GPX4500 Made of Gold


Recommended Posts

Guest GoldProspectinginOz
Doug. You obviously didn't read my posts properly . The money to buy these detectors is coming from Africans working in the rich Arab countries where the Arab population won't lower themselves to working construction jobs etc. . There is also a fairly large population of African workers here in the U.S. who are also buying any GPX 4500 they can find. The Arabs will usually only hire Muslims and north Africa is home to millions of Black Muslims eager to work for them as the economy in the countries you mentioned are in a shambles. THESE WORKERS ARE WELL PAID BY AFRICAN STANDARDS AND DO HAVE THE MONEY to finance the trade in detectors. I did do a lot of research and also felt that these fellows I met were telling me pretty much the truth about what was going on in their country. Two of my neighbors had GPXs they wanted to sell and I called one of the guys who asked me if I knew where any GPXs were for sale in new or like new condition. Both of these detectors fit that description and he drove for several hours to pick them up. He paid their asking price with 100 dollar bills. These were pristine detectors in the original box without even any dust on them or a scratch on the stock coils. He wanted no extra coils or other extras as he was having to break them down and scatter the parts in his luggage and others luggage hoping to slip them by customs officials in his country. The boxes were discarded. You are right about one thing . He did tell me he was worried about confiscation by bandits , but the bandits weren't warlords , but corrupt government officials working at the airports. He was hoping that a few $100 dollar bills would take care of the problem which is apparently standard procedure in his home country. The demand is real and I have to admit that I was skeptical at first about what was going on with this shortage of GPXs. Since I have personally now had dealings with these buyers, I feel that I have a pretty good grip on what is happening. A couple of them spotted my GPX 4500 standing in the corner and begged me to sell it also. Since I have no way to replace it at the moment I declined their offer to buy it. My grandson has my backup GP3500 in W.A. at the moment and I would have no detector. The money is there and the demand is there. Whether the people who end up with these detectors strike it rich or not remains to be seen , but obviously they are willing to give it a shot and extrordinary effort, time, and money is going into obtaining a top of the line Minelab. Apparently some have awakened to the fact that a lowly SD 2200 will do the job quite nicely and dealers are having difficulties obtaining these also. I can only imagine what is going on at Minelab/Codan corporate headquarters as they have to adjust to this new set of conditions. Imagine the frustrations of the dealers who could sell 20 at a time if they could only get them when only a few years ago they were battling for every sale. It is a good time for those who bought a GPX on impulse and never really used them to sell them for a good price and recover their investment-.---Bob

The above is not the case in Oz. I still do not buy the explanation being touted by so many.

cheers

doug

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 81
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Guest GoldProspectinginOz
Doug, you wrote the above, I have to ask you, are you one of those poor, largely uneducated, mostly illiterate artisanal peasants??? :lol: :lol: :lol:

By the way I see your "teacher" LOL! has had his backside kicked yet again!!!!! LOL! LOL!

“Congratulations Doug!

You challenged Mr. Detractor to making some specific statements, and he fell into the trap!"

“Posted: Sep 14 2009, 07:24 AM

http://goldprospecting.invisionplus.net/?m...;showtopic=4818

cheers,

doug

P.S. "Doug, now, in your capacity of the "devil's advocate", you have to hound Mr. Detractor until he admits to his flawed reasoning or you and the rest of the Forum can simply ignore him."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve . I did explain to them that a used SD would serve them well at half or a third the price. One guy did leave for Africa Thursday with 4 GPXs, 2 SD2200s , and an SD 2100. He was skeptical, but I'm sure that he was only interested in making a profit reselling them and wasn't going prospecting himself.----Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doug. I don't know how these guys found me or got my phone number , but I did help them out and at the same time helped some freinds sell their detectors. In the meantime I also bought a few "like new" PIs to hang onto just in case things go really nuts. I'm not a Minelab dealer but these guys found me somehow in hopes I could steer them to some GPXs, and I did. Now this tells me that there is a huge demand in Africa. Either that or Minelab is sending Africans to buy up all the detectors they can in hopes that when GPX5000 comes out we will have to buy one to go detecting. I know the demand is real and I know it chafes your ass that Minelab detectors continue to rule the detecting world. Not one of these guys asked me about Infiniums, Goldsweepers, TDIs, or QEDs. ----Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bob,

Well, at the rate they are buying there are soon going to be more Minelabs in Africa than anywhere else. And probably not a few real good operators. Time to set up an African Minelab Forum!

I'd sure like to see what all the fuss is all about. They must be diggin gold like crazy.

