Gday all

[PeteW]

G'day everyone,

Ive only been prospecting for a year so still a rookie & have lots of questions! A little bout myself:

I took up gold detecting last year as a distraction. My ex wife hasn't let me see my kids in over three years so detecting takes my mind off the hard stuff for a while. The last holiday I had with my kids we went fossicking at Hill End in 2013 which is where I got the bug I think. We all got colours in the pan too!

I swing a Z & a SDC2300 & so far my prospecting trips have only been in Central West of NSW. I love the great outdoors & have been hiking/camping & navigating for years on numerous trips using compass, GPS & maps.

I tend to research my trips & the prospecting locations before I go & load waypoints & routes into my GPS. I have found LOTS of old timers junk, numerous hot rocks but only a couple of small speccies to date! lol

I always carry water, food, a portable UHF radio, PLB, & a basic first aid kit. I have a useful 4wd/camper trailer setup.

Im interested in learning more tips & tricks of detecting & panning from the experts on here!

Cheers, Pete

 

[vstrom]

Welcome petew lots of great information and lots of great people hope you find some yellow.

 

[thefitter]

welcome

 

[AtomRat]

Welcome to the forum Pete

 

[Secret Squirrels]

Welcome PeteW, looks like you've got the right equipment and a sensible approach, all you need now is to walk in the right direction. Good luck with the hunt>

 

[Eldorado]

Welcome PeteW.

 

[Chewy]

Welcome to PA Pete.

 

[DrDuck]

Welcome to the forum, Pete. That situation with access sucks.

 

[RM Outback]

Welcome petew all the best

 

[Jaros]

Welcome PeteW.
Jaros

 

[PeteW]

Thanks for the welcome guys, cheers!

Hey Guys a question:
I was out today with the SDC 2300 & detected a strange hotrock about 400mm deep. Its about the size of a basketball & really heavy. The magnet on my pick didnt stick to it like other hot rocks have. I tried the pinpointer on it & it would slow chirp in certain parts of the rock & scream in others.

Do you reckon it's worth splitting it & having a look?

Cheers, Pete

 

[B5MECH]

Crush and pan that rock Pete
Maybe split it first and see if the gold is visible, use the sdc on the crushed bits to make sure you didn't miss any
Welcome to the forum

 

[Mickkat12]

Vent your anger on the rock

 

[PeteW]

Cheers B5MECH & Mickkat12,

I was afraid you might say that! he he he

The bloody thing weighs a ton & it's a fair hike in & out (no vehicle access). I tried to lift n drop it on the bedrock to see if it would split but it didnt.

How would you go about breaking it up?

I was thinkin:
Plan A: Take to it with a club hammer & cold chisel onsite
Plan B: Bring it home & take to it with a fencing bar
Plan C: Bring it home, cut several parallel slits in it with my diamond blade on the 100mm angle grinder then take to it with either the club hammer & cold chisel or fencing bar

What do you think?

Cheers, Pete

 

[Tathradj]

go back with a sledge hammer and an old blanket.
wrap the rock in the blanket and show it who is boss.
Check each piece with the detector.

 

[PeteW]

Thanks Tathradj

Thats a good tip cheers!

Pete

 

[RM Outback]

Certainly worth giving that rock the hammer treatment, you don't won't that nagging at you. tathradj's advice is the way to go.