where to detect - gully's and hills?

[walshie1000]

Gday guys, I've been learning a lot from all of you and a friend that has been detecting for almost 10 years.
I've managed to pick up a few pieces of gold on my few outings so far.
Thanks to loamer for his post breaking down different types if diggings and what they mean. Very helpful.
I thought I would ask a question as when I have been out I am sometimes questioning where I am detecting. I have pulled 2 pieces from mullock heaps and I always give them a bit of attention because I know gold was found there. These have generally been in the bottom of gullies. Some shallow holes and few 5-10 meter shafts around the sides. I also picked a piece up about 20 meters up the hill from the diggings.
I'm more inclined to search away from the diggings as they obviously have been hit fairly hard however I'm having trouble determining if the gold has come off the hills or if it is alluvial wash that has been washed through the gully by old river systems.
I'm guessing this would be a different answer for every area. I suppose what I'm asking is. Am I wasting my time walking on higher ground than the diggings? Up and over hills etc?
Bit of a messy post but I hope I've go the message across.
Greatly appreciate any replies/knowledge on the topic.
Cheers

 

[Metamorphic]

The best clues for any golds origin lie in studying closely any pieces you may have found in the area.

This is my take!

Lets first look at shape.....Is it rounded or square? Thick or thin? Regular, ellipsoidal or elongated?

Now we all know that the further gold has been transported mechanically in moving water, the better rounded and worn its appereance.

Crystalline, thin, wiry, fragile and delicate gold suggests a very local Primary source (deposit).

Equant, battered, scratched, smooth or straited gold suggests a more distant source, and longer travel.

Color is also a factor......Rich yellow, nodular gold or gold containing iron chips or calcite, would suggest a more secondary origin (deposited by near surface ground water).

Lighter yellow, spiky, thin wiry gold or gold interwoven with quartz and associated sulphides would suggest a primary formation in deposit closer by.

Gold can tell us a lot if we know what to look for!

Cheers

meta

 

[walshie1000]

Thanks a lot for your reply. Great information there.
After finding a piece I suppose the location it was found can tell you a lot as well. For instance when I found that .7g up the hill from the diggings a little bit I made the assumption it had been shed from a reef on the hill somewhere. Would this be a correct assumption to make?
I'm guessing its much more difficult when you haven't found any gold to assess all the things you described.

 

[aussieviking]

The best clues for any golds origin lie in studying closely any pieces you may have found in the area.

This is my take!

Lets first look at shape.....Is it rounded or square? Thick or thin? Regular, ellipsoidal or elongated?

Now we all know that the further gold has been transported mechanically in moving water, the better rounded and worn its appereance.

Crystalline, thin, wiry, fragile and delicate gold suggests a very local Primary source (deposit).

Equant, battered, scratched, smooth or straited gold suggests a more distant source, and longer travel.

Color is also a factor......Rich yellow, nodular gold or gold containing iron chips or calcite, would suggest a more secondary origin (deposited by near surface ground water).

Lighter yellow, spiky, thin wiry gold or gold interwoven with quartz and associated sulphides would suggest a primary formation in deposit closer by.

Gold can tell us a lot if we know what to look for!

Cheers

meta

I love the information you and Loamer give to us beginners. Thanks

 

[Metamorphic]

I like your thinking walshie.....the location found is also very important and can tell you a lot when you look at factors like elevation, ground cover, vegetation etc.

I know with a .7g, its harder to determine its physical makeup, shape, color etc.

Use a jewelers loupe to study the piece and look for the indicators i have mentioned, there are some great versions available on ebay that are relatively cheap and wont break the budget.
Any magnification of some sort should suffice.

A fair assumption yes, whether it is a correct one or not is difficult because of all the variables involved.

It could be shed from a hard rock source travelling only slightly down the slope because it is small, on the other hand it may have dispersed from mullock when the deposit was originally extracted and sat in a natural trap.

An accurate assay on this point you ask about would involve a closer study of the piece under magnification, coupled with a pan test of loam from the immediate area close by for a color count (if any). ie color specks in pan from immediate area, coupled with rough/spikey edges..... highly likely chance this piece was shed from higher up.

Its a process of elimination, you know what i mean?

All of these might seem a little 'over the top' as I know your simply trying to find the best spot to detect a given area!

Thats the golden question.....a more simple take is to remember the gullies hide deeper ground because they are the low points, its the drainage channels where all the top soil will weather too over the years depositing layer after layer. Its also the most likely spot the heavies will be.

The sides of the hills contain shallower ground as soils will wash downwards past these points, but heavies may become trapped in natural flats and traps on these hillsides.

Thats why i love gold hunting.....it can and will, turn up at places where you least expect.

Good luck

meta

 

[walshie1000]

Thanks mate. Really appreciate the responses. Its great having people around like yourself with such a wealth of knowledge and happily sharing it.
The place I've been detecting has/had quite a few producing reefs as well as a rich alluvial wash (ancient river).
Are there areas where its just not worth detecting anywhere but the old river system? Or is it always worth a look on the hills?
I don't want to just detect on/around diggings all the time and wonder if its worth just trying on a hill in an area close by with no diggings? I get thrown off and think, why hasn't this area been worked like the others? Is there no gold here? Was it not rich enough to justify working here?
I see videos of guys picking up gold in Vic and there is no sign of diggings around. They generally seem to be on almost flat ground. The terrain I am detecting is quite hilly and reefy so I start to question of I'm in the right place etc

 

[Tathradj]

