Coiltek’s very own Trevor shares his experience at the Bendigo Gold Expo – and how it led to him finding his smallest-ever nugget.

Being a part of Coiltek for over 20 years now, I have seen (and held) many differently sized gold nuggets found with the coils we have produced in Adelaide, South Australia – ranging from some amazingly large pieces and incredible crystalline formations, to smaller nuggets in many unique patterns. But I have never personally found a gold nugget as small as my latest find!

We set off early one Friday morning for the Bendigo Gold Expo, which was a seven-and-a-half-hour drive from Adelaide, stopping a few times for a stretch before arriving at the showgrounds around 3pm to start setting up.

The show started on Saturday at 9am, and we had just finished our setup when the first attendees arrived and things kicked into gear! There were three of us on the Coiltek stand, and we were in good company located next to Minelab and Miners Den Bendigo. But at certain times we could have had five on the stall, as there were many interested people wanting to know more about our products. We had a selection of the Minelab Detectors with Coiltek coils attached, so it was easy to show people the look of the product and how it felt on the detecting shaft.

We had a great time chatting and helping people with their questions. There were certainly some amazing stories – especially with our new GOLDHAWK coils finding loads of nuggets in areas that were already searched. It always proves the point that one coil can’t find it all. In my opinion, you’re limiting your finds if you only swing with one coil.

The interest and support for Coiltek products always keeps me inspired, as I get the chance to talk with the detector operators who swing them, which provides invaluable information to help us develop new products.

I had a one-hour talk on Saturday afternoon which was well received, and there were many curious minds asking interesting questions about coils, how they work and what to expect when swinging with Coiltek. It was raining hard in the afternoon and we were thankful the stand was inside. While the weather may have kept a few people from attending, there was still a steady stream. From my understanding, 60% of attendees were new to industry or had just bought a detector or gold retrieval equipment – so there were lots of eager people ready to absorb information to assist them in the hunt for gold!

Sunday came and went fast, and again the people we met were super happy and enthusiastic. I also had the pleasure of meeting several people who are in the Coiltek Facebook Group. It’s always great to put a face to the name and talk about prospecting adventures, especially Coiltek-related stories. 

Congratulations to the winner of the GPX6000 detector drawn on Sunday afternoon. From what I heard she was a worthy recipient, as it will help her find some good gold! 

My colleagues and I were then faced with packing up and playing Tetris with the cabin on my 4WD, to fit everything back in for the trip home on Monday.

But before heading home, we decided to make a pitstop and go for a quick swing on the way home. And it’s a good thing we did!

I don’t get many chances to detect, since running Coiltek with my wife is a six-day job (we do need one day off!) So when the opportunity arises, I grab it and swing hard! We were both keen to snag a few pieces of Victorian gold, so the GPX6000 detectors were charged and ready to hit the ground first thing.

We travelled one-and-a-bit hours from Bendigo, reaching the recommended area where some nice small nuggets had been found, as well as a few multi gram pieces. I had the 10×5” GOLDHAWK and my friend had the 9” GOLDHAWK. After a short walk, we arrived at the old diggings. We found lots of shot, but I take that as a good sign as it meant the area wasn’t thrashed and somewhere there would be gold amongst the trash. 

My colleague hit the first bit with a crisp signal. “I got one!” he proclaimed and I ran over to see the nuggie and provide a congratulatory high five. Boosted by the find, a few minutes later I scored my own. And without a doubt, it was the smallest nugget I’ve ever found with a detector!

The Minelab GPX6000 with super sensitive 10×5” GOLDHAWK proved to me why this detector-coil combo is absolutely amazing at finding the tiny bits left behind. There have been many social media posts, emails and photos of the tiny nuggets they can find, but to witness it first-hand blew me away!

The target was bright and distinct, and I scraped about 1-2 inches of sticky soil from the surface. It was stuck in some red clay soil and accidentally dropped it from my scoop. But after picking it back up and rubbing the clay away, the tiniest round nugget was shining back at me. You beauty! 

We both found two bits each in around two hours’ detecting, and I reckon I took the prize for lightest weigh in – but we’ll never know because the nuggets didn’t even register on my 0.1 scales! My lowest weigh-in ever…but hey, it all adds up!

Trev @ Coiltek.