Steve Herschbach

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve. From what they told me, I would be tickled pink to spend a few weeks there with a lowly 2100. I'm sure you are right about there being some good detectorists there . Some people whether they are illiterate peasants as Doug describes them or not just pick it up quickly.----Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob I'll never forget the first time I went down to Mexico, (Baja) Id been doing some research on gold areas down there and decided on a place between San Felipe and Ensenada. I show up in the middle of the day and a lot of locales are watching me drive by, its a little village with a lot of gold mining history but I was surprised nothing going on? maybe twenty houses neatly aranged in a square block with a big church as the center piece. I had maps and moved through town over toward the mountain side. and found a place to camp. the ground looked great, red, quartz everywhere. anyway I setup camp and venture out a bit and I keep seeing this guy watching me. after a while I motion to him to come on in to camp. at that time I wasn't real good at Spanish. anyway we are talking gold and both of us are speaking broken English/Spanish So I decide Im going to show him some of the latest technology and I pull out my Fisher gold bug and he tells me he has heard of metal detectors but never seen one. So I decide what the hell I'll show him how it works. I go through all the steps sensitivity threshold ground balance. He looks and says ok I can do it! Im thinking right. so I turned all the knobs out hand him the detector and he tuned it right up. went through all the steps, understood the ground balance I was amazed! true story I could go on there was more fun and a lot of gold there. I've been back several times. My point is I agree with you, even language barrier means nothing. Anyway Bob have fun on your next adventure. maybe I'll see you there. Take care AzNuggetBoba

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Hello All,

Well I'm still in Arizona, but just way from the house. We are still getting plenty of phone calls about the GPX-4500's, not all of them are from different countries. I still have plenty of local guys wanting them, but some are waiting on this mad rush to be over.

I see a lot of used Minelab on Ebay right now and they seem to be selling fairly well. Heck, maybe I will place my used GPX-4500 on Ebay for like $4,000 ... any takers?

AzNuggetBob - A good friend called this weekend named Shaun. I haven't heard from him in about 2 years since he moved. This friend spent 9 years down in Baja and some other surrounding areas and done very well. I have all the GPS cords and topo's of the area. Would love to make it down there someday, but I'm not sure it's worth getting in trouble.

Take care,

Rob Allison

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rob Trouble? I have a few rules I follow when Im down there.

1 Always take lots of water.

2 take plenty spare tires.

3 take plenty of cash.

4 always take a spare detector

5 take plenty of gasoline and never use their cheap grade of pemex unless you want your truck to continue running long after you turn off the key.

6 never offer bribes unless asked.

7 never get too drunk in the bars.

8 never hit on the local senoritas.

9 never drive a black Chevy suburban down there.

10 I think you know what Im talking about. ;):D

But seriously Rob I think I may have hunted the same area as Shaun.

On the second or third trip down to that spot I started seeing back filled holes that I wasn't leaving. the only other mining I saw there was little drywashing by some of the locales. so I asked Raymundo the guy I met on the first trip. He told me their was a new guy in town with a detector also a gold bug. I never did meet him I thought maybe he was Mexican. I'll never forget It seemed like we were just missing each other or he was avoiding me. The reason I say that is some of his holes were very fresh. so fresh I kept looking around expecting to see him. If all the holes were a clue he was doing well. I'll tell ya Rob the last detector I took to that particular area was a stock 2100. this was years ago. Ive heard detectors are getting a lot more popular down there these days but if you know of some spots that have been hit its probably worth hitting again with newer machines. AzNuggetBob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AZNUGGETBOB. I stopped in that area a few years ago and it was downright scarey. Main smuggling route right through there . I left after a few hours and never really did much but look around. It was much safer feeling down around Guerrero Negro even though I had to crouch in the bushes a few times when the federales cruised through in their hummers. Found lots of gold and would love to hit some of those spots with the 4500 where the ground was redhot. Wish things were like they were 20 years ago down there. I think I met you many years ago in the Arrowhead cafe/bar, maybe 1993 just out of Congress AZ. Anyway I met a long haired guy named Bob who had just gotten back from Baja, and I had just gotten back from Australia.----Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Montana That was probably me I used to grow my hair out from time to time and spent a lot of time at the arrowhead when I was hunting Rich Hill it was the place to hang out in that area, all the Rich Hill miners and nugget hunters hung out there. as far as the Feds in Baja, Id see them cruise by now and then in their hum vees armed to the teeth with Uzis and M-16's in full camo they looked like they were going to a war even back then. they never did stop just cruise by real slow checking me out. I remember Raymundo used to tell me they were just looking for bandits, that was comforting. :D I decided to quit hunting down there last January I was down by the boarder hunting gold and finding a little silver and things seem to be getting a little hot down there right now. feds everywhere both theirs and ours. anyway there's plenty of other places to hunt right now with a little less traffic. Australia is looking better all the time. watching that guy pick up them 5 oz. sun bakers is giving me the itch. Take care AzNuggetBob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AZ nugget Bob. Yeah Australia is great. My brother brought back 150 ounces in 2007 , 35 ounces in 2008, and he is due back in a few days with this years tally . My grandson went with him this year . Betsy loaned him her 3500 for the trip. He's hoping to find enough for tuition to go to College this fall. 10 ounces would do him nicely with gold over a thousand an ounce. I hope he did it.----Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Montana as you mentioned the season is winding down in Australia. I have freinds that do the snow bird hunting there because of the opposite seasons. six months here six months there. Im not so sure Id want to do a summer hunt down there. a thousand an ounce will help with his tuition but the adventure is priceless. Take care AzNuggetBob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

