Tell us about yourself
Hi, I have always had an adventurous spirit and a love of discovering new things so when I found prospecting it certainly ticked a whole lot of boxes. The added bonus to finding gold is the rich history I am surrounded by whilst wandering in amongst old timers camps and old mining areas. I can really feel the hardships they would have gone through.
What interested/attracted you to buy your first metal detector?
I was transferred to Kalgoorlie in 1999 with work and always was curious about gold. My family had lived in Kalgoorlie back in the late 1890s and also had a shop in Boulder, so had some family history. I met an old prospector in the caravan park and he took me out prospecting one day with his SD2100. The first nugget I found was a 2.4 Gram clean nugget, shaped like a shark head. I found a handful of nuggets and was hooked. He let me use that detector until I had enough gold to buy a GP Extreme when they were release. I purchased it from Jack Lang.
When did you first use your Coiltek coil, and what was the experience like for you?
The SD2100 I was using had a 14″ terracotta DD coil and the first one I bought to use on my GP Extreme was a 17″ x 11″ DD Wallaby
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start metal detecting?
Don’t overthink it the “where to start?” question.
Get the right advice and do the work on the ground.
The key to finding gold in a gold area is to cover as much ground as thoroughly as you can.
Don’t expect to find gold straight away but be optimistic. You MUST be positive every time you go out.
Be observant in your surroundings and when you find a nugget take the time to look at the formations, vegetation and landfall. It will help you find more.
What has been your most significant experience or find to date?
There has been many, but I think the one that stands out was many years ago, very close to Kalgoorlie, finding a run of 2,3 and 4 ounce nuggets deep down using a GPX4500 and a 24″ “Big Red” coil, then following the run up the hill to eventually spotting a sunbaker weighing in at 11.6 ounces. Just sitting there waiting for me. I wish I had that now. I think I sold it for $12500, nowadays that nugget would be worth around $45000….. crazy, I wish I had not just done the math on that haha
Who or what inspired you to start detecting?
The old prospector at the caravan park I was staying at showed me some nuggets, as soon as I felt the weight I was hooked.
Please provide your social media handles: Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Facebook.
@finders_keepers_gold (instagram)
Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting (Facebook)
