Do you consider gold detecting profitable?

[Oye]

Do you guys earn enough to live on it or is it more just a hobby?

Of course it varies, but overrall is it less, the same, more or even a lot more profitable than an average job with average pay?


On a scale from 1-10 where 1 is max easy and 10 is max hard, how hard do you consider this activity/hobby or job?

 

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[Ausgoldhunter]

I find it amusing when I hear that all the easy gold has been found. Does that mean that latter era prospectors have covered ALL areas, every square foot of it? Impossible! I've been gold prospecting for 32 years and covered the well traveled and the remote areas of the 11 western states, and have found gold, large and small. I have found gold in areas where it wasn't supposed to be, and even in the "worked out" areas. I have found gold with the simplest detectors and the most complicated. I say all this to encourage anyone to not give up, but to do your research and use your gut feelings. Is it easy? It all depends on where you're at. I live near the gold zone of Colorado and that's easy gold. I've been to mountain-tops and that's not so easy gold. Good luck and HH, Ken

Maybe what we should have said was, (Its doable)

That said I won't change my answer, detector prospecting is not easy. But the words EASY/HARD are the wrong ones to be used here, numbering it is pointless too.

As stated above a little research to put yourself in the right place, will take things from a 10 to an 9.5... (You still have to put the coil over gold)

I spent my weekend in the Inglewood area VIC Aus in the Bendigo area, well known rich gold fields.... Came home with 5 nice little nuggets... Totaling 2.94 grams.. 2 days over 20 hours of hunting..
Walked a good 10-12km.. ( 5 nuggets were found by myself and my wife, with GP Series detectors, aided by a Whites GMT on 5 of the very small targets

So, in total about $138... @ current Aus gold price..

Not much of a living, considering I spent over $250 on fuel, food etc.. (New Nugget Finder 12" Round Mono coil) left mine at home, 800km drive back to get it so $390 for that

All the above aside..

I don't do it to make a living, I do it because I love being out on the gold fields, I get to see parts of the country most will never see or enjoy..
I enjoy it even more so because my wife is as avid a detector prospector as I am.. (She has a better Minelab than I do)

Anyway...

GL all, have fun!

 

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[trinityau]

Hello guys, I have to go with Ken on this one. Are we talking about someone with no experience just picking up a unit and walking outdoors just like when Minelab's first came out? When that happened yes it was very easy and the easy areas did get worked out. With the early Minelabs it was, buy it, unpack it, put together and find someone to just show you a place. This is not prospecting.

Now, are we talking about an individual who does his research,gets on the ground, learns the geology, puts his nose in the dirt for little or no return until something clicks and then memories start coming back with pieces going together and before you know gold starts showing up? This is not an easy hobby as you are learning all the time. I will be turning sixty next time around and I have been mining all my life and I still don't and never will compare myself to any of my uncles and some close friends that were prospectors all the way into their nineties and two of them over a hundred.You learn lots of things throughout your life, unfortunately you don't put much of it together till it is too late.

What does this have to do as to whether or not you can make a few pennies over the cost of this hobby? Research, learn,have a change of attitude, get away sometimes from books and technology and see what is in front of your face. Maybe I been lucky detecting but I like to think my luck has something to do with my approach, willingness to change, and go get it attitude along with trying to learn about a subject till you are blue in the face. Nothing wrong with knowing a few things others dont. I know several people that are making a damn good living detecting for gold. In our times of government interference and just plain nosy people it does nothing to let others know how you may be doing. This is one reason you do not hear much about professional hunters, however there are still some around.

Anyone who has met me knows that I am on the odd side much of the time. Just my character, my answer to the original question is a yes. I am still making finds but I don't make it as public any more for the above reasons. Do I keep my gold at the house? NO, Do I keep guns at the house? YES and after 22 years in the military I kind of have an general idea on how to use them.

