By
Michael Webster
Metal
detecting for gold nuggets presents quite a few challenges that make
it one of the most difficult ways to prospect for gold. The ground
conditions in many of the goldfields throughout the world present
challenges that most metal detectors have a hard time handling.
There
are a variety of different conditions that make nugget shooting
especially challenging when compared to other types of metal
detecting, but using the right type of detector will help immensely.
Why a
Gold Specific Detector?
99% of
the metal detectors on the market today are not designed of gold
prospecting. Yes, they will all detect gold under the right
circumstances, but more often than not they are rendered all but
useless due to the highly mineralized ground conditions that are
found in most goldfields.
These
other detectors will generally work fine for detecting relics at old
town sites and finding coins at the park, but that is where they
belong. Even many of the highest priced coin detectors on the market
perform poorly in the goldfields.
Among
all of the metal detectors available today, there is a relatively
small group of detectors that were designed specifically for gold
prospecting, and these are highly recommended if you are serious
about metal detecting for gold nuggets.
For a
metal detector to be able to reliably find gold nuggets in the areas
that they occur, it needs to be able to handle highly mineralized
ground and the natural variations in ground conditions that occur in
the goldfield. The important point here is to understand that the
average detector designed to find coins and relics will probably work
very poorly in the goldfields.
Very-Low
Frequency (VLF) and Pulse Induction (PI) Metal Detectors
Basically
all of the gold detectors that are in use today by successful nugget
shooters are either Very-Low Frequency (VLF) or Pulse Induction (PI)
technology. Each type has advantages and disadvantages to their
design, and therefore many of the most successful prospectors own
both types to use them in certain situations.
How
VLF detectors work
VLFs are
generally a bit more sensitive to small gold nuggets than the PI
detectors. Some of the most sensitive models can often find specks of
gold that are almost too small to even see! All of the better VLFs
for prospecting have some sort of discrimination feature which will
indication what type of target is buried in the ground.
The
discrimination on metal detectors is never 100% accurate, but in very
trashy areas, the discrimination feature can help you decide which
targets to dig and which to pass over. Just make sure you aren’t
walking overtop of a nugget!
The
biggest downside of the VLF detectors is their limited depth. With
the exception of the biggest pieces of metal, nugget finds are
generally limited to the top 12” of soil, with most of the smaller
bits being found in the top 4” or so. Of course there are always
exceptions to the rule.
Ground
conditions weigh heavily on the ability to detect deeper pieces of
gold. In ground that has a high percentage of iron mineralization,
VLF detectors can become very noisy and difficult to operate. To get
them to work properly in these areas, the sensitivity of the
detectors need to be turned down considerably, which limits overall
depth.
How
PI detectors work
There
are two huge advantages that the PI detectors have over the VLF type
detectors. First, they are amazing at finding deeply buried targets,
even in very iron rich ground. It is not uncommon for detectorists to
find good sized nuggets at up to 2 feet in depth, and smaller pieces
can often be found in the 12” range.
The
other advantage of the PI detectors is how well they can cancel out
ground noises, even in the most mineralized ground. They can maintain
a smooth threshold sound in some areas that a VLF detector will
chatter uncontrollably.
The PI
detectors do have a couple disadvantages when compared to VLF
detectors. One of the main differences is their ability to find small
gold. They are just not quite as sensitive as the better VLF gold
detectors, and will pass over some small pieces of gold that the
VLF’s will scream on.
There
are also some types of very porous gold that the will also miss as
well. While not common, there are actually some very large
“sponge-like” gold specimens out there that are undetectable by
PI detectors.
The
other disadvantage of the PI detectors is their discrimination
features. While they do have discrimination, it is generally
considered to be fairly unreliable, and most detectorists that use
PI’s learn to identify the tones of the machine rather than depend
on the discrimination feature to determine which targets to dig.
When in
doubt, dig it all! The best way to learn what your detector is
telling you is to listen to the sound and then dig it out of the
ground. Eventually, you will learn to separate the “good” sounds
from the “bad” sounds.
Cost
Considerations when Buying a Gold Detector
When it
comes to metal detecting for gold nuggets, the multi-purpose detector
used by the average detectorist is generally not a good choice. Often
companies that make metal detectors will advertise that their
detector can find relics, coins, gold, precious metals, gold nuggets,
jewelry, etc., and yes, it most likely can find all of those things
under ideal circumstance. The problem is that gold country is far
from what would be considered ideal circumstances.
The same
can be said for most cheap metal detectors on the market today. There
are an amazing amount of detectors on the market made in China and
other foreign countries for amazingly cheap prices.
Again,
they will often advertise that they can find gold and precious
metals, which is not untrue (assuming they work at all). But rest
assured that most of these detectors will be all but worthless in
gold country.
Understanding
this will save you a lot of trouble and headaches. Trying to save
money by buying a cheap multi-purpose detector will only result in
frustration, and you won’t be happy with it. It happens time and
time again.
The Fisher
Gold Bug Pro is
a great VLF detector that is reasonably priced and very sensitive to
small gold.
So what
should you expect to pay for a decent gold detector? The good gold
detectors on the market right now range from around $600 up to nearly
$6000. Expect to pay somewhere in that price range for a good
gold-specific detector.
It is worth mentioning that good deals can occasionally be found on good used metal detectors at places like Craigslist and eBay.
It is worth mentioning that good deals can occasionally be found on good used metal detectors at places like Craigslist and eBay.
Of
course you should always use your best judgment when buying used
equipment, but there are definitely deals out there. I have seen some
older models (but still proven gold producers) sell for as little as
a few hundred dollars.
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