Salt Lakes
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The
inhospitable nature of the West Australian salt lakes has always been an obstacle to
prospectors.
Heat, wind, lack of fresh water and remoteness, all
hindered the old timers. Dampness of the ground due to closeness to the water table
made any form of mining or working of alluvial by dry blowing, very hard.
The first metal detectors were very difficult to use
on or near salt lakes due to mineralisation. .With the use of new technology in the
development of the Minelab Metal
Detectors, detecting on salt lakes and other highly mineralised ground has
been revolutionised. The past few years has seen a tremendous resurgence in prospecting
for gold due to these detectors.
The photo left was taken in December 1999 in W.A. It shows me with nuggets I just found on
a salt lake. For more pictures see my photo page. 
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The good thing about detecting on salt lakes is
that very little metal rubbish - except lead bullets - remains. Night detecting is easy
because there are few things to trip over ( although it can be very spooky
on your own!).
Watching a full moon rise over a salt lake is an awesome experience.
The drawback can be freezing cold wind and rain in winter, or hot
dry wind and thunder storms in summer. Rain has been more common in outback Western
Australia in recent years turning the salt lakes into real lakes, taking weeks to dry out
enough to walk on. Getting bogged (see photo) is another hazard if you are
silly enough to try driving on a salt lake - it also turns your vehicle into a pile of
rust!
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The persistant
salt laden wind together with a hot burning sun and reflection off the white salt crust,
burns your skin and quickly dehydrates you .Sunglasses are needed to protect your eyes
from the reflection and glare off the white surface. Not many prospectors can handle
these harsh and unpredictable
conditions.
The picture left shows part of a salt lake that has
been gridded (see rows of foot prints!). Every filled in hole marks the spot of a
nugget.The nuggets on this lake were spread over a very large area.
For more pictures of my 1999 trip see my photo page.
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Thinking of doing a
trip to Western Australia to prospect? Read PROSPECTING
IN WA
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