|
The Golden Rewards of Proper Training and Research
By
Anonymous
Got gold fever? Does the thought of finding big gold nuggets
make you want to jump off the couch and head for the hills?
It sure did for me and I was literally daydreaming about the
possibilities of striking it rich. I became one with the
Internet, much to my wife’s dismay, as I searched for
close-by areas to try my hand at prospecting. It was great
fun starting out with a pan, but then I quickly added a
sluice box to my arsenal, which increased my fine gold
capacity, but I still wasn’t satisfied. Once again I turned
to the Internet and it helped me decide a course of action;
one that involved prospecting for gold using a metal
detector. I poured myself into the study of this application
and came to the realization that if I’m going to spend good
money in pursuit of this dream, then I had better do
everything in my power to become the best that I can.
Education is the key to success and I decided to study two
things; proficient use of metal detectors, involving the
latest in technology, and learning how to prospect by using
available research and basic geology. In just a short period
of time I was able to prove the validity of my efforts by
finding the nugget of a lifetime.
Buying a detector should be based on a solid decision of
your intentions. I’m one of those people that when I make a
decision to do something I try to do it right the first
time. So you have to ask yourself, am I willing to spend the
necessary time and money learning the capabilities of my
machine or not. I was fortunate enough to make contact with
a dealer in Idaho that offered (In the Field) training on
all of the detectors he sells. Gerry McMullen of Gerry’s
Metal Detectors in Boise Idaho is one of the few people
around to not only sell the equipment, but he will teach you
how to use it as well. I first learned of his business and
training approach by reading posts on the metal detector
forums of today’s new technology. I was kind of skeptical at
first but he makes an excellent point… if you’re willing to
spend your hard earned money on a new metal detector, why
not spend a few dollars more, and get the proper in the
field training on that equipment. Those two days spent
plugged in with Gerry at Rye Patch in Northern Nevada set
the foundation for becoming a proficient detectorist and I
am very grateful that he was willing to share his knowledge
with me. Well one Minelab GP3000, a Nugget Finder 16” Mono
coil, and some great training, and I was ready to make my
fortune… but where do I go from here?
“Gold is where you find it”, I hear people say all the
time, but you can increase your odds of finding that yellow
metal by becoming a detective. I started by choosing an area
that had a tremendous gold history and read about all of the
significant finds in the past, with records dating back to
the late 1800’s. An invaluable source of information was the
U.S. Department of the Interior’s geological survey bulletin
on placer deposits. This is a great way to locate general
areas for further investigation. Once I narrowed down the
region, it was a matter of investigating the gold production
of the mines in the area with an emphasis on whether any
substantial nuggets were found and the depth of overburden.
After selecting a few sites I set out to explore the area
and was very excited at the type of terrain that lay before
me. Lot’s of heavily mineralized quarts, shale, water worn
rock/gravels on shallow bedrock, all the signs of gold
country…this was looking real promising.
Five minutes into detecting the first site that I chose and
the GP3000 sounded off with a nice smooth mellow sound. A
few moments later I was holding a course 2.4-gram gold
nugget… wow, it’s not supposed to happen that fast is it? I
knew the gold was there so I spent the rest of the first day
just checking out the terrain and surrounding area. On the
second day while working around the same site, I discovered
several detector holes from previous prospectors next to
some older tailings piles. I wasn’t the first one there!
Right in the middle of several holes I got a signal, and
pulled a natural 5.1-gram gold nugget from the gravels that
was some how missed by others. All right, my biggest gold
nugget ever! That GP3000 and Nugget Finder coil combo was so
quiet that it made finding the gold seem too easy. I knew
then that the cost of this setup and the training was well
worth the price of admission. Two more hours passed before
finding another 2.1-gram nugget, and then deciding to call
it a day.
Day three started with a bang and another 2.1-gram nugget
just 20 minutes into it. Well I started to look at the
terrain and decided to go above the old tailings and try my
luck in finding an old streambed higher up on the bench. I
wandered around for about an hour when I discovered some
nice looking river worn gravel and small rounded stones.
Going to the bottom of the depression I swung the 16 inch
Nugget Finder Mono coil from side to side when I got a very
loud signal. I looked around to see if it was possible some
heavy equipment had left an iron souvenir for me to find,
but no this signal was different from all the other iron
pieces… this one was longer and smooth! I started by
removing a patch of grass and mud followed by another pass
of the detector. It was definitely getting louder and I was
trying to be cautiously optimistic. 14 inches later I’m on
my hands and knees scooping out quartz, shale, and clay…
this was definitely looking good…hey what’s that poking up
out of the bottom? Close to a foot and a half in depth, I
reached down to pick up what I thought was my first 1 ounce
nugget, but this thing didn’t move. A few frantic scrapes
later and I was holding something beyond my wildest dream. I
started to hoot and holler, maybe a little over-ventilating,
definitely going into shock. I was staring at a whopping
25.5 oz monster gold nugget that I found after just three
day’s of detecting, months of research, hours of training
and both mental/physical preparations. It took me a full
half hour to calm down and get over the gold fever shakes.
It felt great knowing that all of my organized efforts had
paid off at this very moment in my life.
As I reflect back on my experience, I realize that my
success is based on the fact that I didn’t take any
shortcuts. By outfitting myself with top of the line
equipment like Minelab’s GP3000 gold nugget detector, and
equipping that with a great aftermarket coil, the Nugget
Finder 16” Mono, plus getting the proper In the Field
Training from Gerry’s Metal Detectors, along with countless
hours of pouring over research, I made this golden dream of
mine come true.
 |