Since it’s no secret. You must be all wondering with all these GPX’s sold to Sudan, how come we never hear from anyone there. I mean it’s not like they all knew how to use one of the greatest metal detectors in a split of a second. Don’t they have any queries, or need advice and help? Well now you have one.

Well before asking any advice or help, I’d like to clear something’s. I’ve been watching your forum and many others alike for quite a while now and understand the frustration and shortage caused towards people who can’t find a GPX anymore. I can understand if half of the members here already hate and hold grudges against Sudanese people. I have read many posts here and in other forums calling them “Bloody Africans†“Peasants†“Stupid Rich Arabs†“How can these Africans even afford one†“Being shot in Africa†“Sand Niggas†“Stinky Arabs†and many more. Some already do so way before this gold rush and that is just because they are Arabs, African or even being a Muslim.

I don’t blame anyone and understand how well the Media plays its role in these countries. So I’m not even going to try and justify any of that.

My concern is for you to understand the people of Sudan and a bit about the situation.

Sudan is a very, very rich country in natural resources oil, uranium, platinum, gold, diamonds, mercury etc. Sudanese people are a mixture of Arabs and Africans; we have Muslims as much as Christians. This makes it an easy target to be corrupted by others, so as to win all its resources. Trust me you wouldn’t be hearing about Darfur and Sudan if it didn’t have any oil…lol . There are countries at their worst in Africa and out of Africa , but who cares?, they have nothing to offer back.Unfortunately with all these riches, citizens don’t see much or any of it. So let me clear that them being Arab doesn’t make them rich like Countries in the Arabian Gulf. Those are stable countries which give back a lot to their citizens and residents. Some people have this idea that an Arab is an Arab, or a Muslim is a Muslim. Like I said before I’m not gonna go into this.

Back to the people concern: So when one guy who buys a GPX 4000 and luckily detects gold nuggets that were 9 kilos in size, expect that the whole country will want to the same. These people have suffered for long, and many being living in poor conditions with no help. (Thanks to many countries that make sure it stays that way) So if these people have hope that their living conditions are going to get better, I would support them instead of making fun of them. Someone has to start somewhere. It’s not like anyone was born with a metal detector and found nuggets under their house ground.

Yes I do apologize for what it has caused to the rest of the world especially the ridiculous prices, but you would be happy to know that many people are living in better conditions. Can you believe that the GPX 4500 are selling now in Sudan for $12,000 and people are still buying them because it pays back. I understand that wouldn’t be the same for the rest of the world, which would piss me off too.

Sorry for the long Introduction but it just hurts me to see people abusing and calling names, so thought it might help if you get to understand the situation.

Yes they probably think they can only find Nuggets with a GPX 4500 because it’s the best made, and the fact that the first person found it using a GPX 4000. Believe it or not, now even the 4000 is not acceptable….. lol . They think 4500 would beat all the others with a GPX 4000.

Hope to make friends in this forum and utilize their experience, so I can help others. I myself don’t own a GPX nor have I owned any metal detector, and with the ridiculous prices going on, I’m not planning to buy a GPX 4500 even if you tell me there is gold under my house... I’m sure it’s not like the only way to find nuggets. Yes I understand it’s the best but surely alternatives exist in still finding nuggets. Don’t forget that this is just a new trend starting, so it’s not like there was any old timers. Practically Virgin Grounds. People here need to know that instead of increasing those back orders waiting for a GPX 4500. So any advice would be appreciated.

