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Well not exactly a big welcome back to the gold but the Monster did not disappoint! My first trip back out since my knee injury and 2 hours was enough. Oh ... Almost forgot ... the nugget was a whopping 0.24 grains! LOL! Paid for the gas to get out of the driveway but that is about it! Bigger and better next time!

Here’s a few little guys to look at. The ones on the coil were found in an old patch with the 6000 was surprised because I had worked it with a gm 1000,gpx 5000 and a gpz 7000 . Was very happy with the 6000 did pretty good for its first time out. Now all’s I need is an extra battery and my cover to get in from docs. stephen,

Ok there are a lot of wierd comments in this big ol write up! If you are running discrimination while you are hunting nuggets, i want to follow you with my " Cutting edge, overpriced" GPX5000 or my even my GoldBug2. Like most great detector prospectors on here, i have found nuggets that one detector will find and the other will not! And vise versa! Everyone here knows thats why, if you can afford it, then you own at least 2 different styles of detector, a PI and a VLF. And to be honest with you, if my detector wasn't picking up the tiniest of fly dookie sized metal, i would be worried!! All detectors pick up METAL TRASH. There is no getting around it! For one it keeps me from getting bored and for two, you know if you are banging the tiny metal trash, you know there is still a nugget there in that patch. Its been proven. As far as the benches in California being "too deep", i have friends over there that are banging nuggets on the benches every weekend with all sorts of different machines. Anything from the old GP Extreme all the way up to the 7000. And everything in between!!! And for the sake of saving the question being asked on the detectors i have, i run a GoldBug2, GPX5000 and a Equinox. Every detector i have has a purpose on different gold!

The last couple of week have produced a couple of nice gold jewelry finds. One is a nice wedding ring with diamonds and the other that I found yesterday is a 13.6 g gold chain.

She got belligerent and foul-mouthed when told to stop posting rubbish/non-proven "facts" (her facts) so she was Banned, all of her posts are still here only hidden from members's view, we do this so other staff members can see what transpired and as an example of what to look out for from some members who may be in their own little world. We can un-hide them if we get bored and need some entertaining reading!

I was in the hospital for 6 days in Feb 2020 and I havent been the same since-so with all this covid crap going around getting treatment for other things has been slow going-hopefully after next month I might be able to get out and do something once again

I haven't been out in the hills too often lately, what with working lots of overtime at my summer job, road and area closures due to forest fires and such; in fact, I can still count on one hand the number of outings with the new GPX 6000, and only a few hours each time at that. Pictured above is what I have found so far, just going over spots I have thoroughly gridded with previous ML PIs, the GPZ 7000, Nox, GM 1000, and couldn't find any more targets. 5.2 grams total. It's what I have come to expect from Minelab over the years: new technology + old patch = more gold.

89 year old Ron Chester was stopped by the police around 2 a.m. and was asked where he was going at that time of night.Ron replied, "I'm on my way to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body, as well as smoking and staying out late."The officer asked, "Really? Who's giving that lecture at this time of night?"Ron replied, "That would be my wife.

Never quench your detector in water or any other liquids

I bought a 1969 FJ-40 about 20 years ago. I restored it and gave it to my son. A few years later he traded me for a 1976 that I had. I sold the '69 for $23k. I paid $3500 for it. I had a couple of the FJ-55 Iron Pigs. They ran excellent but the rust had completely destroyed them. I sold them for $6000 each. I have owned seven Toyota FJ series LandCruisers. I have sold every one for much more than I paid for them. They are super solid and easy to work on. My old standby has been my favorite ride for 36 years. It is a 1976. It has over 650,000 miles on it and runs like a top. I take it out all the time. There is almost nothing it won't do. I'm going to restore it again this fall. I completely restored it 25 years ago. Took it off the frame and replaced every moving part. Since then I have bounced it off of every rock in New Mexico. It has outlasted two new pickups and a couple Jeeps. When the forces of nature have weathered the mountains to dust I will drive my Landcruiser in the flats.

I've been detecting since I got out of the Army in 1976. I know a little bit about detecting gold in Arizona, and I know enough about Bill Southern, to listen when he speaks. If Bill says the new 6000 is his go to machine for nuggets, then 'nuff said.

