hello there ;-)

[stoyve]

Gday everyone,
I'm the latest newbie to the forum and would like to introduce myself.
I am totally new to prospecting and have only gone panning once, and made my own sluce and have used it once, no luck just yet.
I moved to Ballarat last August but have been coming to the region for about 2 years exploring the tunnel's and mining area's of Enfield and Lal Lal. ( I just love the history )
Recently I bought an sd2000 detector and have found buttons, old iron and copper nails
and a 20 cent piece that was buried at about 4 inches down. ( no color as yet but always optimistic )
I look forward to meeting some of you around the hills when I'm out and about .
Cheers Stoyve.

[Ric]

Welcome to the group Stoyve

Take some time and read back through all the old posts. There is a huge amount of information which goes back many years and many of the long term members have been digging most of their lives.

There is no such thing as a silly question here so if you have a question please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck and enjoy.

[stoyve]

Thanks Ric,
I'm sure I will ask many a question as I'm so new to the game.
Thanks for the welcome and advice.
Cheers Stoyve :-)

[nugget893]

Hi Stoyve and welcome to the site mate. As to what Ric said "There is no such thing as a silly question" we were all newbies once. Go and buy your self a few John Tully maps of other Vic. Gold Fields. They will show you lots of good areas to check out. You can get them from E.E. Day & Sons at Ballarat. They are a Minelab Dealer and also sell Lawn mowers and chain saws. 822 Howitt St, Wendouree.
nugget893

[stoyve]

Thanks to everyone for there welcome and advice.
I have certainly been reading up on all the earlyer post and I'm very grateful for the knowledge and advice that is so freely offered on this amazing resource.
I hope that I can be of assistance to members one day.
Just to let you know, I have a keen interest in the mining history of the Ballarat region and for the last 2 years been searching and exploring old tunnels.
So far I'm up about 2 dozen, not including my most recent discovery.
I will be exploring that one when my two buddies are free in the next month.
Safety is always the priority and when needed I always use my abseiling gear.
When can work out how to put photos up I will show you some of the finds.
Thanks again all.
Cheers Stoyve