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Some Awesome Aussie GPX 6000 Finds

Some Awesome Aussie GPX 6000 Finds

* Some Awesome Aussie GPX 6000 Finds *

(Updated in Oct. 2024)

The Minelab GPX 6000 Pulse-Induction detector has now been available in Australia for about 3 years. In that time some awesome nuggets have been unearthed throughout Australia. Some of these significant finds have been publicised, and not surprisingly, many fantastic finds have not been publicised for various reasons. 

In August 2024, MINELAB Australia Detexpert, "Luke" (of 'Dig It Detecting') used his MINELAB GPX 6000 + GPX11" mono coil to detect a large gold specimen ( 868 grams 27.9 Ounces ) in Victoria. It is understood that this was only Luke's 7th outing with his GPX 6000 detector.

NOW THAT'S GOLD ! ! ! 

LIFE CHANGING GOLD NUGGET FOUND! (youtube.com)

 

Several big chunks of gold have also been found in Western Australia.

 

Below are some of the Minelab GPX 6000 finds that have been shared online:

The big nugget shown in the two photos above reportedly weighs  about 13 Ounces  (about 0.4 kg).  My "guesstimation" is that the total weight of all of the above nuggets would be  at least 30 Ounces !

 

 

The nugget shown in the above two photos was detected using the GPX11" coil at a depth of about 1.5 feet.

 

"Found with the GPX6000 and 400mm deep. Beautiful piece of WA gold."

 

Below are some more finds using the GPX 6000:

“Here are two of the nicest bits for the season, biggest is 5.5 oz (171.2g) and the other is just over an ounce (35.5g). Both found with a 6000 while pushing. Interestingly the big bit was laying flat, in a crevice in a rock bar, about 60 cm down I suppose (from the bottom of the push) but it was not an inverted signal, and I have no idea why.

Every other solid bit I've got from a gram or so up has been an inverted signal. It started off as a normal up down signal, sounded very OK like a few gram specie 10 inches or so down, good but not outstanding. It just got louder and louder the deeper I got. By about 40-50 cm down I knew it was going to be a better bit, maybe an ounce or two even, and I was convinced that it had to be a specie as the signal wasn't inverted.

The pinpointer was going crazy over a red rock stuck in the crack and I couldn't see any gold yet so I was convinced it was under the rock, got the biggest shock when I got that rock out and felt the weight. It was flat and heavy and clearly a nugget but even after giving it a wash I still couldn't see any gold.

Took a couple of days in alibright for the red coating to dissolve. It has about 6 g of rock in it based on an SG test so it's technically a specie but I'm happy to call it a nugget. The smaller bit was in a different spot, in old wash, probably 70 cm or so down from the surface. I had pushed it though so I only had to dig a few inches. Before I dug it I tried detecting it from the surface level and got no response. Had to be down another 6 inches or so before any signal but it was inverted all the way. The bit was in a small crack but standing upright on it's side and it looked bright and shiny like it does now when it was still stuck in the hole.”

 

 

 

Above photo - Several ounces of gold recently detected by one of our customers using their new GPX 6000 in Western Australia.

 

An old Aussie gold prospector (who has used all of Minelab’s other pulse-induction detectors over the past decade (e.g. SDC 2300, GPX 5000 & GPZ 7000) has also used the GPX 6000 in Western Australia for 118 days (about 1,000hrs of swinging) and on 100 of those days, his GPX 6000 detected 854 gold nuggets in highly mineralised ground. He mostly used the large Minelab GPX17x13” elliptical Mono coil for excellent ground coverage (“patch hunting”) and depth capability. In fact, the GPX17 coil easily detected two spherical-shaped nuggets (a 5-grammer, and a 6 grammer) at depths of between 40cm and 45cm in highly mineralised ground north of Kalgoorlie. The GPX17 coil also picks up the small bits too – using the proven “Low & Slow” technique. He also found the GPX14 DD coil excellent for use in salty/conductive ground (where it was almost impossible to run a Mono coil), as well as in areas within/nearby high electromagnetic interference (EMI).

 

 

Liz Pickthall spends her spare time detecting in the central goldfields of Victoria.

"I finally had seen and heard enough, and at the age of 28 I decided to go out and invest in my first detector. Only then did I realise my true love for it, and I’ve been addicted ever since. As the years went by and my love for detecting grew, I started to work less and detect more.

After upgrading my metal detector to the GPX 6000, I was keen to upgrade my coil as well. I waited for the release of all brands of coils, and was lucky enough to be able to try before I bought two different coils – one of which was the Coiltek 9” GOLDHAWK.

It didn’t take me long to see that it was the standout performer in all areas including weight and sensitivity – and it worked wonders on all ground types in the Victorian goldfields. I was so impressed by how quiet it ran for such a sensitive coil. The 9” coil has found gold in the most ‘flogged out’ areas, with the coil’s size making it so easy to get in tight areas under and around bushes and trees.”

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine how many tens-of-thousands of gold nuggets (& specimens) have been found throughout Australia over only the past 3 years using the mighty Minelab GPX 6000 detector.

