"Gold Central" - this was a great video...mesmerizing. Being taken along for the adventure with you Liz and trying to see those pieces as you do - fabulous. The camera work really put us "right in the crevice"...so to speak. Cheers GL & HH Ian
Wow Liz! Great video always enjoy watching you and Wal prospecting. Wished we had half the opportunities here. looking forward to coming down under someday. Thanks for sharing.
Liz what a terrific video - I think out of the dozens of people producing gold videos your area the best - what I like about it the instructional element in your videos and Wals. Since we live in the same area we should link up for a detect one day!
Now that's some relaxing prospecting there , thanks for sharing. Would love to come out that way some day and try my hand prospecting the outback. Did you ever use a vac pac on that wash. Cheers. Jeff
Thanks for watching and the comment Jeff. We were too busy detecting at this location, but were fortunate enough to find a few encouraging spots with the blow tube. This area is not on a private lease and as such, our laws prohibit us from using power operated machinery. All the very best and keep the vids coming... We really enjoy them. Cheers, Wal
Another great video gang. Liz...Try using a small mirror to illuminate holes and cracks that are shadowed by the sun's direction....it works great. Rick and Diane
au69miner Thanks for the comment au69. We're mainly detector operators when in this region as well but use this technique mainly to see which of the dry creeks are worth some extra attention, and this method soon reveals how rich they still are. Best of luck out there in the paddock....Cheer Wal.
+Jerry C ....Haven't tried that Jerry, as we only blow tube to find detecting locations and not actually working bedrock for gold as such. We tend to get into very isolated regions so do not have a lot of spare space in the vehicle for extra prospecting gear. All the very best....Wal.
Wal nLiz yeah same I know hardly any miners tell anyone where they mine and get success but do you recommend anywhere in Australia to go? Btw I'm in Victoria and I'm willing to go anywhere in Australia. Plus I'm going to Hawaii in a month so is it worth taking a detector over there?
Pretty well anywhere in the Vic Golden Triangle will get you gold with a detector. The determining factor to success is the quality of the detector and a very good understanding of how to best use them. Alluvial prospecting is also a very consistent way of getting gold especially up in the Vic Alps and around the Beechworth region. We are in NSW and spend a lot of time up around Hill End, Sofala and the Bathurst areas. Not much prospecting in Hawaii but could be worth taking a detector for treasure hunting on the beaches. Best of luck...Wal.
Great video nicely narrated thank you for sharing! you oughta think about taking a pocket mirror with you to shine down in spots where the Sun don't get. Good luck with all your gold hunting and keep the great videos coming!!
+Arnie Bowie Thanks for watching Arnie. It's mainly in Western Australia that we get gold very close to the surface. In NSW where we live there is very few areas where a Blow Tube would be useful. We are fortunate however that there is quite a few productive gold fields over this way. All the best...Wal.
Thanks very much for the kind comment Willo and hope you found the vid interesting. Would love to catch up for a coffee and a few detecting sessions. Still sorting ourselves out after the WA trip but as soon as I'm in front i will give you a buzz.....All the best....Wal.
I worked with a guy in about 1980. He dove into a river and saw something shiny. It was a 7 POUND nugget! He described it as being the size of his hand. Even back then it was a small fortune. He was a very nice Greek guy and his story seemed legit. BTW I am Sir Donald Bradmans 4th cousin. Cheers from Victoria Canada.
Thanks for watching and commenting kinezo. Great way to find gold is sniping in a river as to visually see the nuggets is very exciting. Sounds like your workmate had an extremely lucky day. The Don was a great cricket hero over here in Australia, and I hope some of his sporting prowess rubbed of on you as well. All the very best...Wal.
+Heath Burns Thanks for watching and commenting Heath. That certainly would be a good idea if you find a crevice which has lots of gold trapped within it. We mainly do this to check the gold values for metal detecting. All the very best, Wal
Wow! Why would you ever want to stop and go home! Here in southern California, it is quite arid so I was thinking of buying a battery powered vac at the local home store to do the same thing. There is also a new piece of equipment called a "dry suction dredge" that you can use. I'm not quite sure how it works but I know it doesn't require water. Great video and as usual..very well narrated!
Thanks for the comment Doc. We are a bit unfortunate over here in Australia as we can't use any motorized equipment while prospecting unless you have a mining claim. All the very best of luck over your way. Cheers, Wal
Wal nLiz I have lived in Australia all of my life and this is the first time I have heard that motorized equipment cannot be used while prospecting. I'm afraid who ever told you that is lying, you can use anything on government land. Obviously if your on private property for what ever reason and IF the owner of the property tells you not to use motorized equipment then you would obey their wishes. Although that being said if a property owner is going to allow you on their property then they wont care if you used a motorized vacuum or a gold detector or any small machine for that matter. It's fair to say they wont allow you to bring in heavy machinery maybe, such as a huge sluice box and other large equipment but no everyday prospector would even consider that as it costs tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for this equipment. You can definitely use motorized equipment in Australia, they even let you use a metal detector at most beaches for goodness sake. Good Luck
MrWTF74 Thanks for your comment Mr WTF. It is a big shame that you do not have a look at the guidelines and laws governing Fossicking in all states of Australia. One would think that if you lived in Australia all your life and was interested in fossicking you would at least take the time to read the government rules and regulations regarding the hobby. The legislation in "ALL" states forbids the use of power operated equipment to extract any material whilst fossicking whether on Crown or Private Land. This includes Dredges, Power operated vacs, Power operated digging implements, Earth Moving Equipment, etc. Please take the time to read the rules before making any misinformed comments on the net, as by making these misinformed comments you only do harm for the guys out there "legally" enjoying their hobby. Metal detectors are legal all over Australia. These have nothing to do with mechanically removing soil for prospecting purposes.