On a final note, for the younger guys, there is still plenty of gold at lots of locations. There still many large finds to be had. There are plenty of patches still out there. Some older guys are stuck in the past of what was, thats just that, PAST. Make your own waves. I know a kid in my area that was working a spot that I had worked years ago. I left off on it because the gold had faded to tiny crumbs. He found it and opened it up and persued it for a few more feet. The dying pocket turned orange and pink and the clay seam narrowed down and began to throw gold again, lots of gold, a pound and a half of gold. This was in an area where if you looked to the right there was a house, to the left another house. The ground was unclaimed BLM land, a one and a half acre lot. Almost a hundred thousand people within a mile. You tell me... TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Hard Prospector]

Words of experience and wisdom, much appreciated thanks Ray.

 

[goldchaser3]

Well I don't know enough about the electronics to say with any level of confidence, but as someone working in the technology area I have to believe that the answer lies in software. Someone has to write a lot of code that can analyze all parts of the signals coming back to the machine and be able to tell what is noise and what isn't. I have to believe that if you were to really break the signals down into micro segments and analyze the wave forms/shapes, that you could determine the source. But it would take a huge amount of time and effort and testing to get it right. I don't think you could sell enough detectors to pay for it. I have to believe that's what Minelab is doing. Their high-end machines have an amazing complexity built in. I think I'd like to get one just to force myself to learn more about detector technology and capabilities. The manual can be downloaded. It's impressive. They do have large/heavy batteries, at this time. I have to believe that processors are available that are lower-energy and faster, that will be incorporated into the next generation machines. Eventually.
As to the topic at hand..... a 10.

 

[Hard Prospector]

I believe gold detectors are a very small part of the business model for most of these companies now, especially the ones in the U.S. Most technology development has been where the real profits are; advanced metal detection security systems for airports, govt. buildings, schools, and military etc. I seriously doubt that it will change soon especially with the stock market surging up and the price of gold falling like a sled in a snow storm.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Oye… if my silver finds were sold… and many are multi-pound specimens worth well into the four figure category even at current prices… the bottom line would show a tidy profit beyond the expenses associated with equipment, travel and lodgings averaged for each prospecting season over many years. But that profit margin is insignificant compared to the annual financial resources needed to pay for and support a household, raise a family and contribute to the children’s educational expenses, replace vehicles on a reasonable basis, contribute to both a savings and retirement fund, plus all the other countless incidental expenses that occur over a lifetime.

On the other hand… if you take the view that electronic prospecting is no different from other hobbies…wildlife photography for example… then any saleable mineral finds could be considered as an extra source of income, although perhaps not on a profit basis when you tally up the balance sheet. At least until such time as your sales surpass your expenses.

Some guys evidently can prospect with a metal detector and meet their expenses… food, shelter, clothing and transportation, etc. Some people can earn a living doing a high wire act, but neither scenario applies to most of us.

For the expensive reasons listed above… it would be imprudent for most electronic prospecting participants to consider it as anything other than strictly a hobby. The very thought of supporting my very ordinary middle class lifestyle with a metal detector is well beyond the realm of rational discussion.

Jim.

 

[TerryC]

For me, metal detecting for gold is EASY... #1! Oh, but wait... I guess that's why I've only found one nugget with the GB2... I'm not TRYING hard enough! TTC

 

[Zig-Zag]

Even in the small mountain range that I'm near, there must be a few hard-to-reach gold-laden washes that have never seen a coil. White's and Garrett are both releasing new PIs this fall. Can't wait to get out and swing new tech at the end of the year.

I ride a dirt bike up some perilous trails but only spend $6 on gas and $20 on food per 3-day trip. Money burns, gold lasts forever.

 

[Goldwasher]

I keep hearing every season that there are new detectors coming out then the seasons change and low and behold...no new detectors...where does this info come from?

 

[Zig-Zag]

A guy said that a guy that works at Garrett said... got my fingers crossed, they are overdue.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

A guy said that a guy that works at Garrett said... got my fingers crossed, they are overdue.

Sure hope so Zig-Zag... we've been hearing more than the usual rumors lately about Garrett. Sure would be nice to see some meaningful updates to the Infinium for prospecting. Maybe even an entirely new unit... but it's kinda like heaven and hell... I'll believe it when I see it.

