The "Prospecting" Forum

Hi anyone,

I'm sure similar questions have been asked on this forum many times before, but I would just like to see if there is some consensus of opinion out there as to which detector offers the best value for money when it comes to hunting for natural gold in Australia.

I'm into coin hunting and use a Minelab Etrac and while it's a great detector for coins it's not so good on gold, unless of course your searching for gold rings, but as for small gold nuggets, i.e. shot gun pellet size, it's simply not sensitive enough to pick them up.

Last year I went on a weekend gold prospecting tour to the Victorian goldfields and used both the GPX 4500 and 5000. Both machines could pick up very small gold and within our group several small nuggets in the order of one to five grams were found and also one very nice specimen about the size of a pea. (See photos)

The problems I found with the GPX 4500/5000 were that after using the Etrac which you just pick up and go the GPXs where somewhat heavy on the arm, had to have a separate battery pack attached to a harness and were just not the same as the pick up and go Etrac. Also when you did go over a small piece of gold there was no real beep like when you pass over a coin with the Etrac but rather just a very, very minute change in the tone of the threshold which was so subtle it was often very difficult to know if you had a signal of not. Finally at a price of $6000 plus for the GPX 5000 you would want to be sure you are going to get a lot of use out of it before you part with your money.

So I guess what Im looking for is a detector that is suitable for Australian soil conditions.
One that is reasonable compact and what I called pick up and go just like the Etrac.
Is sensitive enough to pick up those small nuggets, and will give a reasonable signal that leaves little doubt that there is something under the coil.
Reasonable price so I dont have to justify to the missus that we really, really need to pay this and its essential for our long term survival. I would say any detector up to about $1500 would be reasonably priced.

Would really like to hear from anyone who has actually been prospecting in Australia and has had some experience with the GPX's and been able to compare them with other brands of gold only detectors

My choice and a shortcut for an answer would be to go to some of the forums that deal with the subject, they have a lot more knowledge with regards to local Australian Gold Prospecting conditions no matter where.

Thanks for the advice ivanll but this is a Yank-AUSSIE forum is it not, so thought there may actually be a few AUSSIE's on here willing to give their opinion. But of course I am also open comments from anyone else from other parts of the world who might like to share their thoughts.

Fortunehunter... I'm in the USA... California. I do not sell detectors. But I do wonder how the Fisher Gold Bug Pro works in other areas? It is standard with a small 5-inch circular DD, and it has been designed for low conducters such as the smaller grain-sized "bread & butter" placer gold and also other smaller jewelry items such as rings with stones and even earring gold posts.

I have a Gold Bug Pro and like the fact that it is lightweight and about $500 USA with the 5-inch coil,but has other accessory coils available. It was designed by David Johnson and has two special programs that I have found helpful out in the California Randsburg Quadrangle. They are bargraph readings that measure the amount of magnetite in the ground and the phase reading which indicate the type of ground that could be associated with the higher concentration of the magneite (magnetic black sand concentrations). As an example, I have found bargraph (two or more bars) and phase readings (about 75+- ), seem to indicate better areas to nugget hunt in the Rand/El Paso greater district.

However, I'm responding to the"value for money which gold detector" question and wonder how the Gold Bug Pro works in other areas such as where any other Yank/Aussie members are gold, coin, and relic hunting?

I believe the best option for you, under the circumstances you describe, would be the Whites TDI Pro. It's a pulse machine, like the Minelab, although it doesn't go quite as deep. It is lightweight, essentially turn on and go, sensitive to sub gram nuggets, and designed for use in Oz. The standard TDI and the TDI SL don't have the expanded ground balance capability that the Pro does. Just about any VLF machine you would get would be stymied by the extreme ground you have over there.
Go to Whites web site and take a look. There also a couple videos on You Tube I did on the SL so you can get an idea of how it works. There are other videos out there too, some good, some bad, so don't believe everything.

Digger Bob

I suppose you would like a beautiful, intelligent, willing to dig, cook and wash helper to go with the perfect detector...me too! but that ain't happening...so.

I think Digger has the best idea...but...value for money?...several years ago in your Oz ggt there was an article that showed the ratio of one man's goldbug to his mates minelab pi finds...the 500 dollar detector found about a fifth of what the 2500 dollar detector found...

What is finding gold worth to you...there in is the real treasure...not lucre.

Nonetheless your best value for a minelab Pi will be in the used market...even the orinial 2000 will find the goodies with the right operator and gold in the ground.

There was and still continue to be many nice nuggets found with vlf...takes practice and skill to understand the moans and groans...Jonathan Porter, Reno Chris and Steve H have a video on the <>(* site if you care to go over and watch it...part of which shows them using a goldbug...
fred

Ive got one for you,it has no batteries no harness you can drop it eat out of it and wear it as a hat and it finds gold every time I use it,cost me $12,,a gold pan,But all jokes aside I can see where your coming from and I to have often thought why do we need all this crap to carry just to find gold when you can go and pop coins and probably make more money with just a detector a probe and a screw driver,the detector that comes to mind is the Garrett Infinium,I know a few that have got them and do reasonably well,gold prospecting is not a cheap hobby,one day I broke down a long way from no where no phone service and very isolated,what I had in my Ute was worth more than the vehicle,by the time added up the value of my detector /coils/gaps and all the other crap I needed to find some yella I thought you've got to have rocks in your head,any way it was all good and I'm still driving around with all the crap to find gold but do we need it at the moment ,I think yes,as the trouble with the relic/gold detectors is for me I cant cover as much ground to find my spots ,just my 2 bobs worth

Can't recommend a detector......but you really should consider Doc's Swingy Thingy for the GPX. Set up properly it takes all the weight off. The detector literally floats over the ground via the bungee cord. I use it on my older 6 lb ( 2.721 kilo) White's detector. Works beautifully. I think the Swingy runs $35.00 U.S.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2012 11:29PM by TerraDigger.

All of these detectors have ground balancing capability and is advertised as being gold prospecting capable.
To me they all work and have some very fine features, some I prefer for coin, relic and beach hunting and others when prospecting.

What they all have in common is multi-use.



ivanll

WOW ivanll... Now that is a Great collection of multi-use detectors...

I used the whites GMZ which I find very easy to used. $499.00 .

Parrot,

Have you tried the Garrett AT Gold yet on alluvial/elluvial gold in your area?

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Garrett GTI 2500, Infinium LS, Ace 250, Scorpion Gold Stinger, AT Gold.

Nah... Osteorarthtis bad... Getting new right hip soon (I hope). However I did pretty good with the Fisher Gold Bug Pro/5-inch coil combo...About $500-550 usa. The bargraph and phase numbers are most helpful in seeking overlooked placer areas in the metallogenetic epithermal/volcanics. Sad about the Scorpion. It was a go-getter in mine dump sampling for conductive metals. Best...js

Yes it is sad about the Scorpion, I was gonna sell mine after I got the AT Gold, but since it is sold no more I will keep. I found my smallest nugget I ever got with the new AT Gold in Oregon but I dropped it back into the river while showing my bud...oh well let it grow up a bit. I'm guessing maybe .03 gram under a slate piece of bedrock.

The AT Gold has a lot of gain and there is deffinately a difference even from 7/8 power to 8/8 setting. Lots to spare. Yeh I like that new gold bug with the little 5".

Hope your health improves and get back out a huntin'.

Take care JIm,

Alan

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Garrett GTI 2500, Infinium LS, Ace 250, Scorpion Gold Stinger, AT Gold.

Thanks Alan... I'm hoping for a new right hip...jim