Don't forget your spots, those crumbs most probably are leading from a huge vein just yards, feet or perhaps even inches away... But I'm quite sure you know what you are doing in your creek beds in your own backyard. Im going to try that technique out here when need be... Good idea. Cheers guys!
+Sean Flope ...Thanks for watching and commenting Sean. We mainly use this method to trace the gold which is higher out of the creek bed to help us follow it to a source. The method has been very kind to us over the years and we have detected many small reefs from using the technique. It finds the trace and the detector does the rest. Take care...Wal.
I'm pretty sure my father and I ran into you out at Hill End about a decade or two ago. I've stumbled across a few videos by you on TH-cam. I am amazed at how good your eyesight is for gold, and flabberghasted at the amount of effort people put into finding this magical mineral. It's definitely a bug though, because most people spend far more hours per $$$ worth of gold than a minimum wage job! :P @bashpr0mpt on Twitter if you've got it, if you don't you should, it's a good means of communicating when out bush (also for safety, etc) get it and I'll send a bunch of fans your way who'd be interested in your updates!
Thanks for the comment and watching Walter. We find it a useful tool...especially when you don't want to carry gear for kilometers up a creek just to check the gold values in the crevices....Best of luck....Cheers Wal.
It would be more panning but i bet you could modify one of those small battery powered house vacuums like you did your sniffer thing and get a lot more.
Thanks for watching Tide12. Have used the MD20 for different applications but feel it's not suited to what we do in this vid as we are only doing only exploration work here to look for the better pockets to prospect. The smaller bits you would find with the MD20, we also exposed with the blow tube. Have a great Christmas. Cheers, Wal
One might be able to use one of those little bike pumps you press with your foot (or a small raft inflator) since powered equipment is not allowed. But it might actually create too much force so you would have to modify the outlet as not to actually blow away the small gold too.
+ammobake ...Thanks for watching. Many small hand pump versions would work very well but we only use the tube method for a quick appraisal of the bedrock to see if the creek is worth detecting. We don't try and process much in the way of volume, even though by doing this would net quite a bit of smaller alluvial gold. All the very best...Wal.
I was over to Victoria in January and spent about ten days in the golden plains/gold country...toured Ballarat--- and of course, the magnificent Gold Museum! Some of the very first gold nuggets discovered there weighed in at 140 pounds and larger. They are a sight to behold. Anyone can apply to get a prospecting permit there, I believe it costs roughly $30 AUD for 5-10 years(?) but since the land is mainly held by government, you must gain permission in order to mine or dig for gold. Same for private properties. The geography in Victoria is an array of rocky outcrops, red soil, rolling hills, hinterlands, forests, plains, and even alpines ---Mt. Buller, i.e. The gold rush began in Victoria just a few years after the California gold rush...the gold found in Vic, Australia made the capital, Melbourne a very wealthy one indeed. Wish I didn't have to leave, as I think it would take years to fully experience the various topography of the continent, but well-worth dreaming about...
There are various ways to crevice. I like to use small brooms, high banker and or sluice box, definitely gold pan as well as tweezers, magnifying glass and snuff bottles and air bottles besides the tubing I like to scrape out all the material I can from the crevices and either take it back with me where I am near a river o ruse a pump to use with the high banker when possible. Picking little tiny pieces of gold one at a time is just too much work for the recults in most areas where I have worked.
Glad you enjoyed it Balxie...fantastic in dry areas, but probably not the best in that great area down your way....best of luck and looking forward to your next vid mate....Cheers Wal.
looks similar to central to southern arizona. but without all the rattle snakes, lol. thats a good idea with the tube but seems time consuming. have you tried a metal detector? i use a small dewalt 18v vacuum and buckets for dirt. with that i have a battery powered sluice and a large tub for the water.
Thanks for watching Dan. We detect quite a bit in this region but we're unfortunate in that we're not allowed to use mechanical means to move gravel. So vacuum cleaners are illegal for the amateur prospectors here. All the very best of luck over your way and hope the gold is being kind to you. Cheers, Wal
+Jackson Smith ......Thanks for watching. A vacuum version would be great but we're unfortunately not allowed to use powered equipment over here. All the very best, Wal
Excellent video, thank you. An alternative to the snuffer is an aspirator, used in Entomology to suck up small insects. It's basically a mouth vacuum cleaner, made from a bottle with two hoses in the top. One is a simple flexible hose, up to about 1cm diameter, often less - this is where the items (insects, gold) are sucked in. The other is the same type of tube, and just inside the lid there is a filter, so you don't inhale things. I made mine from paper towels, coffee filters are better, in the shape of a bag, tied over the end of the tube, I put an open ball of wire in the bag to prevent it from collapsing. You just suck and things go into the bottle. Advantage over a snuffer is you can suck a lot more continuously and see through the clear bottle what you got. Make the filter bag big enough to allow much air to pass, and even double the bag to keep out dust. A pint bottle is not too big.
