A Durikai Rock

Prospecting Australia

Help Support Prospecting Australia:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

statusquo

Marc
Joined
Feb 3, 2015
Messages
148
Reaction score
270
Location
Brisbane, QLD
1433284596_img_2863.jpg

1433284596_img_2864.jpg


Morning..had an opportunity last week for a quick couple of hours at Durikai which I grabbed..tried a couple of old waterways and apart from steel bits and pieces and ali rubbish came across this rock..the tone was quite different from the other materials, I'd call it mellow rather than excited but definitely a solid tone..

Can anyone identify what it is please?

cheers
 
That same type of rock is scatterd all throughout the southern region of Talgai fossicking area. I must have dug 10 similar rocks in a half day and took one home as I had little else to show for the day. I only have a few days of detecting under my belt, with no colour to show as yet, but it would seem after reading everything I can on the Warwick goldfields and panning some half grain pieces in the creeks, that the detectable stuff must be there. Just a question of where and if my VLF detector will pick up what others have missed. Looking forward to getting back out there and giving it another go for as many times as required until I start getting some success. @busted knuckle, I just dont know how you do it mate, watched all your Youtube vids, keen to be as excited as you!
 
I have found a similar looking rock the only one in a large area , does not behave like a hot rock, very positive signal, broke it up smaller and still getting strong signal but no visible gold.
The MD 20 Falcon probe gives a very strong positive response.
Not like any hot rock i've found before.
 
Keen Ken, just wondering what detector you use? Do PIs ping these rocks as well. I smashed a few open to get a better look under the hand lense. Certanly no visible gold as you say, but often an obvious weathering halo inside (radially symmetric colour gradation going from rusty orange on surface to grey at the centre). I think these little guys are an iron rich silt stone, but one thing I know for sure, they are keeping me on my toes out there.
 
Hi Splinter,
yes I was using a PI machine a gpx 4500, usually have it pretty well balanced with very little ground noise. this rock went off like a coin. Still no visible gold, this one is more striated inside and looks more like a gritty quartz ( not like sandstone at all)though not as hard but has the texture of silcrete or a broken gibber, not so hard or shinny though. a bit like a gneiss grainy structure but only half as hard. Not like your normal "hot Rock", thats why I kept it. The interesting thing is the MD 20is a vlf unit and to gives the sam strong signal even in small piece.
Most hot rock the signal decreases when you break them up. Maybe another metal other than gold. can't see any thing under the microscope either (40 x)
 
Thanks for the reply Ken. Pitty there is no gold but sounds like a very interesting specimen and definitely different to what I have been digging (maybe it's a rock to throw on the back yard leach pad lol). Those 4500s are a nice machine, in a way I'm happy to hear that its not just my equipment that's picking up the hot rocks, although my girlfriend is starting to think I have gone bonkers with my bags of rocks and weeknight air testing sessions, so an upgrade will be in order in due time. Thanks again for the insight and happy hunting!
 
Have you found any nuggets down there yet?
I have never found a thing worth having with a detector around Darakai, which leads me to the idea I should sell my detectors.
Also have a old SD 2100 so I can use that and sell the expensive ones. not much chance of finding anything with the amount of detectors being swing down there.
Anything worth while is only there because no one has passed a coil over it yet. Not much chance of finding a place like that with gold on it.
GPZ's should be banned.
If you can't afford one your basically wasting your time and money , there are plenty of other hobbies where you can have a far greater chance of recovering some costs.
Even if you own a boat it might cost you money but at least you can catch a nice fish now and then.
 
GPZ's should be banned.
If you can't afford one your basically wasting your time and money , there are plenty of other hobbies where you can have a far greater chance of recovering some costs.
Even if you own a boat it might cost you money but at least you can catch a nice fish now and then.
:D :D :D :D
 
Maybe ban GPX's & SDC's too? :rolleyes:
Probably better off researching & looking for where the gold is there + not concentrating too much on what looks to be some type of basalt. It might be associated with where the gold is though but will rarely contain any recoverable gold. You can pick up gold amongst these scattered basaltic rocks in areas but it does require some patience - not sure if this is true of Durikai but it seems gold does get found there even if it's getting harder to find. Bit like fishing hey :lol:
 
Ken and mbasko,

Was at Durikai today, no gold again. I was getting what is often referred to as "fly poo" with my shovel and pan in a lot of locations, but the bigger stuff still eludes me. I thought a detector would take the game up a notch, but it would seem that this is not so in the area and I am aware of the old exponential size to rarety relationship. I'm swinging a second hand Eureka Gold (didnt want to over do it on the first purchase). I have done as much research as can be done from pressing buttons on a keyboard without paying for information. However, I feel I have made some reasonable interpretations from the available data and tried to get some feet on the ground confirmation, albiet unsuccessfully for number of possible reasons. The most likely being that the area is well worked, and the data is available for that reason. I cant afford a Z thats for sure. I'm starting to think a Pin the Tail on the Donkey approch may get me better results. Also, to hear that Ken running his 4500 is having the same luck as me, is some what of a relief, but some what aggrivating, if results are not forthcoming with a piece of equipment like that what chance do I have?

mbasko, the only reason that Ken and myself are concentrating on the hot rock, is because thats all we have found out there. I like fishing, but if after 10 or 20 trips you get 200 snags, and not one fish, its pretty hard to keep paying for fuel, rego, tackle and rods etc. It's a six hour round trip for me to get to Durikai although I do enjoy being out there.

Back to the rock lol. I picked up one as per your description today Ken. Really sets the detector off like crazy, crushed it and panned it for a bit of fun, nil. And yes, could be some kind of Basalt mbasko, my rock identificatoon skills are still in their infancy, thanks for the ID.
 
Gold comes from all sorts of places. This little patch gave up more than 100 oz wedged between basalt rock. I'm told the gold was solid nuggets about the shape of a biscuit averaging 4 to 7 oz. It was not in the basalt, as you can see the rock has been left behind.

1500730904_100_oz_patch.jpg


We were present when they started digging and dropped in a couple of times over the weeks for a look. By the time we actually swung a detector over the area the gold was long gone :|
 

Latest posts

Top