New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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Junk to treasure ratios?

ShoreScot		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 1:22:24 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 29/01/2013(UTC) Posts: 33 Location: North Shore Thanks: 16 times Was thanked: 5 time(s) in 5 post(s)		I'm just curious - my first fortnight of detecting has hardly yielded a treasure trove. In general, are any of you prepared to say what your ratio of 'crap' to good finds is?

nzpoohbear40		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 1:56:31 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/07/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,482 Location: Matura Thanks: 26 times Was thanked: 384 time(s) in 329 post(s)		you will almost allways find way more crap than good stuff until you get to know your signals and even then the ratio may change from mostly crap to about 50/50 as some crap items give the same signal as the good items...i dont thnk the good stuff will ever become higher in ratio than the junk for the reason above..some signals the same.
		Chris - Fisher Dealer http://www.puiakisupply.co.nz/

Guardian		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 2:20:01 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 30/10/2011(UTC) Posts: 716 Location: Dunedin Thanks: 42 times Was thanked: 222 time(s) in 185 post(s)		I guess it depends on your opinion of treasure! I still think that whoever invented, produced, marketed or purchased and didn't dispose of correctly - V or powerade Screw on bottle tops/pull tabs should be drawn and quartered BUT....... We all get pretty darn excited when we find a gold ring and it could well have been someone else found it earlier, thought bloody pull tab and moved onto the next target, you just never know.

madsonicboating		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 9:18:26 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 21/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 674 Thanks: 187 times Was thanked: 157 time(s) in 127 post(s)		people, especially new comers, I believe have no real idea on just how much crap we dig, and how many hours we put in to get what we get. Please don't be swayed by the pics of cool stuff we sometimes post. Like anything theres a lot of behind the scene prep and work put into it not to mention the oodles of can fragments, 1 & 2 cent coins, lead etc etc. Crap is everywhere! Keep swinging and digging man this hobby only has one way to learn. Good luck!
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ShoreScot		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 9:21:40 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 29/01/2013(UTC) Posts: 33 Location: North Shore Thanks: 16 times Was thanked: 5 time(s) in 5 post(s)		Originally Posted by: madsonicboating people, especially new comers, I believe have no real idea on just how much crap we dig, and how many hours we put in to get what we get. Please don't be swayed by the pics of cool stuff we sometimes post. Like anything theres a lot of behind the scene prep and work put into it not to mention the oodles of can fragments, 1 & 2 cent coins, lead etc etc. Crap is everywhere! Keep swinging and digging man this hobby only has one way to learn. Good luck! On that note, amongst all the old cans and beer tops, I found an 1891 penny today (in poor condition, and I'm not big on collecting coins, but it felt great!)

coinnut		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 9:25:09 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 15/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 324 Thanks: 81 times Was thanked: 148 time(s) in 100 post(s)		Originally Posted by: madsonicboating people, especially new comers, I believe have no real idea on just how much crap we dig, and how many hours we put in to get what we get. Please don't be swayed by the pics of cool stuff we sometimes post. Like anything theres a lot of behind the scene prep and work put into it not to mention the oodles of can fragments, 1 & 2 cent coins, lead etc etc. Crap is everywhere! Keep swinging and digging man this hobby only has one way to learn. Good luck! So true!! Haha
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andy		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 9:49:05 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 13/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 471 Location: ngongotaha rotorua Thanks: 70 times Was thanked: 88 time(s) in 72 post(s)		should have seen how much crap i was taking home when i was useing a gc1010.clothes in my washing machine were geting shreded by bits of sharp metal lodged in the spiny thing at the botom of the tub from not emptying my junk out of my pockets lol.
		ATpro ACE250 GC1010 teknetics Eurotek Pro

kev		Posted : Monday, 11 March 2013 9:55:28 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 38 Location: Christchurch Thanks: 4 times Was thanked: 6 time(s) in 6 post(s)		I bet I find more crap than you, but it is the lure of making a good find that keeps you going kind of like fishing, sure the finds put up make you think HOW do they do it, then you find something and your spirit is lifted once again. So keep try'n dude there is something waiting for you to discover.
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Turtle		Posted : Tuesday, 12 March 2013 2:57:59 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 12/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 11 Location: Auckland Was thanked: 2 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Ahi, I'm also new, but am having fun guessing whether I'm about to dig up a piece of foil, metal or Other junk. I've found a few coins, a gold ring and lots of junk. Comments about "that's not very lucrative" actually annoy me, as, to me, there is more to life than money. It would be nice to find a fortune, but I love walking slowly along the beach, listening to people chatting away, watching boats in the harbour, and cleaning up some junk as I go. It's my relax time, with no pressure, which seems odd as there is always pressure in everything I do.