Jim.

 

[63bkpkr]

Jim, which one do you expect to see? Just curious...................Herb

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Jim, which one do you expect to see? Just curious...................Herb

Ha ha!!! Well Herb... it was a deep-seated thought at the back of my mind that unexpectedly surfaced when making that remark. I don't have an answer and doubt anyone can say for sure. Jesus explained to his disciples that (at least up to that time) no man had ever ascended to heaven... which left me wondering about what happened to Elijah.

Meanwhile, somewhere... I believe in one of Paul's books, its been awhile since I studied those... but I think maybe it was either Romans or Corinthians... it is explained that death is the price of sin... the slate gets wiped clean... and everyone in God's memory gets a resurrection. It does seem a bit confusing to me... and this is not a discussion that I want to encourage here other than to answer your question.

So... I decided to retain my strong belief in God, and in Jesus, but leave off trying to interpret things I can't understand fully... and be content with the idea that what will be... will be. I take it as an axiom that the bible gives us enough information to have faith... but not so much that we don't need faith. Hence that philosophical remark above.

 

[augoldminer]

i took $200,000 out of a underground hard rock mine with metal detectors. but it was very hard work drilling blasting and moving rock to get it.

 

[Hoser John]

LEARN TO LOVE THE ONE YOUR WITH-blue sky and bs is cheap but new high falutn' units are NOT at $5,000-$20,000. It's not the current units as there will never be a perfect unit that finds,digs and cleans for ya-it takes WORK AND DETERMINATION to have some good finds. Make a living hahahaha as NEVER met a single soul who wasn't working,on SS,disability,on a pension or a bumb who "made" a livn' with a detector alone-John

 

[2cmorau]

thought i would put my two cents in, LOL I don't make a livin at it, but it has paid for the detectors, Gas, Food, and like the others just being out there has it's own rewards, every now n then you hit a patch or a pocket, John Huston dance comes out of nowhere. I still have the cons to go through from the dry washer. I don't know of another hobby that pays at an amature level
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/366434-fraud-cdfw-no-supervision-employees.html

LMSAO Hefty, Hoser i agree, this S@#% is gettin old
so i spent a couple of hours detecting and drywashin this morning, five mins after getting there found this little guy so i set up the drywasher​

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[Hoser John]

A mans gotta do what a mans gotta do to provide shelter,food and security for his loved ones,government be damed-John

 

[Gravelwasher]

I would have to say its a tough thing to find au with a detector. Like some other people have stated the gold is getting smaller and smaller with more and more detectors out and about. Almost all the places I have prospected would have had gold had it not been for the previous detectors. Nothing like talking with local gold hunters and have em tell you, oh ya that spot was real good took a lot of au out but its picked over now. So for the weekend person to find a spot the weekly prospector has not gone is tough. Not to say its not a blast to detect for gold its just that you will strike out more with a detector than with a gold pan or sluice. Happy hunting!!

 

[Fullpan]

I would have to say its a tough thing to find au with a detector. Like some other people have stated the gold is getting smaller and smaller with more and more detectors out and about. Almost all the places I have prospected would have had gold had it not been for the previous detectors. Nothing like talking with local gold hunters and have em tell you, oh ya that spot was real good took a lot of au out but its picked over now. So for the weekend person to find a spot the weekly prospector has not gone is tough. Not to say its not a blast to detect for gold its just that you will strike out more with a detector than with a gold pan or sluice. Happy hunting!!

I can't help but think there's still a lot of bedrock out there that hasn't been beeped. If you watch this rafting video on SF American and just concentrate on
the miles of bedrock flowing past, you will see what I mean:

 

[Missouri Mule]

I knew a guy back in the 90's that would head to the Colorado gold mine areas in the spring and after about a month was able to come up with enough gold to fund a trip to Florida to to hunt its beaches. He was able to fund his summer detecting adventures that way. He mostly broke even, but this was not his major source of income.