I live in Australia and you can use battery or solar equipment anywhere you want. Your not going to fire up a generator to power a tiny little vacuum pump for Gods sake. A small alarm 12 volt battery or a small motor cycle battery will be enough power for a small vacuum and would last you days before it needed to be trickle charged which could be done overnight depending where your staying. Although 1 of these batteries I mentioned would last you several days to activate a small vacuum pump.
MrWTF74 Thanks for your comment Mr WTF. It is a big shame that you do not have a look at the guidelines and laws governing Fossicking in all states of Australia. One would think that if you lived in Australia all your life and was interested in fossicking you would at least take the time to read the government rules and regulations regarding the hobby. The legislation in "ALL" states forbids the use of power operated equipment to extract any material whilst fossicking whether on Crown or Private Land. This includes Dredges, Power operated vacs, Power operated digging implements, Earth Moving Equipment, etc. Please take the time to read the rules before making any misinformed comments on the net, as by making these misinformed comments you only do harm for the guys out there "legally" enjoying their hobby. Metal detectors are legal all over Australia. These have nothing to do with mechanically removing soil for prospecting purposes.
Thanks for watching Josh,...The idea for this method is checking gold values in the area before setting up a vac or dry blower. The missed bits get captured at the secondary cleanups, usually with a vac....All the best , Cheers Wal.
Thanks Dan, we find that sometimes the simple things pay the biggest dividends. It's a great way to hike up a dry creek and find the richest rock bars. Glad you enjoyed the vid mate....Cheers Wal.
Hi Liz! That was a very pleasant video! I love the way you get a bit excited when you find the gold bits... I'd be excited too! This seems like a great way to go camping, and spend some great time outdoors, with the thrill of finding gold as well! I could do that for hours on end, what a treasure hunt! About how much did that gold weigh in the video after the 4 hours?
Thanks for watching exibar and glad you found it enjoyable. Outdoor adventures are always a pleasant experience. Not quite sure how much the gold weighed, as never put it over some scales. Would have been a few grams though. All the best ..Wal.
Thanks for watching Steven and hope you found the blow tubing exercise interesting. We didn't weigh the takings from that morning as we usually only weigh the nuggets we find detecting. The total for the blow tubing would have been somewhere around the 8 gram mark. All the very best...Wal.
Nice finds! I would get out there with a gas powered generator and a shop vac with several sizes of crack sucking tools and suck out every crack I could find. Take about 20 buckets of sand back and run it through a trommel.
Thanks for watching alan and I hear what you're saying. Only problem over here is we're not allowed to use mechanical gear as it is illegal for the recreational prospector.....guess we were born some 100 years too late. Cheers Wal.
I'm in NC, USA and I seem to have found a fair amount of gold in some sand. It's tiny but it's malleable and of the right color and sheen. I took a couple buckets (I don't own the land nor did I have permission ... so I just took enough to experiment with as a learning experience / way to pick up a few dollars.) What is the best way to separate it from the sand?
Thanks for watching W. A small clean up sluice or a gold wheel are about your best ways to clean up the finer gold from the black sands. Good luck with it mate...cheers Wal.
Thanks for watching Casey and hope you enjoyed the vid. Unfortunately, we have some fairly strict regulations here in Australia. And the use of powered equipment is prohibited for recreational prospectors.... Real pity. Cheers, Wal
thank you very much really a great idea you have inspired me. using such very simple tools is very active. if you please tell me what type of soil or rocks can i look for nuggets in ?? you are lucky thanks
Glad you enjoyed the vid Ali. You first have to be in a recognized gold bearing area and the best spots are on the exposed bedrock sections of the dry creeks. Hope you have a lot of luck with it.....Cheers Wal.
+Fozzy Bear... Thanks for watching Fozzy. Looks harder than it actually is in the vid. The gold glistens quite visibly in the sunlight but is hard to capture in the vid. All the best...Wal.
chromospheres thanks for watching. We detect all this ground after blow tubing. The blow tube lets us know what the gold in the creek is size wise. All the best...Wal.
Those cracks look pretty good. I would just break apart all of the cracks, put everything into a 5 gallon bucket, take it down to the stream or apply water and just pound the hell out of it so that the gold goes down to the bottom. Afterwards, remove the big rocks and get down to a point so that you can put the remainder into a gold pan. Otherwise, I would use this method to see if gold is in the area before I started to dig and break the rocks. I used this method, it works but after you find the gold do the method I had previously stated.
Thanks for the comment John. We mostly use this method to determine how rich the creeks are for detecting purposes. The locations we do this are in very arid regions of Western Australia and in the dry season you get no rain for as much as 6 months at a time. The nearest water can be up to 100km away from where we are. Best of luck out there...Wal.
What about a hand powered vacuum device? I bet with a little thought, you could come up with a crank or bellows type of device. I've seen your detecting videos, nice. I'm here in Northern California, working on our claim, we have tried detecting, but haven't had any luck. A better detector would help. Just got to put my back into it and keep shoveling gravel into buckets. Good Luck and may your gold be good.
Thanks for the comment Bob. A hand powered vac would certainly be a great asset in our region and one should probably experiment with methods to achieve a workable vac. Hope luck follows you around during the coming year and the gold cooperates for you. All the best of luck, Wal
Wow, that's something. I didn't know Australia is a good place to find gold deposits. I've been there for business, lovely country. The people were wonderful and friendly. I'd live to go agai
***** Thanks for watching Mathew. Australia has some of the largest gold deposits in the world and having only a relatively small population the odds are very high for prospectors over here. All the best...Wal.
cybercab Thanks for watching cyber. We generally use the blow tube in areas next to where we find nuggets with the detector, as small gold always lays close to the nuggets. The day produced about an ounce of gold , but the blowtubing session would have only been a few grams. Take care....Wal.
