It is for me when useless mongrels trash and dump cars out the bush. It now sits on a spot where I have found some nice nuggets and specimens previously. The spot was already well littered by several generations of previous unthinking mongrels but this is a bit hard to work around. My Discriminate function does not have a "car" setting.
Exhibit A. A crystalline gold in quartz specimen from where the wreck now rests. Contains 0.5-1 grams gold. At least I got there and had a couple of goes before the pile of crap arrived. Exhibit B. Nearby ground that has yielded many small nuggets and specimens. More picturesque due to an absence of car bodies.
*The new Pulsar induction 5000* modern relic detector. Finding relics out in the bush is awesome fun. But, Thats a wreck. if you found it in the bush in 100 years it would still be a piece of rubbish. And, its probably stolen, so someone's way of working and moving and getting about its gone. And, Especially when the leave the interior and all the suspension to rot. Useless buggers
Had my first crack at detecting during the week. 2 days in Clermont yielded the following (only a small selection): Ha ha ha But it was the same message from most of the detectorists I spoke to. Many areas in Australia are flogged and most go without finding anything. My mate who has been a prospector for most of his life found about 3/4 ounce in 5 weeks. Tough work and he has access to private land. So this got my investment brain thinking and if it is difficult finding stuff now, specimens and sizeable nuggets are becoming rarer and rarer and there are no more being made, their investment potential should increase, so if you get a chance, buy those larger nuggets if they are for sale. $55/gram is a benchmark price IMO, cheaper and it becomes a bargain and up to $60/gram is also in the ballpark. Most nuggets are more than these prices though.
I had an old borrowed minelab 2200D with a normal(?) coil, my mate had a 4800 (or 4500 I can't remember) with a mono-coil, and his wife a 3500 with the same coil as me. Lot's of grass waist high because of 3 good seasons of rain. Needed a fire.
All good detectors. Pity you didnt run over some nuggs but +1 for having a crack. Took me about 20 outings before I got my first nugget so dont feel bad about your first effort.
Got my first nugget less than 2 months ago and am absolutely hooked. I have a source who has been prepared to do a straight swap (Sovereigns for nuggets w/w) He was happy to swap Sovereigns for all his smaller nuggets but I have hit a brick wall with his larger specimens. Nothing will tempt him to part with his 50+ gram specimens. I am still looking for some larger nuggets (30+ grams) so if anyone is prepared to part with them, I am willing to give you some quality Sovereigns in exchange (weight for weight)
Cash steve? No promises but Ill ask around. If you are interested, pm me the price/gram you'd be willing to pay and Ill let you know if you're in the game.
My friends co-worker brought some nuggets that they found in Qld into work to show off. No pics available but the nuggets consisted of: 1x 40oz 1x 28oz Various nuggets between 1-3oz Plus some smaller nuggets Total weight 100oz They were found by a Vic. couple who spend their annual leave time detecting the Qld goldfields. Sorry folks, they wouldnt say where. They have never gone detecting in Vic as they consider the nuggets too small and difficult to find. They are hobby detectorists who do it for the fun and they have no intention of selling any of their finds.
Probably the Palmer river area or out around Georgetown, some big nuggets picked up out that way over the last few years one guy got a seven kg one about five years ago. Check this fella out on youtube, he had a video up last year with over a thousand ounces of nuggets laid out on his Kitchen table, I couldnt find it but this is a recent one of his 2 weeks work. The second one is a six+ ozer and the end of the vid is a good laugh. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtWy8EiHUoA[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUKZShLzeRA[/youtube]