Short Afternoon hunt at one of the Nugget Patches!


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Hello All,

This morning I had some prior arrangements, but figured I could run out for a few hours and hit a small patch I discovered not long ago. I gave this area quick once over about three weeks ago, but never really got to slow down and concentrate where the majority of the nuggets were found. Most of the nuggets seem to be running a straight line down the ridge. I decided to focus "Low and Slow" in this zone to see if I might have missed any.

Well after about 2 hours of detecting, I ended up with 3 gold nuggets, one .45 cal shell casing, metal button, one old bullet lead and a couple of pieces of iron rubbish. Not too bad for a few a few hours of detecting. Nugget weights were 1.6, 1.5 & .6 Dwts.

I also played around with the new Minelab Pro-Find 25 Pinpointer. Works pretty well, but you need to get within a few inches of the bigger nuggets for pinpointing. This is normal for most pinpointers though. On larger metal objects likes coils, rings and such, I'm sure the depth is much greater.

Here is a picture of my finds, gold and junk. I was using the Minelab GPX 5000 metal detector and Nugget Finder 14-inch elliptical Mono.

patchgold.jpg

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Well heck......

I think you have some kind of a secret gold magnet your not telling us about. :)

Glad you got out and got some gold!

That looks like a 44 shell or something.

No bullets? Hmmmm.

Good going.

Tom H.

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Rob, Did you ever find out what makes the R.H. nuggets blackish.The last time I was over I think you told me you were having some tested to see if it was some kind of bacteria.Just wondering.

Rob,in another post where you found the flat gold you mentioned that your partner was on the other side and found course gold.Your description of the area is very similar to a patch I have going so I need to hunt the other side of the ridge.Thanks for the tip.

Mik

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Hey Guys,

I'm still aways from another 300+ nuggets, but know it can be just one spot. Back in the early 90's my cousin and I found a wash where we found somewhere in the range of 300-400 within a short time. I bet all the times we returned to date, there has been another 100 small ones found.

Mike - A University and a Gold Geologist/Geochemist is still finalizing the work. The last I heard it was some type of bacteria that is growing on the gold.

That is correct, there was two small drainages running up towards a small saddle. One wash had rougher nuggets, the other had very water worn nuggets. At the top of the water worn nugget wash, there was an area with a lot of worn iron stones, quartz, redish soil and exposed bedrock. On the other side, there is several fractured stained quartz veins towards the top of the ridge. We are still investigating the potential sources, but it's a rough area to get into for a short hunt.

Talk with you guys later,

Rob Allison

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