Your new friend,

Makki

P.S please understand I’m not pointing fingers at anyone calling names but just in general (not all fingers are the same) I also hope the English used is good enough for Mr Doug to understand coming from an artisanal peasant like me ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, AMD;

your written English seems fine to me...first, I hope you have not seen any of those offensive names on any of the the forums I follow...however, racism is alive and well in all peoples and countries...but not in every person of every country.

Why apologise? If anyone else wants a 4500 they can pay the going rate, if I had a dealership and was offered many times the MSRP I would sell, except if my contract did not allow it...that is just good business...

When a new game/phone/car is hot many people often pay rediculous prices...do you remember "cabbage patch dolls" or the first datsun sports car...way over the MSRP...it is their problem...

Several people that are very good gold hunters have written that any good gold detector will work down there...if the nuggets are big and the pickings are easy you could outfit 6-10 prospectors with used Minelab Pi machines for the going rate of one 4500...

Insisting on a 4500 is the ignorant part. Especially when 10,000 dollars is more money than most of those people could ever hope to gather...which means that if they are getting the machines they are probably going into debt to some loan shark or other shyster...and they will still get screwed...

If you want to help the poor people of Sudan...help them overcome their prejudice toward 4500's and get one of the other machines...show them the way...

Fred

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fred you are 100% correct and have a feeling you understood where Im coming from. It is ignorance no denial there. You said it better yourself, by saying "Not in every person of every counrty" I feel they need to know. Trust me there are about milllions of other peasants like me ( thats how Doug likes to call them) who hopefully are watching this forum. I'm just taking the gutts to be one of them speaking in the open. I understand some people might keep it a secret cuz thats like their bread and butter at this time, but it gets unacceptable when you feel like your people are being tricked with their own mind. Since its no secret anymore, I hope Im not cutting any ones savings, instead they should read and understand. ( And trust me they all read, Doug is just too affected by the Media)

Another thing is Bob Montanna explained everything nicely and in its true beings. I knew from then and long time ago, who he was talking about and everything happening. What I did respect more about him is that he never said the country involved maybe because his friends told him not to talk about it. Still only a couple of things that need a bit of true explanation and at the same time Fred should also know.

Its not about Arabs hiring Black Muslims (Bob) or Loan Sharks (Fred). How it works now is very simple. There are 4 categories. 1. The owner of the machine 2. The owner of the Location and 3. The Detectorist ( who we can't call that right now, but who finds the gold in simple) As I said Sudan has many Muslims as Christians. We as a country, believe it or not never ask anyone infront of us and really don't care. What surprises me is that the whole world doesn't know that Arabs are christians and Jews too. Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Algeria, Morroco are just some. Even Palestine has Christians. So this has nothing got to do with religion and don't even think of envolving it or you'll be lost. Just treat Human as Human. My father keeps telling me that.

Back to the Situation. Basically there are 4 categories. 1 The machine owner 2. The Location Owner 3. The Detectorist ( or for now the one who finds the gold) Each gets 1/3 when something is found. No workers, No slaves, No Bull Shit. They all need each other and it makes you happy to see that.

Now the 4 th category are the 1 hit wonders (Traders). People who get those machines with the intention to sell. And I'm not talking about 2-4 sharks. Many of them including Egyptians who are not natives of Sudan but have their own country which is a neighbour of Sudan. Egyptians are good business men, no doubt and know when to take advantage. Now thats not bad. Business is Business. Its your fault if you invest in something that won't yield your returns. So no blame. Some one offers you keep on accepting, will increase the price. Someone offers and you reject will decrease the price. Very simple. And as another answer to Mr Doug, the dealer taking all these orders for delivery, is just like Bob said. It is Dubai because you are actually not allowed to get them in Sudan. In Sudan are the ones Fred mentioned "Sharks".

but someone has to enlighten them. And no Doug educating them would be the wrong word. They are all educated. People just need enlightment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greetings AMD -

Hey Its great to have some one from the site of the latest gold rush on the forum. With what information I could come up with on the Red Sea Hills, I did an article for a prospecting magazine on the new rush and it will appear in print at the end of this month. I have seen so major media coverage of this event. My article will be perhaps the first.

Just to let you know, Doug, who wont believe any yank that doesnt hate minelab, now believes. Some folks with ties to your country contacted a friend of his looking for a large order of battery systems and other parts. He believes his friend Woody, so he no longer suspects the whole thing of being some devious secret minelab plot. Woody has also received inquiries about repair of Minelab detectors from Sudan.