Excellent topic Suelo! I'm a big fan of good old fashioned water. But milk or juice is great as long as it is not your primary source of liquids. I like a beer once in a while but I never use it as a quench. I always quench before I drink a beer and then make sure to quench after. And when drinking any alcoholic beverage I quench with pure water and not something sugary. Some of the new quenches have a sugar substitute that does not sit well with me. I tried a popular flavored water thinking that because it was clear it would make a good quench. I liked the taste and used it for quenching on a long hike one summer. My stomach tightened up like an anaconda and I began crapping pellets as dense as pallasites. I haven't quenched with that crap since. So quenches are very important. Especially for outdoorsmen who are working hard. My opinion is you should quench with water and limit any other liquid to small amounts. And natural liquids such as milk, juice or vegetable drinks are much better quenches than any prepared drink. Horchata is a great drink for quenching. It is basically ground rice steeped in water and flavored with nutmeg and a shot of canned milk. You can add some brown sugar or molasses if you like. It is the only recipe I would consider a good quench. Horchata is a Mexican quench using rice. But a buddy of mine from Tobago makes a quench out of seaweed called "Irish Moss". It is almost like horchata flavored with a little peanut butter. Both are excellent quenches that are delicious and nutritious. So quench early and quench often. It is very important for every prospector!

Ive always liked the FJ but not practical for me instead I have a 2nd gen 4 door Tacoma Trd sport-its always gotton me from point A to point B with no issues at all very dependable (knock on wood) and they hold their value quite well-Max enjoy your new toy PS- Forgot to add-Max your going to have to rename your FJ-seems Pepe La Pew has been deemed in the same category as Dr Seuss amd Mr Potato head

It did well Mike and the 17 inch coil seems to not have any major EMI issues at least at LSD. Just to much brush and shallow where I hunt so went back to the 11 until in an area I need a big azz coil like gold basin or Quartzsite etc.

Got to try the 17 inch coil on the 6000 today for about 20 minutes before it started pouring down rain. Very stable and lighter weight than expected and it hears test targets I had very well at depth…. More to come….

That's a great specimen Bill. Well done. Can't wait for doctor to release me to do more outside ... aka desert walking. Been able to walk about a mile on the flat lately without lots of knee pain so doctor says August 1 I can do short 'over-land' walks. For me that means I get to swing my Monster again!!

Haven't had the time to prospect since early spring as I’ve been bringing a family member to distant 3-hr appointments 5 days a week. So instead of waiting in the car for them to finish, I’ve taken to coin shooting for the first time and doing in-depth learning exercises with using my Nox. Trying to make the best of my idle time and am learning and doing something new. Hope you can do it soon, it has been surprisingly fun and rewarding!

Indigo, does your "raw platinum ore" look like this?

Sorry, but you are wrong. Judging something before trying it is like saying a duck can not swim without seeing it. I have simply told as well as showed my experiences so far and no one is forcing you to try or purchase one. If you owned one and were saying the same I may be paying attention, but.... Anyway it is cheaper than a bass boat. I have now found over 30 nuggets in the few weeks I have owned this detector and most are from areas worked with the machines you mentioned as well as other PI detectors and the gold was still there! But now it is mine and a couple are pretty darn nice ones. The 6000 will hear gold the 7000 missed and there are plenty of Aussie and US users showing just that at YouTube and elsewhere if you take the time to look. In the mid and small nugget range the 6000 hears what the GPZ 7000 could not and yes I own both and know this by experience. Discrimination on a PI is not doable with any accuracy on a PI detector and that is why it is not on this one or the 7000 due to the technology, they had a sort of discrimination on some early Minelab PIs but it was just a breaking threshold type and was not reliable and even discrimination on a VLF can cost you nuggets if using it while hunting. Cheers and good hunting, Bill

Don't have a care of what She says today, It's your day bro. You only get one a year make the best of it. Old Tom

