Gold Lore - Minelab Eureka Gold Instruction Manual

Page 16 The Minelab Eureka Gold
11.4

Gold Lore

To have a good chance of detecting gold, it is necessary to search out
areas where 'coarse gold' is known to have been found, or other areas
where it is likely to occur. The term 'coarse gold' refers to gold ranging in
size from a grain of wheat to many grams, and in some cases many
ounces.
Many nugget-bearing areas are the result of broken-down gold reefs
containing quartz and ironstone. Experienced prospectors learn to
'read the ground' and look for tell-tale signs indicating potential
gold-bearing fields. It is a fascinating and exciting hobby to learn some of
these skills and apply them in your search for gold.
The modern metal detector has given today's prospector enormous
advantages over the prospectors of old. The ground can be rapidly scanned
until a small piece of gold is found and then a study of the area made to
decide where other gold nuggets are likely to be located. It is then best to
make a systematic search of the area.
The main problem encountered while using metal detectors is the
presence of heavy concentrations of ironstone. This is particularly the case
in some of the richest known fields in Australia or the 'black sands' areas
of North America. It appears that gold nuggets and ironstone often go
together, and in fact many gold nuggets have ironstone embedded in them
or are encased in ironstone and others show strong ironstone
staining. Some of these fields have only been superficially worked by
detectors because of the interference caused by the ironstone. Usually
only the most persistent professional is prepared to spend the time and
energy necessary to cope with these conditions and then only partially.