Imagine how many more huge chunks of gold are still out there throughout Australia - that have never had a GPX 6000 scan over them !

To boot ..... there are now  SEVEN  (7)  different coils available for the GPX 6000.  Even better - four of these new coils are AUSSIE-MADE.

Coupled with a super-low 1.225 kHz operating frequency of the GPX 6000 - it's no wonder the GPX 6000 is a gold magnet !     (By comparison the GPX 5000 "is configured to operate at a fundamental operating frequency of 5 kHz", and the GPZ 7000 "is configured to operate at a fundamental operating frequency of 3.675 kHz”, whereas for the SDC 2300 "the transmit frequency is about 3 kHz")

With the gold price at an all-time-ever record high (of over AU $3,900 per Ounce in October 2024)  -  you only need to find about 2.3 ounces of gold to cover your investment cost of a new GPX 6000.

 

A Range of Hand-held Pinpointers

A Range of Hand-held Pinpointers

A Range of Hand-held Pinpointers

Compact, hand-held pinpointers can sure save a lot of wasted time & effort digging for and locating targets such as coins, jewellery, relics, and gold nuggets/specimens, upon both land, and also underwater. I know so, from decades of experience of digging (and backfilling) thousands of holes on land throughout our awesome Continent.

The way I look at it – the more time I save from digging, the more time I then have to detect more targets, especially when I am sometimes time-poor on my detecting adventures at the beach, parks or out bush. 

The more expensive pinpointers feature adjustable sensitivity settings - which is very handy in challenging ground conditions e.g. when using it upon/in mineralised ground or upon/in saltwater-saturated/conductive ground. They also feature audio/tactile alert options of vibration mode, with or without target-proximity audio indication.

In late 2023, Minelab released a new hand-held pinpointer – the  PRO-FIND 40.
The Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer has a 2-YEARS Minelab Warranty, with a nominal 9-Volt battery life of about 20 hours, and costs $269.

I did some simple, in-store testing using the new Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer – to determine the maximum air-depth range of detection of an Aussie $2 coin, and also a flat (7x4mm) 0.43 gram gold nugget (and compared to using the similar costing, orange-coloured Garrett Pro-Pointer AT - commonly called “The Garrett Carrot”). Both of these pinpointers contained new/same batteries, and were set on Maximum Sensitivity.
The results were as follows: 

$2 coin -  Minelab PRO-FIND 40 = 7cm range   (Garrett Pro-Pointer AT = 6cm range, and Minelab Pro-Find 15 = 3.5cm range)

0.43 gram gold nugget –  both the Minelab PRO-FIND 40 and the Garrett Pro-Pointer AT pinpointers = about 2cm range.

The new Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer has the following features:
•  10% more Depth than the Minelab PRO-FIND 35
•  A Rapid Re-tune function - making it quick and easy to compensate for ground conditions
•  Improved Stability - for more accurate pinpointing
•  Adjustable Sensitivity - with 5 levels of adjustment
•  A Lost Alarm - that sounds after a period of inactivity & combined with a bright red body - makes the PRO-FIND 40 easy to locate
•  A Ferrous Tone ID - that helps to sort trash from treasure

The new Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer kit includes:
•  PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer - with speaker and LED flashlight
•  Holster
•  Lanyard
•  9V PP3 battery
•  Multi-language instructions

 


'Gold Rat Metal Detectors' sell a range of waterproof pinpointers (varying in cost from $159 up to $309) including:

 

Garrett Pro-Pointer AT (commonly called “The Garrett Carrot”)

The Nokta AccuPOINT pinpointer operates on a frequency of 20kHz  (whereas the Minelab pinpointers, and Garrett pinpointers, and Nokta ‘Pointer’, all operate on a frequency of about 12kHz). This higher operating frequency can make the AccuPOINT more sensitive to detecting small gold nuggets.
 
I did some simple, in-store testing using the Nokta AccuPOINT pinpointer (compared to the Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer) – to determine the maximum air-depth detection range on two different sized, small, flat, sub-gram gold nuggets (a 0.7gram flat nugget, and a 0.2gram flat nugget). Both of these pinpointers contained fully-charged batteries, and were set on their respective Maximum Sensitivity settings.
The results were as follows: 
Nokta AccuPOINT  =  2.5cm (0.7gram nugget),  and 1.5cm (0.2gram nugget)
Minelab Pro-Find 40  =  2cm (0.7gram nugget),  and 1cm (0.2gram nugget). 
Other great features on the Nokta AccuPOINT pinpointer include that it contains a built-in rechargeable Lithium battery, has discrimination capability (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous), Bluetooth connectivity, and a replaceable tip protector.
The Minelab pinpointers, and Garrett pinpointers, and Nokta ‘Pointer’, all operate on a frequency of about 12kHz.

The Nokta PulseDive pinpointer, and the Nokta PulseDive 2-in-1 Underwater Metal Detector, both feature Pulse-Induction technology – and both operate on a lower frequency of about 3kHz.