Hello All, I have now owned a Minelab GPX 6000 for about 3 weeks or so and my opinion on this light weight PI detector is I think it is another game changer from Minelab, but then we are used to that. I am literally pulling nuggets out of flogged patches as well as hitting some in new areas (to me anyway) It is just fun to be able to get out and expect to score instead of hoping to score. See my videos at Nugget Shooter Journals section here at the forum or YouTube to see it as I learned to use it as well as my finds. Yep all the older and other gold detectors out there will still find gold, but this one my friends is simply amazing. It takes a little patience when first learning to keep it stable, but like any other PI the right combination of sensitivity and ground settings make it purr like a kitten. Yep the price is 6000, but the detector does what Minelab says and that makes it worth it to me and many others buying this "new deeper beeper" to quote a friend. Feel free to ask any questions about it in this thread, yeah I am a dealer so some say my opinion does not count, so ask the folks that have bought one and they will tell you the same. This is now my go to detector when I am gold nugget hunting and it still blows me away that I can hear tiny pickers like the Gold Monster, but deeper and also hear large stuff at the same or better depth that one would expect from a Pulse Induction detector. The best part is way less hot rocks are heard with this detector than previous PI detectors I have owned. Simply my honest opinion dealer or not, this new GPX 6000 is a serious game changer for those serious about nugget shooting and after all it is cheaper than a bass boat Oh and I currently have some in stock (Thursday) with no waiting time, 623-910-0345

I have been collecting fish fossils and I find it really rewarding and now I love Metaldetecting . I love that gold. This is my sons find! The little Knightas fish I make into jewelry. This is called the Green River formation and is way on top of a mountain near the town of Kimmerer, Wy.

Honestly, I’m thinking crinoid stem pieces. I’ve zoomed in on the holes.

Holy crap, Billy...Been hunting that wash for 20 years ... Happy for you but bummed I can't get out there right now! WTG!

I love water!! When im deer and elk hunting i use Wilderness Athlete for hydration and recovery along with lots of goog ol water! Not a soda or beer drinker so i guess im kind of boring haha.

I do not believe it is petrified wood

$100 Is my bid.

Everything is stock. I have a Holley 2bbl. Carb, headers and a bit larger valves in ported heads but otherwise it is all factory. It's snappy. Off road it will really sling the dirt. It will pull 36" of snow with the tires all chained up. So it has enough power to do whatever you need off road. It will go 80-85 down the highway but it is foolish. I never drive it over about 60 mph. and that is pushing things. But it will accelerate as fast as you can shift through the gears. The Chevy V8 conversions are popular. So is the Buick V-6. I have always ran the stock 2F engine in all mine. The old 69 was an "F" engine that only made 100 h.p. but it still roared down the road pretty good. Mine is probably cranking out 135 h.p. with a pantload of torque. Honestly... I drive a 1998 Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 litre 6 cyl. and auto trans. It is a MUCH better 4WD than the Land cruiser. But it isn't nearly as cool. It climbs better, is faster, gets better mileage and is INFINITELY more comfortable than the FJ-40. Safer too. But the old loyal Toyota has always been my favorite ride

Slowly getting restarted into prospecting. Started with a cherry 2010 FJ Cruiser that was a daily driver and had never been off-roaded ( until me ). Had it checked out by my favorite mechanic who is an old Toyota man and he said it needed nothing , no codes no defects , just the factory recall for airbags most have. I have had an still have a Sienna Van , one of which I used in my former business escorting oversize trucks nationwide + Canada accumulating over 600 K miles and was going strong when I sold it to another escort business in 2008 having went through many tires and windshields and one timing belt. I have had two Tacoma,s , both I used in Baja when I lived there for 15 years off and on. Sold the first one to a guy who wanted it bad , brush marks and all from off-roading all over Baja Gold Prospecting and following the Baja 1000 races. Missed it so much went and bought a brand new one, never had a problem with either other than tearing off the rear bumpers. The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a more serious off road vehicle , I have tested it locally and it will go places and do things I won't attempt. It has an inclinometer built in and I have already accidently got it to the point that if you stuck your arm and hand out the window you could feel it was at the balance point. It came with full time 2 or 4 wheel drive , rear locker, high and low 4wd, Rear camera , Sonar Backup alarms, ARM ?, tow hitch, socket wired and ready, ABS ? , Smittybilt 10000 LB winch in a Warn bumper, roof rack , TRD alloy wheels w/ BFG Baja specials on 265/16/LTs, AC 400 watts, Subwoofer, Am/FM/Tape/Sat./48" LED light bar. I changed the 3/8 " steel cable on the winch to 100 " of synthetic rope with twice the breaking strength of the steel and it has no stored kinetic energy. My first good deed with it was to winch a Razor 100 back up to the road after it had skidded off into a canyon and overturned. That man had his helmet on and the Razor had its spare mounted on top of a good roll bar or it would have been a body recovery. I am ready to move boulders! Anybody on the Forum have one ? I see 3 of them around Wickenburg but have not been able to meet them yet , one is Tan , One is Yellow, One is blue, mine is black w/white top , Daughter named it "Pepe La Pew' Thoughts , remarks ? Max Gilaoro2 ,