The news media lives in their own limited little world. They are inaccurate in all countries - no mater which part of the globe you are speaking of. Even here in America, you might listen to the media and believe there are few Christians in the US, except perhaps a few crazy people in the middle part of the country. It is not actually so, but the media paints its own picture of reality.

Its an exciting thing, even though gold has been mined there one way or another for thousands of years. I hope that the gold being found helps lift some of the citizens of Sudan out of poverty and into a better life.

As far as Darfur, we heard about it not because of oil, but only when American movie celebrities made it their cause. The media follow around these celebrities like sheep following a shepard - or a dog following its master.

Have you been out to the goldfields yourself or have you heard of it from others?

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread has been around for awhile so I finally decided to read it. While I have zero experience with Africa, I do have some from Brazil. The average monthly wage there is about $220....... A new 4500 will set you back just about $17,000 through the Minelab(meenelob) dealer. Most of that cost is from government import tariffs not demand. At least the Garimperos(prospectors) in Brazil have figured out that just about any Minelab PI will do the trick and they are happy to get anyone of them. But as always a few have figures out that the newer GPX machines will give them an advantage. I spent two days training on a 4000 with very little Portuguese on my part and very little English on his....... it was amazing the common language was the sound the Minelab makes! Since he was already experienced with a 3000 we had those sounds in common.

A very good friend of mine brought the first PI machine down there 12 years ago and made a killing finding gold. The locals figured it out pretty fast and now there are at least 100 in his town. Even a used 3500 will cost $6000 there! One of the most successful garimpos there uses a very old and beat up 3000...... The first coil I saw him with was a very old NF that had nothing but tape, glue epoxy holding it together and a quiet threshold was impossible for him.... he still found gold!

And YES.. these detectors even priced up in the clouds are helping many climb out of poverty. Also my experience down there showed me what it is like to be with people that harbor zero racial predgidous (sp?). Most of them are slave descendants .........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eldorado, Wow thats some high tarrifs. i wonder what would happen if the Demand was like Sudan plus the tarrifs. Would it be sold for like $40,000... :rolleyes:

Chris, I haven't been to the the Gold fields, but all my cousins did and they keep telling me about it. We are well known as a family business for years in Jewelery industry. So we have many people coming to us trying to sell their Nuggets and I hear their stories and how happy they are.

On the other hand my real profession is Sound Engineering. So I keep on traveling between Dubai and Sudan. I myself also worked for many media companies like CNBC in Dubai, media City, Advertisement and Production, so do understand what you mean by twisted media. Problem is we can do nothing about it but only try to be ignorant free. I think you explained it best by it being in every country and run by the most powerfull.

Waiting for your article to come out, so do remember to tell us when its out please.

You are also right that mining has been done before in Sudan with a long history and is still happening, but only to see 40% in goverment officials pockets and the rest 60% to France.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AMD -

What type of information would you think as most helpful to Sudanese prospectors?

I studied the geology of your country a bit, and it has siginifcant similarities to the gold deposits in California (where I have spent a lot of time) and Australia.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, that would be letting them know what Alternatives they have other than GPX's. If you ask anyone about the ground, they wouldn't even know its like which. California or Australia. Honestly I don't even know. All they know now is that they need a GPX and go hunting. That ignorance needs to be enlightened. Do you have any idea what our soil type is?

Grubstake, these people have a hard time getting it in the country, don't know about getting it out..lol But will check around for ya. An advice is to also check surrounding countries like Egypt. As I said before they are smart business men and probably 50% of the GPX's were sold by them. They were smart in knowing that there was going to be a huge demand, that some bought upto even 60 machines way before. They bought them from different Dealers around the world. At that time it was legal to get in Metal Detectors into Sudan, but when the goverment stopped it and prices climbed to the roof, it started easing out. So I'm sure there must be some left with them somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi All,

I've been following this thread with some interest because I bought an Sd2200 from Bill Southern about 3 years ago. I bought this detector for my husband thinking we would visit the wild west and strike it rich....yeah right, LOL. Well, life gets in the way sometimes and we have not yet headed west. This Sd2200 is still new in the box and has only been turned on 1 time. I would like to know if any of you guys think the value of this detector has increased any, considering the demand for the Minelab 4000 and 4500? Is the sd2200 likely to increase since there is a shortage of the other detectors? I remember that Grubstake used an Sd2200 for a long time and found a lot of gold with it, so I know it must be a good machine.

Sandy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.