. I had 3 mates who all bought brand spanka, and after a buildup of say 3 months of studying maps, magazines ect, then buying, it took another 6 months of finding bullets and nails for them all to sell up
Wish i bought one of htem, its definetly a patience game i hear, and once you begin to find the 'nack' it all makes sense. So foremost, you must enjoy it as a hobby to begin with, for i fear with just a prize enjoyment you may not last the distance.
I live and work inthe Pilbara in W.A. as well, so plenty of opportunity once i get one, to jump on my YFZ 450 and go searching

 

I do a lot of metal detecting around the Adelaide hills, last year i bought a Garrett Ace 350 new for $500 plus the pro-performance head which punches down about 8-10 inches ( i cant be bothered digging any deeper ) verry cheap setup. The Minelabs are the way to go though if your serious but at $4-6 k new you want to be out there a lot to get your moneys worth. My Garrett paid for itself in the first 3 months with 47 grams of nugs, 2 gold rings ( one with 3 small diamonds i think ) and a jar half full of current coinage. Its a good healthy way to get some blood pumping and appr mother nature. My advice, for what its worth is get a cheap setup with the biggest head on it you can buy and see if its the right kind of hobby for you also the kids love it. Good Luck.

 

Your probably right, I would get bored with it if I consistantly failed thats why you would want to go with veterans that know what their doing. I thought of good practice , buy a few small nuggets and get the kids to bury them on my acerage, and see if I can find them. you'd be pissed if they forget where they put them though :lol:

 

I live in the middle of the golen triangle in victoria. We also owned a caravan park there for quite some time, which our d,ter now owns. We had quite a few people living in the park that only prospected for a living and a large % of our patrons was there only to fossick. They find a lot of gold. Their method is to buy the best minelab available and each time a new one comes out they go and trade their old one in then go and rework the areas they have found gold in before. They will selact an area about 20 mtrs x 20mtrs rake the ground of all debris twigs etc attach a chain to their belt to drag across the ground and leave a line behind them so they know exactly where they have been and slowly and thoroughly work every square inch of that plot before moving to another similar sized area. Depending on how they go they may spend up to a week in that small area. If you are not prepared to be as professional as this it will be a hit and miss event with more miss than hit. That is why I don't do it I can't be bothered being so thorough.

 

Id be keen for a SE gold fossick/pan.

 

I'm keen to give it a go , spend $1k on a used detector , and if I get the jack of it just bang it back on feebay I need to do something outdoorsy , getting lazy these days and like I said , I hate fishing!

 

Can the detectors be rented?

isnt a bad idea to buy one on eBay and resell it later on, if the gold price will increase than the price of the detector should increase as well, or at least hold its price

 

Yes GP thats us. We run a comp called Show us your nuggets in conjunction with Coiltek were we give 2 free nights in a cabin or a week on a powered site to the person staying in the park who finds the biggest nugget each month. At the end of the year the mayor pulls a name out of a hat and the winner gets a $1000 voucher to spend at Coiltek, works well. Introduce yourself next time you are up.

 

I think a SS outing is warranted

 

I have a detector and have done better combing Brighton Beach for $1 and $2 coins with the occasional bit of gold jewelery.

Digging in sand is much easier than digging in clay!!!!

 

Posts below from the Finders Forum regards areas around Brisbane/SEQ


SEQ is a difficult area to prospect.
Warwick has produced some detectable nuggets and some good stuff has come out of the Jimna region, but you are better advised to head north to Rocky and beyond or just south of the border below Warwick
*****
north of gympie there are hundred of potentual patches waiting to be found. every place is different to the next as far as geology is concerned so theres no "one" type of ground to look in. just get a geo map and go there!
*****
A couple of years ago I saw a one ounce chunk a bloke found south of talgai. He spent a long time detecting to get this bit. It cleaned up real nice and the warwick daily news took some pics and did a story on it. Small bits have been showing up in the region occasionally and where they are, they they are!
*****
Detectable gold around Bris./SEQ is a little thin on the ground. Some has been found in the past around Warwick, Imbil and other Sunshine Coast hinterland sites.
However, Gladstone/Rocky fields offer better odds of finding a bit with Clermont probably the best bet for a newcomer.

There is plenty of opportunities to pan some colour in many of the Sunshine Coast area watercourses or at the fossicking area at Gympie.

Good luck.
*****

 

Good info , Clermont looks promising but hardly a weekend trip. http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/zone_files/fossicking_pdf/clermont_gold_gpas_2007.pdf

I might go for a drive on the weekend to Thanes creek to try my hand at panning and walk the dog http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/zone_files/fossicking_pdf/thanes_creek_fa_2007.pdf

If I can find a small amout by panning, which costs nothing, I'll then think about a detector

All SE qld sites http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/zone_files/geoscience_pdf/southeast.pdf