He’s fairly new to relic hunting, but Robertson says it’s been just as fun as duck hunting.

Looks like GOTAU finally got a GOOD prospecting rig ! Anyone who reads this forum knows my history with Toyota's and Samurais and Geo Trackers and yes Killer jeeps! Maybe I didn't post the story about my jeep? When I still lived in Morristown I acquired a little jeep, don't even know the specs but it was old and had the single front seat and small bed , no top. I still had the group of claims including "Fault Intersect" which the west edge bordered the old stage road and has a nice wash the full length. Testing it out I found a stretch down off the road and in a deep drop spot . I drove the jeep down the hill and parked with the front wheels on the edge of the wash since I was using my self built copy of a Beck Drywasher with a 12 volt motor it was convenient too use the Jeep battery. About the second day still by myself I was in the gold from deep cracks in the bottom of the wash after getting all the other stuff out of the way my Vac would get most of the deep cracks and a little hammer and bar work would open them to the rest, all pickers and a couple of near gram size , I was feeling good! Working just about head high to the bumper with 2- 12 volt clip on wires to power the stuff I felt I did not have a good connection to the dry washer so reaching up I wiggled the wires to the battery and they jumped off and and instantly shorted something the engine started and here came the Jeep down into the wash with me ! If you have ever had the feeling that you are going to die and alone at that you know what went through my mind! The only thing that saved me was that I had the full length off the dry washer between me and the jeep and was facing it. I pushed back as hard as I could and as it came down and forward it tilted on to the dry washer raising me a little bit up the other wall. The jeep had a tendency to flood and it died just as the 4 wheel drive as starting to dig in the front. I was able to wiggle up and out off behind my dry washer which was folded in half! This was the second time one of my 4X4"s tried to run over me! If you have any ideal of how hard it was to find and assemble a BECK from his original parts and wood you would cry with me. Charlie Salwasser in Randsburg had bought Beck's building and a all the parts and let me use his shop and built it , the bearings were WW-2 surplus aircraft , the wood was solid Maple from old bowling alleys , they were Hand cranked but I put a gasoline motor on mine on my later copys I put 12 volts. The original I had assembled right from Becks shop and used his original red paint on it . I later succumbed to an offer from two guys at Stanton for 4 brand new Mine Labs in the boxes unopened. regret it every since! I have made several copies but the originals sell for many peso's. Max

Those are great vehicles, I really thought about getting one as I love the FJ series, especially the classic FJ40’s. I opted for a truck though for camping and hauling more gear and bought a Tacoma instead. I really like it, but get sad when I see a nicely equipped FJ Cruiser or an older one go by. It’s too bad they stopped making those, Toyota now puts in a 4-wheel independent anti-slip system in their 4x4’s they call “crawl control” that is unbelievable how well it works for improving traction on slippery climbs and descents, and in soft sand and mud, having that as a backup to its good old fashioned stock rear lockers and limited slip differential is nice. Still, that FJ has a place in my heart for sure! Congratulations on finding a nice one Max! -Anthony

Hello folks thanks for the responses and trying to reach me. Still having a few problems from the Covid I had last year. My taste and smell has returned, lost 19 lbs, wasn't overweight to begin with so my weight loss is all in my muscles. Haven't heard of any more arrest of prospectors by the Federal Police since about last April or May. Most of the prospectors here have moved about 1,500 miles North. The gold buyer got out of jail but he opened a new shop but he doesn't buy gold any more. I need to visit him to see how much he wants for the GPX 6000. Bill will my GPX 4000 coils work on the GPX 6000? I have about 8 different coils. The little Joey mono is hard to beat on a worked out patch! Mac I didn't know you had returned to Brazil, are you staying or visiting. Stop by any time. My email is still the same: d.goldmartin@uol.com.br, cell phone: 55-62-8541-0545 that's my "whatsapp"number but it only works if I have a wi-fi connection.