Thanks mate. Really appreciate the responses. Its great having people around like yourself with such a wealth of knowledge and happily sharing it.
The place I've been detecting has/had quite a few producing reefs as well as a rich alluvial wash (ancient river).
Are there areas where its just not worth detecting anywhere but the old river system? Or is it always worth a look on the hills?
I don't want to just detect on/around diggings all the time and wonder if its worth just trying on a hill in an area close by with no diggings? I get thrown off and think, why hasn't this area been worked like the others? Is there no gold here? Was it not rich enough to justify working here?
I see videos of guys picking up gold in Vic and there is no sign of diggings around. They generally seem to be on almost flat ground. The terrain I am detecting is quite hilly and reefy so I start to question of I'm in the right place etc

.
Mate, Have a look where the gully's converge and test pan it first. Move up and down the creek or whatever testing as you go. Look for rocky out crops in the bed of the creek or gully and pay attention what is in there.
.
If you hit color, examine it under the excellent guidelines help above. Chase the gold up the gully or creek until you find which branch it is coming from.
.
From there it is then easier to chase it even further up hill watching the geological make up.
.
If what ever you do you find color every where, look what the gold is mixed with.
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And then if their is gold in ALL the Gully's, Organize a PA meet up and we will help you sort it out.
.
Gold is where you find it...

 

[TimAu]

Hey mate, check out this topic I posted a while back, some similar questions.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6932

 

[walshie1000]

Thanks a lot mate. Great info there. I've got a pan on the way as we speak. All of the gullies are mined at the bottom where I've been going. And they also have workings where the gullies come down between the hills. There is also a few holes and few reefs chopped out on the top of the hills.
Its great having all this information, I feel like I'm learning a lot each time I go out as well.
Thanks fellas

 

[Metamorphic]

Always most definitely worth a look on the slopes of the hillsides!

The old timers raped the reefs above, and smashed out the gullies below to bedrock......rarely did they pay attention to the slopes in between.

Where did you find that 0.7 grammer? Yes the slope between in the shallow ground!

I rest my case your honor!

 

[walshie1000]

haha yea I've noticed that. I found the .7 on the slope of the hillside about 20m above the diggings in the base of the gully.
Cheers mate

 

[DrDuck]

Metamorphic goes by another handle on a different forum. I read this post of his there, and thought that it was so relevant to this thread that I'd ask his permission to post it here, not knowing who he was on this forum. Well he was happy for me to share, so here it is:

I harped on in another forum about detecting so I thought I would share some tips with you guys....... for anyone who may be interested.

Im far from an expert and this is by no means a complete guide, but I thought perhaps some of these suggestions may help both new, and seasoned detectorists alike?

Anyway, its just my 2 cents!

Entree:

Buy the best machine you can afford and learn it inside out (ground bal etc), have a methodical plan (stick to it), pick out your area according to the indicators, and be thorough......try to resist wondering aimlessly through the bush.

Go low and go slow! Put your coil to the soil and dont worry to much about covering extra ground.

Dont be frightened off by areas you know have been searched before, especially if there have been previous finds.....they rarely get it all! Look for any evidence of Gridding/Chaining or other tell tale signs that someone has got gold in the area previously.

Love it when someone tells you, "there is no gold there"

Main Course:

(1) Look at low hills, rises and flats adjacent to gold producing areas such as old gold mines, old timers reef extractions etc,
Direct most effort to the hillsides, the costeans or dryblowing sites.
Gully's are usually heavily covered with soils from rains etc, and put most possible finds out of detector range. They have also usually been surfaced down to their bottoms by the old timers, especially near old diggings.

(2) Detect along laterite profiles (Red soil rich in iron oxidization) that have developed over the bedrock. Look for undisturbed hard clay areas along these slopes also.

(3) Look at the base, and sides of these hills where there is prolific ironstone and quartz rubble around.

(4) Search on hillsides where there are natural barriers for shed gold such as a quartz vein, a dike or other rock outcrops, boulders etc.
Also observe flats and depressions on these hillsides where gold cant defy gravity!
The old timers worked the reefs on top of the rises, and the gully's below them, but they generally hardly worked the slops in between.

(5) Follow the path down the hill from any gold finds, and also up the hill. Is the source of the Eluvial close by?

(6) Always read the vegetation....If there is a change of vegetation on the side of a hill, check to see if there is indicating ground, where material has been deposited in a depression or a flat.

(7) Detect for coarse gold on the banks, or edges, of old salt lakes at the bases of these slopes.(Do research on area's of high Salinity). Gold has an affinity with Salinity, as it does quartz and ironstone. This is due to the salt water fluids carrying dissolved gold. Once salinity dies, the dissolved solution starts to crystallize.

(Cool Always use correct technique, be patient and move slowly.......concentrate on area's that have all the indicators using the above plan!

(9) Gold does not like to be lonely....learn to develop sound gridding/chaining methods around any finds as its most likely they have some brothers and sisters close nearby.

(10) Try to understand and interpret any gold you find, as well as the local geological environment your in! (know what to look for)
This will help you to determine what type of gold it is, whether it is alluvial, or eluvial, placer etc and will help you to prospect the area further if thats your wish.

(*) If your onto a patch, try not to leave any evidence of you being there once you leave, if you do, someone else may discover your hard fought work......always return even after you think you may have got it all.
A different coil or even machine, can do wonders on the next sweep over.

Research, research and research again.....use the modern tech available at your fingertips to increase the odds in your favour!

Good Luck

 

[walshie1000]

Thanks for the info mate. Very helpful. Most of the gold I have found so far has been in mullock heaps or shed from old workings I believe. Hopefully get onto a patch in the near future.
Cheers

 

[Wally69]

You could always jump on a 4 month ship journey to a newly discovered continent, trek through uncharted mountains and stumble on a Quartz blow like this one studded with gold.

Sometimes my advice can seem a little out of date.