The Prez Sez:

FEBRUARY 2012

Bagging An Elephant With A Peashooter

     On the forums I am known as Micro Nugget. There is a reason I chose that moniker. Since getting my first gold machine in 1995 [an original Fisher Gold Bug purchased brand new from a dealer in Downieville] I’ve metal detected over a thousand natural gold nuggets, not a single one of them over two pennyweights. Most of my finds have been in the sub-gram range and many were so small that they would fit through a #12 classifier, but not through a #20. I began to refer to these as micro nuggets [see my ICMJ article in the May & June 2005 issues]. My two smallest detected pieces actually passed through a #20 classifier and did not even register when weighed on my highest quality digital scale [which is accurate to within one one-hundredth of a gram].

     Jim Straight has scolded me for using that term. “There’s no such thing as a micro nugget, Martin!” Jim, of course, is “old school” having attended the Mackay School of Mines in Reno before many of us were born. There, he was taught that a “nugget” is a natural piece of gold that will not pass through a #10 screen. Smaller stuff is referred to as “flour,” “fines” or “flakes”, but never dignified with the term “nugget”. But, dang it Jim, I just take great pleasure in being able to tease those itty-bitties out of the ground.

     My weapons of choice for bagging micro nuggets are the Fisher Gold Bug 2 and the Fisher Gold Bug Pro [I long ago donated my original Gold Bug to a PCSC fundraiser], mere peashooters when compared to the heavy artillery PI machines. For hunting elephants, you need an elephant gun – right? So, of course, in addition to four GB2s and one GBPro I also pack a Minelab GPX4500 and a GPX5000 [it saves precious time otherwise devoted to changing coils in the field and they each use the same type battery]. And those coils are BIG. The idea is that in heavily hammered goldfields [like our Red Chispa Claim or the Clark Claim], you need to punch down deep to where the lunkers still lurk.

     But, guess what? My heavy artillery never has found anything larger than two pennyweights either and I purchased my first GP Extreme in 2002! For certain, I have detected one gramers and one pennyweighters with the Extreme, the 4500 and the 5000 12 to 14 inches deep [way beyond GB2 range]. Counter-intuitively, I have recovered tiny one-tenth gram pieces with both the 4500 and 5000, but NO ELEPHANTS. Not until January 28th anyway – the day I bagged my elephant with a peashooter.

     Why, you may ask, was I using the peashooter? Simplicity is the reason. The major drawback of a PI unit is the cumbersomeness of getting it on and off. On January 28th I was driving about, stopping here and there. No time to diddle. My trusty GB2 named “Unit C” had fresh batteries. All I had to do was reach into the rear of my truck, strap on my pouch and rock pick, grab Unit C and commence scanning new ground.

     Fifteen feet from the edge of the jeep trail I got the kind of ear jolting overload signal typical of a buried beer can. The soil was soft and sandy. I was certain this would be just another piece of junk. Perhaps others previously had thought the same. Maybe that’s why Mister Elephant still was there – no more than two inches deep. As soon as I hefted him I realized this was no beer can signal. Not a speck of color was visible. It looked like maybe a hunk of old slag – kinda damp and rusty and coated in ancient, mineralized clay. So I spit and rubbed on an edge. Even then no color showed.

     “Damned polarized sunglasses,” I grumbled internally as I ripped them away. Ahhhh… Now, with the aid of bright sunlight and more spit, I could begin to make out heavily coated ribbons of a yellow metallic color trying to reflect up through the crust of mineralization that still clung to that naughty nugget like one of Madonna’s skimpy dresses. At that point I realized I had bagged my first elephant with nothing more than a peashooter.

     One of the coveted rights of passage for a natural gold metal detectorist [or any gold prospector for that matter] is to become a member of the “Ouncer Club”. The qualification for membership is recovery of a natural gold nugget of one troy ounce or more. Mine weighs in at 34.6 grams. That would be 3.5 grams more than one troy ounce. Am I now going to hang up my detectors? Absolutely not! There are those who do not consider anything less than one troy pound worthy of elephant nugget status. There are others who might scoff at my January 28th find as a “pigmy elephant” or criticize the fact that some of the material is stone. Perhaps an even more rarified membership would be in the Kilo Club. But I draw a critical distinction between being an accomplished detectorist and an obsessed detectorist. I may choose to continue sniffing after elephant spore, but I primarily enjoy the hunt as an end in itself -- even if it just is with one of my peashooters, casually probing the limits of “how low can I go?”

Martin Milas, PCSC President

JANUARY 2012

PCSC Invited to Partner With Minelab:

     On the weekend of May 19th and 20th Minelab Americas, Inc. is putting on a huge “Customer Appreciation Event”. PCSC has been invited to be in charge of overseeing the special gold panning competition. Minelab will provide the venue, the food, the entertainment and the prizes. PCSC would provide club members who would set up the panning competition, register participants, referee the competition and judge the contests. A few other clubs will oversee other activities such as coin hunts or prospecting related games.

     Anyone is welcome to attend as a spectator. You do not need to have a Minelab detector. There will be hunts, games and activities for everyone in our hobby. Participating PCSC club members will get an “extra goodie” in their prize bag plus TWO raffle entries instead of only one for the spectator public. The prizes will include 2 brand new GPX5000, 2 X-Terra Gold and 2 Excalibur metal detectors PLUS eligibility for a surprise raffle. Additionally, participating clubs will be placed on Minelab’s annual “donation list”, i.e., the donation of a prize such as an X-Terra detector will be made for a PCSC fundraiser.

     I attended the initial organizational meeting on behalf of PCSC December19th in Anaheim. This will be an exciting adventure with opportunities to walk away with some of the finest detectors known to man. The site will be on the private grounds of the Starr Ranch near Anaheim. Simultaneously, three similar Minelab Customer Appreciation events will take place in other geographic regions of North America.

     The event affords an opportunity to showcase our elite Crime Scene Search Unit, as well as other features of our club. More details will be forthcoming, as they become known. Meanwhile, keep the dates open. It is the weekend immediately following our May 2012 meeting. Those who would like to get in on the ground floor by participating should contact me at mhmilas@yahoo.com.

Martin H. Milas, PCSC President