Sold to a great customer! Thanks anonymous buyer!

OK, this is a warning, which shouldn't be necessary, there have been forum rules broken in this topic, it will stop, no more name calling, derogatory remarks or accusations towards other members! This is/was a classified ad but has turned into a discussion on platinum group metals and where they're being sourced but now needs to get back to only responses of interested parties. Everyone has already stated their beliefs and disbelief on this so lets leave it at that!! I will says that if you're interested in this ad do your own due diligence, the OP has offered a visit if you wish to his property for a first hand experience of what he's doing, so either take him up on that offer or not but otherwise any other members keep your comments respectable or don't comment at all!

Absolutely. It looks like flux. darn sure not like 15 grams of rhodium. I tell a tall tale about the Deming Kimberlite Pipes but I don't expect anyone to believe it. If they do the joke is on them. It is a story based in enough truth to fool only the fools. This is a story that is much the same. This guy is digesting scrap and pretending he is processing ore He has found. He is to Phelps Dodge as Walter White is to Phizer. It's dirty risky business that always leaves a trail of toxic crap. And most of it is probably regulated waste streams. What is produced has metal value but is hard to sell if you are not a permitted and legal processor. If you are permitted and legal you have a feedstock that has a paper trail and a buyer for your product. If you don't have a buyer you are probably not permitted nor have a feedstock that is legal. There are lots of guys trying to sell metals recovered from stolen and improperly disposed of converters. It's pretty common. A whole heck of a lot more common than any ore on earth that would yield 15 grams of rhodium from a backyard process. I was born at night. Just not last night. This isn't rhodium. It is concentrate from some attempt at processing scrap. There may be metal value in it or maybe not. All we can really be certain of is the guy is mucking around with just enough knowledge to make him dangerous. That and he injured his thumb tearing the skin off catalytic converters and crushing them. There are dozens more "how to" videos on how to smelt and recover the metal from these converters. I will bet a real gold nugget that our new friend is a big fan.

It looks like it needs another round in the crucible with more flux.

Side loading Paragon kilns are often available used -jewelry smiths use them for PMC clay and they have very good temperature controls.I procurred one from a studio that was going out of business for $350.

Hi All, Here is my recent specimen as well as a recent 1.8 gram nugget in closeup shots, they are just to cool not to share...

Hope you get to shoot some footage of a decent lump at depth with your 17”, Bill. Looking forward to patch hunting with one during next fall and winter’s desert prospecting season, if they’re available by then. Been there, Mike...nothing worse than having gold fever and cabin fever at the same time.

A very rough ingot, in other words. Not a nugget.

Needs to cool off up here for us northern chubby folks Bill!! Weve been 100 degrees for a while now. We aren't quite use to it being this hot for so many weeks. After it cools down i will head out.

I have dug several deep trash targets and showed a couple of them I think the 7000 will have the edge on large deep targets, but the 6000 hears small to medium nuggets much deeper than the 7000 in my experience so far. I am not hunting deep ground right now because it is just too hot to stray out very far, but will be in the Mother Load country with Chris Ralph in a few weeks. What do you mean by deep? I dug a .22 short slug at 18 inches and a shotgun slug at better than 20 inches, but I don’t carry a tape measure. Also lots of deep iron targets… I will post more as I go. Also I have a 17 inch mono coil that goes much deeper than the 11 inch and I will be using it more in the near future...

That's a cool little piece cut like that. Save some for a comparative collection. I think it's probably quartzite - metamorphized sandstone (partially melted) with the grainy texture still intact. If it was fully melted and glassy, it would have been obsidian. And as you found out, it is very hard and does not streak well. Don’t apologize for posting these, it's great practice for all of us geology students!

I've got two of the hardtops here. They are for sale. Rough ride but they will go anywhere except at speed on the freeway. More likely to go end over end than tip on their side so the soft top can be an adventure in a crash. Like Slim says the big thing to watch out for is rust. I has a friend lose the rusty body on his just going down the highway.

Your detector just doesen`t see those rocks. Be thankful for that ! ....Now you can get back to beepin .