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Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,430
54,807
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Depends on what kind of gold and how deep, plus the soil conditions... You looking for lost gold jewelry or for tiny grains of gold?
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,419
30,082
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Then the answer is no. You need a dedicated VLF machine like the Tesoro Lobo; Fisher Goldbug II; Whites GMT.. These machines are top-of-the-line gold machines. Good Luck!
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,654
6,349
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Joe,

The problem with finding placer gold (bits and pieces of naturally occurring free gold in nature) is that the gold is often surrounded by, and deposited within zones of very extreme or high mineralization. That's why you need a dedicated gold machine.

Some of the problems you'll experience in gold country are hot rocks (rocks with a positive and negative electronic signature that will make your detector sound off like it's found gold); general ground mineralization that varies from being electronically mild to electronically extreme; and concentrated pockets of heavily mineralized ground that will make your detector scream.

All of these aforementioned elements combined are the reasons why they've developed dedicated gold machines. In extremely mild to completely benign ground, any metal detector with good circuitry can find a piece of gold.

Nonetheless, the problem with hunting flakes and nuggets of gold is that in almost every area where gold has been deposited, there has also been a very heavy deposition of other conductive minerals--ones that play havoc with the circuitry of generic metal detectors. So much so, that unless the detector has been specifically developed for hunting gold, the machine's circuitry will be completely overwhelmed and it won't be able to electronically see anything--in other words it will go blind to any gold in the ground.

Having said that, it's also important to let you know that the VLF's that have already been mentioned in earlier replies to your post will only operate within their limits as well. That is to say that excellent VLF gold machines will only operate in ground that is not too extreme. When you get into exceptionally hot ground, you'll need a PI (Pulse Induction) machine. That domain of expertise is largely dominated by Minelab of Australia--they make excellent gold detecting PI's. That's because in Australia they have extreme mineralization--areas so hot that VLF's can't operate--that's why PI's have been refined to such an extent.

I've experienced the same problem myself, as they have in Australia, in areas that I hunt here in North America where the dedicated VLF's we had with us would get overloaded and refuse to function in the extreme ground we were trying to work, that's how hot the ground was and still is in those areas.

In those zones of insane mineralization, I have to use a dedicated gold detecting PI. However, in many areas of mild to hot (not extreme) ground, the great VLF names given to you in earlier posts will do just fine.

So, all the best,

Lanny
 

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