Hope you found the vid informative Scott and thanks for watching. We spend most of our trips to this region in the winter months and the sun is quite bearable at that time. The same could not be said for the Summer months where you could fry an egg on the nearest flat rock. All the best...Wal.
hi guys,....im strictly a detector hunter....too bad about the powered equipment rule,...just in case you haven't,i would add to my arsenal of tools... a variety of brushes and brooms...all the way up to steel bristle brushes....and sweep the whole area...☺
Thanks for watching Seriy. We are in Western Australia and you can find gold using this principle at any of the recognized goldfields there. Cheers, Wal
Holy cow, that's some rich ground. I wish I knew the size of the coin you used for scale. I'm guessing maybe a tenth of an ounce? about $101.00 USD. Nice hours work there! Dang, a broom, scoop, bucket and pan and you are producing! Hey Liz, you sound like how my Dutch mother would sound if she moved to Australia at eighteen instead of America. Are you from Holland? Mom is from Eindhoven, moved to Spain after the kids moved out. First time viewer here. SUBSCRIBED!
+CrucifyRobinHood ...Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the vid. That particular morning netted a bit over 5 grams and that is fairly common results from this area. We generally only use the blow tubing to look for richer sections of the creeks, and these we then concentrate on with the metal detectors. Liz is actually from the Philippines but has been in Australia for over 30 years. All the very best Wal.
Im gonna try this technique...looks exciting ! Thanks for showing Liz
Another great idea Wal and Liz, thanks for your generosity in sharing this as you do.
Very good Liz! Your so lucky to be in the outback. I love your excitement!
"Gold Central" - this was a great video...mesmerizing. Being taken along for the adventure with you Liz and trying to see those pieces as you do - fabulous. The camera work really put us "right in the crevice"...so to speak. Cheers GL & HH Ian
Great video Liz...I get so much enjoyment listening to your very positive narration!!!
Wow Liz! Great video always enjoy watching you and Wal prospecting. Wished we had half the opportunities here. looking forward to coming down under someday. Thanks for sharing.
Clever technique you have there, miss Liz.
Thanks for watching John, hope you found the vid interesting....WalnLiz.
Liz what a terrific video - I think out of the dozens of people producing gold videos your area the best - what I like about it the instructional element in your videos and Wals. Since we live in the same area we should link up for a detect one day!
Thanks for sharing your time and info with us, really interesting , maybe something I can use next summer when I"m out prospecting.
Thanks for the comment Mt Dew. Hope luck is on your side when next you're out prospecting. All the very best, Wal
Great show Liz.. Good tools of the trade.
Hey Wal - nLizThankyou for being kind enough to show us this method ! - Best regards to you both, - Kevin.
Thanks for watching Kevin and hope you found it informative. Best of luck to you...Wal.
Absolutely wonderful! What a great and simple (and cheap!) gold recovery technique.
Great vido Wal and Liz nice little pickers,the larst time i seen crevassing for gold like that i was under water. Cheers Phil
Now that's some relaxing prospecting there , thanks for sharing. Would love to come out that way some day and try my hand prospecting the outback. Did you ever use a vac pac on that wash. Cheers. Jeff
Thanks for watching and the comment Jeff. We were too busy detecting at this location, but were fortunate enough to find a few encouraging spots with the blow tube. This area is not on a private lease and as such, our laws prohibit us from using power operated machinery. All the very best and keep the vids coming... We really enjoy them. Cheers, Wal
Thanks for the response and too bad about the lease. Thanks again for the vid. Jeff
Loved it, Crevassing isn't something I have done much of so thanks for the tips.
well done on your little prospect there, amasing where you find that stuff
+Whats Myname Thanks for watching and hope some gold flows freely for you over your way. Best of luck, Wal
Hope you enjoyed it Ian...Liz can get a little bit excited when she spots that yellow stuff. Best of luck on your next hunt mate....Cheers Wal.
Awesome! First-hey a female-to neat! Next-I love the sensibility-you could use this even in the water-where you are searching in Crevasses.
I think liz has much better eyes than I do. Would have walked strait over most of those. Thanks for sharing :)
Another great video gang.
Liz...Try using a small mirror to illuminate holes and cracks that are shadowed by the sun's direction....it works great.
Rick and Diane
glad you enjoyed it Chris...give it a go some time.,Best wishes Wal.
au69miner Thanks for the comment au69. We're mainly detector operators when in this region as well but use this technique mainly to see which of the dry creeks are worth some extra attention, and this method soon reveals how rich they still are. Best of luck out there in the paddock....Cheer Wal.
+Jerry C ....Haven't tried that Jerry, as we only blow tube to find detecting locations and not actually working bedrock for gold as such. We tend to get into very isolated regions so do not have a lot of spare space in the vehicle for extra prospecting gear. All the very best....Wal.
Wal nLiz are you in Australia?
Hi Aussie...yes we are in Australia. Cheers Wal.
