Gold Prospecting Metal Detector

A better question might be how deep do you really need to go? Modern prospecting detectors can discover gold as small as a half a grain. As the size of the target becomes larger, gold nuggets can be located at significantly greater depths. A single grain nugget can be unearthed at a depth of 1-2 inches. A match head size nugget can be located at a depth of 3-5 inches. A nugget the size of a half dollar can be located at depths of 9-11 inches. Larger nuggets can be located at depths over a foot with a Pulse Induction style detector.

Gold Prospecting search coil types and sizes.

Searchcoils come in two types: Concentric and Widescan Double D. Concentric are preferred for discriminating. Widescan are less affected by ground mineralization. In general, larger searchcoils will give better depth with larger nuggets and better ground coverage. However, sensitivity to smaller nuggets may be sacrificed. Smaller searchcoils will offer greater sensitivity to smaller objects and improved target separation in trashy soil.

Do I need to ground balance?

Most gold prospecting detectors feature manual ground balance controls. This feature will allow the machine to be adjusted to filter out the general iron content of the ground. Don’t be intimidated by the need to ground balance, after you have done it once or twice, it will become second nature. Metal detectors that feature automatic ground tracking will require less adjustment and produce less false ground signal noise.

Discrimination

You can easily filter out junk targets with discrimination. Simple discrimination will eliminate targets that are within a given range. Lower conductivity targets are the first to be eliminated. Metals with higher conductivity, such as gold, and junk metals, such as aluminum, are removed at a similar level. In an advanced notch discriminator, targets can be selectively filtered out within a wide range of conductivity. Natural gold comes in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and weights. These variations in size will overlap a wide range of your detector’s discrimination range and can be easily filtered out. To avoid filtering out gold, you should set your discrimination to low.

Is it gold? Gold can be accurately identified using conductivity meters and specific chemicals. While searching for gold in the field, you should know how to identify the different materials you will encounter.

VLF Detectors For Gold Detection

Whether you’re looking for gold deposits or ancient gold coins left by a forgotten civilization that may have lived in your area, an efficient VLF detector can go a long way.

It’s always a good idea to start with some basics on VLF. That way, you have some ground to start working with, especially if you’re in the market for one.

VLF is an abbreviation for Very Low Frequency. It refers to the frequency of single-frequency sine waves transmitted at high-pitched audio frequencies. In metal detecting “low” is between 3 kHz and 30 kHz.

VLF are usually better for finding gold in most conditions. Pulse Induction (PI) work a little better in highly mineralized soil and saltwater.

Will my gold nugget detector discriminate out junk metals?

Nugget detectors are designed to find all metals. While finding the smallest nuggets, these detectors will also locate trash metals as well. Most of these units have the ability to tune out common iron and steel junk items. Pulse induction detectors are not designed to filter out trash items.

Go where the gold is!

You can purchase the best gold metal detector in the world, but if you do not spend the time to locate the correct site location, your efforts will not produce gold. Be sure to put yourself on proven nugget bearing ground. A little bit of time spent researching will pay you back many times over. Gold producing areas are well documented and can be researched through the library, the internet, or one of the many excellent books on nugget hunting. Always be sure to check the land ownership and contact claim owners if need be for permission to nugget hunt a specific area. Above all, have fun and may your efforts yield golden rewards.

Experts recommend hillsides. Hillsides will yield a better result when it comes to finding gold. Another reason why hillsides are so great is that if you find the source of the gold deposit, you can find the veins.

The veins tend to have more extensive gold deposits. The larger the deposit, the easier it is to find the gold. Unfortunately, gold is a scarce mineral. Not only that, but you will find it in much smaller deposits compared to other minerals like metal. Before getting into the best VLF for gold, it’s essential to understand a couple of things about VLF detectors.

Manufacturers make metal detectors to find gold; pretty much all of them can do that. The answer to this concern lies in the different sensitivity levels that every single VLF detector has. Experts recommend getting a VLF detector that has a high sensitivity level.

Experts recommend an operating frequency of between 13 kHz to 19 kHz. It’s the minimum frequency level for detecting gold and anything higher is another excellent prospect.

Experts also recommend a VLF detectors with manual ground balancing. This feature is crucial if you want to drown out ground noise while in use. It’s a bit complex, and so some users prefer an automated ground balancing system.

An elliptical search coil about 10 inches in length by about 6 inches wide is the optimal size for a search coil.A couple things to consider when looking for a metal detector are:

Weight, swinging a detector all day can be tiring. Durability, having a metal detector that is FULLY waterproof is a sign of durability. Warranty, quality and confidence come with a nice long warranty.

Here are a couple of tips and tricks to aid in your gold detecting:

Gold is scarce. You can spend an entire day in an area known for having gold, without any gold to report at the end of the day. Experts recommend carrying a strong magnet. If you end up finding other minerals, you can use the strong magnet to check whether it’s gold. How? The magnet will not attract gold, whereas the magnet will attract other minerals like iron, magnetite hot rocks, negative hot rocks, positive hot rocks, and meteorites.
Another tip is that your VFL detectors may not be lying to you, and it’s not broken. You can find gold on top of hot rocks. If you find something, use the magnet to draw out the hot rocks and check for any gold on the hot rock.
Ensure that you move the search coil slowly and carefully over the surface. It should also be at a specific height that you can capture stronger signals.
If you hear ground noise while searching for gold nuggets, conduct the ground balancing procedure one more time. Ensure that you note the ground changes as you move and keep tabs on the ground balance.
In the case of gold prospecting, experts do not recommend multiple simultaneous frequencies.

A good quality metal detector will find gold nuggets as deep as 3 to 5 inches. The size of the gold, the sensitivity of your metal detector all factor into your success. A good VLF unit should be capable of detecting approximately the width of the coil. If your looking for more info on detecting deeper.

Where can Gold Nuggets be Found?

Unlike coins and jewelry, natural gold is not something that will typically be discovered in your back yard. Gold nuggets are best searched for where they are known to have been found in the past. Among these locations are dredge tailing piles and placer deposits that could yield gold. dredge tailings are the remains or leftover scrap after gold has been recovered by dredging. Placer deposits are composed of sand and gravel in rivers or stream beds where gold has been carried by a stream flow and small amounts can accumulate. It’s interesting to note that gold has been found all across the world.