Metal Kiwi		Posted : Tuesday, 12 March 2013 3:19:33 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/06/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,210 Location: Auckland Thanks: 498 times Was thanked: 484 time(s) in 322 post(s)		Comments about "that's not very lucrative" actually annoy me, as, to me, there is more to life than money. It would be nice to find a fortune, but I love walking slowly along the beach, listening to people chatting away, watching boats in the harbour, and cleaning up some junk as I go. It's my relax time, with no pressure. Ditto that bit. And dont forget the antics of the dogs exercising on the beach early morning. :-) MK
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Shilo		Posted : Tuesday, 12 March 2013 3:39:58 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 29/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 573 Location: Kawhia Thanks: 17 times Was thanked: 285 time(s) in 185 post(s)		Originally Posted by: ShoreScot I'm just curious - my first fortnight of detecting has hardly yielded a treasure trove. In general, are any of you prepared to say what your ratio of 'crap' to good finds is? Its always a compromise. If you discriminate a lot and only dig the good signals you can cut the amount of junk by an enormous amount but you will also cut down on the amount of good finds. Likewise you can dig all and end up huge amount of junk but can also be confident that you have recovered all the good targets your coil went over. How much junk I dig depends on the area - if the place is trashy I discriminate and risk missing good targets for the sake of time, if its fairly clean then I dig all. So I could not say a ratio since its location dependent. Beaches are fairly clean and when hitting the sand I will only ignore iron signals but doing parks around picnic tables and BBQ's I'm only interested in high tones. Exception to this is if I plan on hitting a place over and over again, then I will dig up all the junk targets so I can unmask any of the good stuff under them. A person would be foolish to only detect for the $ here in NZ, its one of those rare hobbies that pays for itself but the profit margin is very slim. I hunt for the buzz of the find and to spend outdoor time in some fantastic places!
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creamer		Posted : Thursday, 14 March 2013 8:01:04 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 19/06/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,022 Location: Bay of Islands Thanks: 2289 times Was thanked: 525 time(s) in 391 post(s)		The junk to treasure ratio differs from spot to spot. Me, i dig everything bar the iron signals unless the ground is so trashy then i may use the jewellery setting. Here is a pic of unusable junk. Note the round bits on the edge. Some of them may have been rings but werent. Sortable leftovers lying on garage floor. .
		Garrett Ace 350 Xpointer www.nzfossickers.co.nz
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andy		Posted : Thursday, 14 March 2013 8:13:01 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 13/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 471 Location: ngongotaha rotorua Thanks: 70 times Was thanked: 88 time(s) in 72 post(s)		looks like some good copper scrap in that lot!
		ATpro ACE250 GC1010 teknetics Eurotek Pro

creamer		Posted : Thursday, 14 March 2013 9:17:27 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 19/06/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,022 Location: Bay of Islands Thanks: 2289 times Was thanked: 525 time(s) in 391 post(s)		Most of the goodies have been removed. Got about 30-40 kilos of lead/sinkers. This is only a bit of what ive found, not sure where the rest went. .
		Garrett Ace 350 Xpointer www.nzfossickers.co.nz
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andy		Posted : Thursday, 14 March 2013 9:52:32 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 13/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 471 Location: ngongotaha rotorua Thanks: 70 times Was thanked: 88 time(s) in 72 post(s)		i wish id kept all my scrap from when i was detecting a dairy farm i was living on i must have dug up hundreds of kg's of copper and literaly tons of old iron fron old farming equipment.found some good stuff on that place.
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AUcoinshooter		Posted : Sunday, 17 March 2013 3:48:57 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 9/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 8 Location: lakes entrance vic Thanks: 1 times		dig them pull tabs thats the gold. ive seen gold soverins pulled out just after someone else has gone over the same spot just because they discriminated out or couldn't be bothered digging a pull tab.
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