Wal nLiz yeah same I know hardly any miners tell anyone where they mine and get success but do you recommend anywhere in Australia to go? Btw I'm in Victoria and I'm willing to go anywhere in Australia. Plus I'm going to Hawaii in a month so is it worth taking a detector over there?
Pretty well anywhere in the Vic Golden Triangle will get you gold with a detector. The determining factor to success is the quality of the detector and a very good understanding of how to best use them. Alluvial prospecting is also a very consistent way of getting gold especially up in the Vic Alps and around the Beechworth region. We are in NSW and spend a lot of time up around Hill End, Sofala and the Bathurst areas. Not much prospecting in Hawaii but could be worth taking a detector for treasure hunting on the beaches. Best of luck...Wal.
Nice job Liz!
Thanks David. Glad you enjoyed the vid. Cheers, Liz
Great video Wal and Liz would work well in western Australia very informative
Clever method, I learned a few things today.
+Khlause ....thanks for watching and hope luck is following you around. Cheers Wal.
Another great vid thanks guys love them and learning alot
Liz you rock no pun intended what a great find thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment anu60. Hope you found the vid interesting. All the very best, Wal
Great video nicely narrated thank you for sharing! you oughta think about taking a pocket mirror with you to shine down in spots where the Sun don't get. Good luck with all your gold hunting and keep the great videos coming!!
Thanks for the comment John and glad you find the vids enjoyable....Cheers Wal.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for watching and glad to hear that you enjoy some of the vids,. All the best...Wal.
every vid I have watched from the land down under has gold just laying on the surface............wow that's amazing
+Arnie Bowie Thanks for watching Arnie. It's mainly in Western Australia that we get gold very close to the surface. In NSW where we live there is very few areas where a Blow Tube would be useful. We are fortunate however that there is quite a few productive gold fields over this way. All the best...Wal.
Thanks very much for the kind comment Willo and hope you found the vid interesting. Would love to catch up for a coffee and a few detecting sessions. Still sorting ourselves out after the WA trip but as soon as I'm in front i will give you a buzz.....All the best....Wal.
Well done. My congratulations. Get more 😉 I'm pressing my thumbs for you 👍🏼👍🏼
I worked with a guy in about 1980. He dove into a river and saw something shiny. It was a 7 POUND nugget! He described it as being the size of his hand. Even back then it was a small fortune. He was a very nice Greek guy and his story seemed legit. BTW I am Sir Donald Bradmans 4th cousin. Cheers from Victoria Canada.
Thanks for watching and commenting kinezo. Great way to find gold is sniping in a river as to visually see the nuggets is very exciting. Sounds like your workmate had an extremely lucky day. The Don was a great cricket hero over here in Australia, and I hope some of his sporting prowess rubbed of on you as well. All the very best...Wal.
Thanks for watching ESKID and you're right there, we all enjoy a bit of colour at the end of the day...all the best, ..Wal.
Thanks, I had not seen this technique before.
Thanks for watching Jeff and hope you found it interesting. All the very best...Wal.
Hello from Idaho USA! Bet you wish you had a shop vac!
I wish we had that kind of gold here!
Use a Led flashlight to make the gold easier to see. Thanks for the turkey blaster tip. Good luck.
+Heath Burns Thanks for watching and commenting Heath. That certainly would be a good idea if you find a crevice which has lots of gold trapped within it. We mainly do this to check the gold values for metal detecting. All the very best, Wal
Wow! Why would you ever want to stop and go home! Here in southern California, it is quite arid so I was thinking of buying a battery powered vac at the local home store to do the same thing. There is also a new piece of equipment called a "dry suction dredge" that you can use. I'm not quite sure how it works but I know it doesn't require water. Great video and as usual..very well narrated!
Thanks for the comment Doc. We are a bit unfortunate over here in Australia as we can't use any motorized equipment while prospecting unless you have a mining claim. All the very best of luck over your way. Cheers, Wal
Wal nLiz I have lived in Australia all of my life and this is the first time I have heard that motorized equipment cannot be used while prospecting.
I'm afraid who ever told you that is lying, you can use anything on government land.
Obviously if your on private property for what ever reason and
IF the owner of the property tells you not to use motorized equipment then you would obey their wishes.
Although that being said if a property owner is going to allow you on their property then they wont care if you used a motorized vacuum or a gold detector or any small machine for that matter.
It's fair to say they wont allow you to bring in heavy machinery maybe, such as a huge sluice box and other large equipment but no everyday prospector would even consider that as it costs tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for this equipment.
You can definitely use motorized equipment in Australia, they even let you use a metal detector at most beaches for goodness sake.
Good Luck
MrWTF74
Thanks for your comment Mr WTF. It is a big shame that you do not have a look at the guidelines and laws governing Fossicking in all states of Australia. One would think that if you lived in Australia all your life and was interested in fossicking you would at least take the time to read the government rules and regulations regarding the hobby.
The legislation in "ALL" states forbids the use of power operated equipment to extract any material whilst fossicking whether on Crown or Private Land. This includes Dredges, Power operated vacs, Power operated digging implements, Earth Moving Equipment, etc.
Please take the time to read the rules before making any misinformed comments on the net, as by making these misinformed comments you only do harm for the guys out there "legally" enjoying their hobby. Metal detectors are legal all over Australia. These have nothing to do with mechanically removing soil for prospecting purposes.
