Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 28 Detector

At five o'clock in the morning, the two finally set foot on Western Australian soil.

This place feels completely different from Alaska and Miami; it's full of ruggedness and wildness.

Edward's friend was named Montgomery, a middle-aged man nearing forty.

Welcome to Australia!

Montgomery was very enthusiastic and greeted the two at the airport early in the morning.

He first hugged Edward, then shook hands with Zhou Xin.

Of course, upon seeing Logan, he also expressed surprise and envy.

The long journey had left Logan somewhat exhausted; it drooped its head, looking listless.

Edward had already told Zhou Xin about his situation and the purpose of their visit, so he didn't elaborate further.

"Hello Mr. Zhou, since you are Edward's good friend, then you are also my friend, Montgomery."

Zhou Xin smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "It is a great honor to have such a warm and hospitable friend as you."

Edward chimed in, "Mongerdo has lived in Western Australia for decades; no one knows the situation here better than him."

Mongodo laughed heartily: "That's right, so I'll take care of your business."

Amidst laughter and conversation, Montgomery drove the two men and the wolf to the hotel Edward had booked online in advance.

In the car, when they talked about the purpose of their trip, Mongodo sighed slightly.

"Although it may sound harsh, I have to warn you that every year a lot of people come here to pan for gold, but most of them end up losing everything."

Zhou Xin and Edward were both somewhat prepared for this fact, so they were not shocked.

"Don't worry, Sin is a famous gold mining expert in Alaska. With him around, we're sure to find a lot of gold."

Zhou Xin was speechless at his flattery; this guy was wasting his talent by not running a pyramid scheme in China.

"Of course I believe in Xin's abilities; he seems like a very reliable teammate."

"However, as a friend, I still have to tell you that less than 10 percent of those who come here to pan for gold actually make a profit."

"Some of them couldn't find any gold at all, spending a lot of money on equipment, only to find some nails and iron blocks in the end."

It's clear that he genuinely considers them friends, constantly offering advice and reminders along the way, out of fear that they might suffer losses.

"Thank you for reminding us. We won't invest too much money this time. Even if we come back empty-handed, the loss will still be barely acceptable."

Zhou Xin expressed his gratitude for his kindness.

Edward seemed more confident than Zhou Xin. He patted Meng Geduo on the shoulder, looking quite self-assured.

"Let me tell you, Xin recently found over 100 ounces of gold in Alaska all by himself, worth $350,000!"

Zhou Xin shook his head and sighed. This guy really has no sense of propriety when it comes to his words.

However, he knew that Edward was not such a foolish and pretentious person. The fact that Edward could tell Montgomery about this so openly showed that he trusted him very much.

His words did indeed have an effect, leaving Mongodo with an expression of disbelief.

"Oh my god, Xin, is this real?"

Zhou Xin nodded and answered truthfully.

"It's incredible. In Western Australia, apart from those lucky ones who find large nuggets of gold, I've never heard of anyone finding so much gold all by themselves."

"Even some professional gold mining teams might not have this much harvest in a year."

Edward was very satisfied with his performance and laughed heartily, "So, with me as your powerful assistant, this gold rush season's harvest will only be greater than last time!"

Mongodo looked envious: "What you've said makes me want to go with you!"

"Forget it, if you dare go, your wife will probably eat you alive!"

Mungo was indeed just saying it casually. He has a very good job in Perth and a wife and children, so it's impossible for him to take that risk.

They returned to the hotel amidst laughter and conversation.

Although the two hadn't rested well on the plane, they weren't sleepy at all and just wanted it to get light so they could start preparing for their gold rush.

Because he had to take Edward to handle some local procedures today, Montgomery did not leave and rested with them at the hotel for a while.

In the morning, after having breakfast at the hotel restaurant, the three of them split up to prepare as planned.

Led by Montgomery, Edward went to the local mining bureau, environmental protection bureau and other departments to complete the formalities.

The efficiency here is comparable to, or even more outrageous than, that of the United States.

Without Menggeduo's help, they probably would have spent two weeks trying to complete the paperwork.

Even so, it still took two full days to basically get it done.

As for Zhou Xin, he rented a decent Raptor F-150 off-road pickup truck from the car rental market for $80 a day.

For him, this kind of off-road pickup truck is the most practical, as it can carry a lot of cargo and has strong off-road capabilities.

The rent was originally $100 a day, but Zhou Xin paid two months' rent upfront, and the boss finally agreed to lower the price to $80.

After renting the car, he immediately filled it up with gas and drove to various markets to purchase the necessary supplies according to his previous list.

First, he went to the machine market and spent more than $3000 to buy a 100KW all-copper diesel generator.

Gold mining here is different from panning for gold in rivers; often the gold is buried in hard soil or even rocks.

In this situation, it is obviously unrealistic to try to dig by hand with a pickaxe.

Therefore, an electric hammer is essential.

This necessitates a stable and continuous power supply. Furthermore, given the need for long-term living in the wilderness and the power supply and lighting requirements of various equipment, a diesel generator is indispensable.

Next, based on the information he found online, he went to a store that specializes in selling metal detectors.

This is the most famous detector shop in Perth, with a complete range of instruments of all models and prices.

Most importantly, this place also recycles and sells used instruments.

In fact, used detectors are more popular here than brand new ones.

Every month, all sorts of people come to Western Australia to dig for gold, including many newbies who are either impulsive or unaware of the situation.

They often come here full of enthusiasm, buying the best equipment, thinking they will be one of the lucky ones.

Undoubtedly, most of them ended up empty-handed, only able to sell their equipment to recoup their losses.

Some instruments have barely been used, yet they have to be sold at a discount of several percent.

The equipment shop owner was delighted, first making money from the new equipment, and then making another profit from selling the recycled equipment.

Perhaps the owner of the instrument store wishes everyone in the world would come here to strike it rich.

Why bother digging for gold? You guys are my living gold!

Just then, another piece of gold... no, a person walked into the shop.

The boss squinted at the man and knew he was about to make a fortune again.

This guy is obviously a complete newbie!