On June 5, 2025, the Southern Relics crew hit the road and headed to Georgia for DirtFest at the LDMA Loud Mine gold camp. This event had everything a treasure hunter could dream of—gold mining activities, metal detecting, friendly competitions, and evening games under the pavilion.

Metal Detecting Madness
Thursday was all about metal detecting. After arriving at the camp that morning, we set up our display tent and flags, then seeded a large field with a mix of coins and prize tokens—including a good stash of silver to keep things exciting! After the morning briefing, detectorists got to work, sweeping the field in search of hidden treasures. Some lucky hunters found tokens redeemable for awesome Nokta gear, while others traded theirs for big silver coins. Who wouldn’t want to swap a simple token for a hefty chunk of silver? I know I would!

Cool Creek Hunt
In the early afternoon, we hosted our second hunt: a seeded creek hunt. This was a hit when we tried it last summer, so we made it bigger and better this year. The shallow creek at the back of the property, with its scenic shoals and easy wading, was the perfect spot. We hid coins and tokens throughout the water, and Nokta and The Metal Detecting Shop provided free t-shirts as rewards for each token found. The grand prize? A bag of gold paydirt from our friends at Jacob’s Brand Prospecting in Arizona. The cool water was a welcome break during the hottest part of the day, and everyone had a blast splashing around while treasure hunting.

Glowsticks & Gold
We wrapped up the day with our always-popular night hunt. We lit up the field with glowsticks and watched detectorists comb the area in search of coins, charms, and prize tokens. More Nokta gear was up for grabs, making it a perfect end to an action-packed day.

Throughout the event, many folks stopped by the Nokta display tent to check out the latest detectors. I especially enjoyed demonstrating their capabilities in our test garden. The crowd was particularly impressed by the Gold Finder 2000—that machine is a beast when it comes to finding small gold nuggets and pickers!

Looking Ahead
DirtFest at Loud Mine was a fantastic experience. The people, the energy, and the passion for treasure hunting made it truly memorable. We’re already looking forward to the next DirtFest, happening October 3 at the Oconee Gold Camp in upstate South Carolina. Hope to see y’all there!

By Stephen Patterson