Don't forget your spots, those crumbs most probably are leading from a huge vein just yards, feet or perhaps even inches away... But I'm quite sure you know what you are doing in your creek beds in your own backyard. Im going to try that technique out here when need be... Good idea. Cheers guys!
+Sean Flope ...Thanks for watching and commenting Sean. We mainly use this method to trace the gold which is higher out of the creek bed to help us follow it to a source. The method has been very kind to us over the years and we have detected many small reefs from using the technique. It finds the trace and the detector does the rest. Take care...Wal.
I'm wondering, how much would that bit in the end be worth alltogether?
I'm pretty sure my father and I ran into you out at Hill End about a decade or two ago. I've stumbled across a few videos by you on TH-cam. I am amazed at how good your eyesight is for gold, and flabberghasted at the amount of effort people put into finding this magical mineral. It's definitely a bug though, because most people spend far more hours per $$$ worth of gold than a minimum wage job! :P @bashpr0mpt on Twitter if you've got it, if you don't you should, it's a good means of communicating when out bush (also for safety, etc) get it and I'll send a bunch of fans your way who'd be interested in your updates!
Great Job!!
thanks for watching....Cheers Wal.
great video
Glad you enjoyed the vid Steven. All the very best...Wal.
thanks for the tip liz oh thank you too wal good idea! hoping alls well down under.
Glad you enjoyed it 1up. All the very best over your way...Cheers Wal.
That's amazing. Gold mining- girl style. Surprisingly efficient. I'm loving it! Are you in Australia?
Great video. Thanks
Thanks for watching. All the best...Wal.
Thanks for the comment and watching Walter. We find it a useful tool...especially when you don't want to carry gear for kilometers up a creek just to check the gold values in the crevices....Best of luck....Cheers Wal.
Very nice! Thanks
It would be more panning but i bet you could modify one of those small battery powered house vacuums like you did your sniffer thing and get a lot more.
You would love the Falcon Gold MD20 Metal Detector. It's perfect for what you are doing. Try it out.
Thanks for watching Tide12. Have used the MD20 for different applications but feel it's not suited to what we do in this vid as we are only doing only exploration work here to look for the better pockets to prospect. The smaller bits you would find with the MD20, we also exposed with the blow tube. Have a great Christmas. Cheers, Wal
Great Video Guys...
Thanks Aussie and hope the gold is being kind to you as well...Regards..Wal.
I wish I lived where gold was so abundant!
Love your work you two, water was always a problem hey. You sure get around (:
What part of the country were you in?
roy allan Hope you enjoyed the vid Roy. This particular vid was in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Take care...Wal.
One might be able to use one of those little bike pumps you press with your foot (or a small raft inflator) since powered equipment is not allowed. But it might actually create too much force so you would have to modify the outlet as not to actually blow away the small gold too.
+ammobake ...Thanks for watching. Many small hand pump versions would work very well but we only use the tube method for a quick appraisal of the bedrock to see if the creek is worth detecting. We don't try and process much in the way of volume, even though by doing this would net quite a bit of smaller alluvial gold. All the very best...Wal.
I was over to Victoria in January and spent about ten days in the golden plains/gold country...toured Ballarat--- and of course, the magnificent Gold Museum! Some of the very first gold nuggets discovered there weighed in at 140 pounds and larger. They are a sight to behold. Anyone can apply to get a prospecting permit there, I believe it costs roughly $30 AUD for 5-10 years(?) but since the land is mainly held by government, you must gain permission in order to mine or dig for gold. Same for private properties. The geography in Victoria is an array of rocky outcrops, red soil, rolling hills, hinterlands, forests, plains, and even alpines ---Mt. Buller, i.e. The gold rush began in Victoria just a few years after the California gold rush...the gold found in Vic, Australia made the capital, Melbourne a very wealthy one indeed. Wish I didn't have to leave, as I think it would take years to fully experience the various topography of the continent, but well-worth dreaming about...
There are various ways to crevice. I like to use small brooms, high banker and or sluice box, definitely gold pan as well as tweezers, magnifying glass and snuff bottles and air bottles besides the tubing I like to scrape out all the material I can from the crevices and either take it back with me where I am near a river o ruse a pump to use with the high banker when possible. Picking little tiny pieces of gold one at a time is just too much work for the recults in most areas where I have worked.
Glad you enjoyed it Balxie...fantastic in dry areas, but probably not the best in that great area down your way....best of luck and looking forward to your next vid mate....Cheers Wal.
looks similar to central to southern arizona. but without all the rattle snakes, lol.
thats a good idea with the tube but seems time consuming. have you tried a metal detector? i use a small dewalt 18v vacuum and buckets for dirt. with that i have a battery powered sluice and a large tub for the water.
Thanks for watching Dan. We detect quite a bit in this region but we're unfortunate in that we're not allowed to use mechanical means to move gravel. So vacuum cleaners are illegal for the amateur prospectors here. All the very best of luck over your way and hope the gold is being kind to you. Cheers, Wal
Very nice , i want to go to Australia now :)
Glad you enjoyed it dj and if ever you come to Australia, I'm sure you won't regret it. Cheers, Wal
You are a really cool lady!
Thanks for watching Steve and all the very best...Cheers Wal.
+Jackson Smith ......Thanks for watching. A vacuum version would be great but we're unfortunately not allowed to use powered equipment over here. All the very best, Wal
Where is this?
Nadia bullas-paterson.
