Minelab has established a Gold Mining division to support artisanal small scale gold miners and prospectors around the world.
The announcement was made at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
With headquarters in South Australia, Minelab is considered a leader in gold detection technology and hand-held metal detector devices.
Recently, a prospector used a Minelab GPX 5000 hand-held gold detector to discover a 5.5kg gold nugget at 60cm depth in Ballarat, Victoria. The nugget was valued in excess of $300,000.
Prospectors across Central and Latin America have also tasted success with the GPX 5000 gold detector. Recently a prospector in Venezuela discovered 30g of gold at a depth of 150cms and in Brazil a 2g nugget was discovered using Minelab’s gold detecting technology.
Minelab launched its first hand-held gold detector in Australia in 1985 and over the past 28 years has been at the forefront of metal detector design and innovation. Minelab’s new Gold Mining division will provide dedicated support to the worldwide small scale gold mining market and its communities.
Peter Charlesworth, General Manager Minelab said: “The new Gold Mining division consists of a specialised portfolio of products, accessories and support services which include on and off field training allowing us to provide expert advice on the best use of Minelab’s gold detectors so that miners can produce results in the toughest of mineralised soil conditions, in a cost effective way and with minimal disruption to the environment.
"In areas where traditional subsistence mining has taken place for generations, Minelab has introduced cutting edge technology and provided training and support to enable these communities to transform their gold mining activities and their lives for the better."