This is in Western Australia Nadia. Cheers, Liz
Excellent video, thank you. An alternative to the snuffer is an aspirator, used in Entomology to suck up small insects. It's basically a mouth vacuum cleaner, made from a bottle with two hoses in the top. One is a simple flexible hose, up to about 1cm diameter, often less - this is where the items (insects, gold) are sucked in. The other is the same type of tube, and just inside the lid there is a filter, so you don't inhale things. I made mine from paper towels, coffee filters are better, in the shape of a bag, tied over the end of the tube, I put an open ball of wire in the bag to prevent it from collapsing. You just suck and things go into the bottle. Advantage over a snuffer is you can suck a lot more continuously and see through the clear bottle what you got. Make the filter bag big enough to allow much air to pass, and even double the bag to keep out dust. A pint bottle is not too big.
I live in Australia and you can use battery or solar equipment anywhere you want.
Your not going to fire up a generator to power a tiny little vacuum pump for Gods sake.
A small alarm 12 volt battery or a small motor cycle battery will be enough power for a small vacuum and would last you days before it needed to be trickle charged which could be done overnight depending where your staying.
Although 1 of these batteries I mentioned would last you several days to activate a small vacuum pump.
MrWTF74 Thanks for your comment Mr WTF. It is a big shame that you do not have a look at the guidelines and laws governing Fossicking in all states of Australia. One would think that if you lived in Australia all your life and was interested in fossicking you would at least take the time to read the government rules and regulations regarding the hobby.
The legislation in "ALL" states forbids the use of power operated equipment to extract any material whilst fossicking whether on Crown or Private Land. This includes Dredges, Power operated vacs, Power operated digging implements, Earth Moving Equipment, etc.
Please take the time to read the rules before making any misinformed comments on the net, as by making these misinformed comments you only do harm for the guys out there "legally" enjoying their hobby. Metal detectors are legal all over Australia. These have nothing to do with mechanically removing soil for prospecting purposes.
Thanks for watching Josh,...The idea for this method is checking gold values in the area before setting up a vac or dry blower. The missed bits get captured at the secondary cleanups, usually with a vac....All the best , Cheers Wal.
You have some doggone good eyes...sun bakers and crevice finds...Good Eye
That would drive me phuking nuts with those tweezers
+Dan O'Hara Glad you enjoyed the vid Dan. Sometimes, the simple things make all the difference. Cheers, Wal
wow this video was the cutest and most interesting I've seen in awhile.
Glad you enjoyed the vid Ammon. Hope all is great over your way.
Cheers Wal.
Thanks! I'm a small time gold refiner that wants to learn to collect gold in my local area and its fun to see how different people approach it.
Thanks Dan, we find that sometimes the simple things pay the biggest dividends. It's a great way to hike up a dry creek and find the richest rock bars.
Glad you enjoyed the vid mate....Cheers Wal.
Hi Liz! That was a very pleasant video! I love the way you get a bit excited when you find the gold bits... I'd be excited too! This seems like a great way to go camping, and spend some great time outdoors, with the thrill of finding gold as well! I could do that for hours on end, what a treasure hunt! About how much did that gold weigh in the video after the 4 hours?
Thanks for watching exibar and glad you found it enjoyable. Outdoor adventures are always a pleasant experience. Not quite sure how much the gold weighed, as never put it over some scales. Would have been a few grams though. All the best ..Wal.
Thank you video was fun wish I could do that
Interesting way of doing it
+Kevin Barner ...Thanks for watching Kevin. All the best...Wal.
Wal n Liz, thank you for this video, very ingenious method. Can you give me an idea of how many grams or ounces the gold in the picture equates to?
Thanks for watching Steven and hope you found the blow tubing exercise interesting. We didn't weigh the takings from that morning as we usually only weigh the nuggets we find detecting. The total for the blow tubing would have been somewhere around the 8 gram mark. All the very best...Wal.
Stephen Troup j
Nice finds! I would get out there with a gas powered generator and a shop vac with several sizes of crack sucking tools and suck out every crack I could find. Take about 20 buckets of sand back and run it through a trommel.
Thanks for watching alan and I hear what you're saying. Only problem over here is we're not allowed to use mechanical gear as it is illegal for the recreational prospector.....guess we were born some 100 years too late. Cheers Wal.
thankyou this will help so much
+perry mackay ...Thanks for watching Perry. Hope luck follows you around on the gold fields. Cheers Wal.
I'm in NC, USA and I seem to have found a fair amount of gold in some sand. It's tiny but it's malleable and of the right color and sheen. I took a couple buckets (I don't own the land nor did I have permission ... so I just took enough to experiment with as a learning experience / way to pick up a few dollars.) What is the best way to separate it from the sand?
Thanks for watching W. A small clean up sluice or a gold wheel are about your best ways to clean up the finer gold from the black sands. Good luck with it mate...cheers Wal.
W Canaday. Pan it out in water..in larger tub in case you loose any out of pan..gold is 19 times heavyer than water..
Thanks for the comment Qs..and hope you found it interesting. All the best..Cheers Wal.
looks like you found a nice little wash. you would be catching so much more if you had a shop vac lol
Thanks for watching Casey and hope you enjoyed the vid. Unfortunately, we have some fairly strict regulations here in Australia. And the use of powered equipment is prohibited for recreational prospectors.... Real pity. Cheers, Wal
thank you very much
really a great idea you have inspired me. using such very simple tools is very active.
if you please tell me what type of soil or rocks can i look for nuggets in ??
you are lucky
thanks
Glad you enjoyed the vid Ali. You first have to be in a recognized gold bearing area and the best spots are on the exposed bedrock sections of the dry creeks. Hope you have a lot of luck with it.....Cheers Wal.
Thank you Walk nliz for quick reply and advice. I appreciate that.
I will try my best efforts once back home. Thanks
Hey Walk n Liz....what state of Australia are U prospecting in if U don't mind me asking?
Thanks for watching Shona. This vid was shot on our last trip over in Western Australia. Cheers, Wal
after seeing that much gold on the top of the bedrock I would be out there with a 30 gallon bin taking it all lol
Liz has incredible eyesight!
+Fozzy Bear... Thanks for watching Fozzy. Looks harder than it actually is in the vid. The gold glistens quite visibly in the sunlight but is hard to capture in the vid. All the best...Wal.
Thanks for watching Mlg, Give it a go in your area, and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results....all the best...Cheers Wal.
It's cool but where are you? I think I wanna do it like that.
Is that fools gold if it sits on the surface of the ground ? are detectors of any use as it would make things easy ?
chromospheres thanks for watching. We detect all this ground after blow tubing. The blow tube lets us know what the gold in the creek is size wise. All the best...Wal.
Awesome!
+Bunny Ramey ...Thanks for watching Bunny and glad you enjoyed the vid. Cheers Wal.
Those cracks look pretty good. I would just break apart all of the cracks, put everything into a 5 gallon bucket, take it down to the stream or apply water and just pound the hell out of it so that the gold goes down to the bottom. Afterwards, remove the big rocks and get down to a point so that you can put the remainder into a gold pan. Otherwise, I would use this method to see if gold is in the area before I started to dig and break the rocks. I used this method, it works but after you find the gold do the method I had previously stated.
Thanks for the comment John. We mostly use this method to determine how rich the creeks are for detecting purposes. The locations we do this are in very arid regions of Western Australia and in the dry season you get no rain for as much as 6 months at a time. The nearest water can be up to 100km away from where we are. Best of luck out there...Wal.
i enjoyed this one good
Where did u find the gold?
Very interesting.. Love it..
Thanks for watching Booster8. Glad you enjoyed the vid and have a great Christmas. Cheers, Wal
What about a hand powered vacuum device? I bet with a little thought, you could come up with a crank or bellows type of device. I've seen your detecting videos, nice. I'm here in Northern California, working on our claim, we have tried detecting, but haven't had any luck. A better detector would help. Just got to put my back into it and keep shoveling gravel into buckets. Good Luck and may your gold be good.
Thanks for the comment Bob. A hand powered vac would certainly be a great asset in our region and one should probably experiment with methods to achieve a workable vac. Hope luck follows you around during the coming year and the gold cooperates for you. All the best of luck, Wal
Top vids , I just want to head out again start panning ;-)
Thanks for watching Kelly and glad to hear that you enjoy some our vids. All the best..Wal.
Wow, that's something. I didn't know Australia is a good place to find gold deposits. I've been there for business, lovely country. The people were wonderful and friendly. I'd live to go agai
***** Thanks for watching Mathew. Australia has some of the largest gold deposits in the world and having only a relatively small population the odds are very high for prospectors over here. All the best...Wal.
Interesting. How much did you find that day?
cybercab Thanks for watching cyber. We generally use the blow tube in areas next to where we find nuggets with the detector, as small gold always lays close to the nuggets. The day produced about an ounce of gold , but the blowtubing session would have only been a few grams. Take care....Wal.
Wal nLiz Thanks. Very interesting.
Just to be sure you can take a small sledge hammer and 5 gal bucket and take back more of the cons after braking up the bed rock.
Thanks for sharing a great video. Looks like a nice way to spend a few hours, but I'm guessing the sun must be pretty brutal.
Hope you found the vid informative Scott and thanks for watching. We spend most of our trips to this region in the winter months and the sun is quite bearable at that time. The same could not be said for the Summer months where you could fry an egg on the nearest flat rock. All the best...Wal.
Wal nLiz Well then you must be ramping up for a new season - Best of luck finding the yellow stuff!!!
very cool
hi guys,....im strictly a detector hunter....too bad about the powered equipment rule,...just in case you haven't,i would add to my arsenal of tools... a variety of brushes and brooms...all the way up to steel bristle brushes....and sweep the whole area...☺
Can you tell me location where I can find this gold, Thank You.
Thanks for watching Seriy. We are in Western Australia and you can find gold using this principle at any of the recognized goldfields there. Cheers, Wal
Holy cow, that's some rich ground. I wish I knew the size of the coin you used for scale. I'm guessing maybe a tenth of an ounce? about $101.00 USD. Nice hours work there! Dang, a broom, scoop, bucket and pan and you are producing! Hey Liz, you sound like how my Dutch mother would sound if she moved to Australia at eighteen instead of America. Are you from Holland? Mom is from Eindhoven, moved to Spain after the kids moved out. First time viewer here. SUBSCRIBED!
+CrucifyRobinHood ...Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the vid. That particular morning netted a bit over 5 grams and that is fairly common results from this area. We generally only use the blow tubing to look for richer sections of the creeks, and these we then concentrate on with the metal detectors. Liz is actually from the Philippines but has been in Australia for over 30 years. All the very best Wal.