Do you consider gold detecting profitable?

[Oye]

Do you guys earn enough to live on it or is it more just a hobby?

Of course it varies, but overrall is it less, the same, more or even a lot more profitable than an average job with average pay?


On a scale from 1-10 where 1 is max easy and 10 is max hard, how hard do you consider this activity/hobby or job?

 

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[Stanislaus Gold]

AGH,

Ah, I wish it was as simple as you make it sound, but it isn't. The most sophisticated microprocessor only can process the signal and not create one. So, the problem doesn't lie in microprocessor capability but in the physics involved. Most companies are not willing to invest large sums of money into fancier microprocessor operations that do not provide more depth. The return isn't cost effective.

The fact is, we are bumped up against a limit as to how to get a signal into the ground and back that contains the desired signal from a good object. Sadly, that is the problem that has not been overcome and may not be for years to come.

We will see things like a discriminating PI and/or a hybrid PI/VLF design in the future but we will still be limited in depth. New battery designs may help a little because it might provide the additional power needed for more depth without excessive weight.

Right now, most people are not ready to carry a 50 lb battery to gain a few inches in depth.

We will probably see energy recovery systems advance and that will help by increasing the power applied but even that will not make huge increases.

So, we are sort of stuck with no where to go at the present.

Reg

America is not really the leading tech supply. Just like every phone, computer, tv , manufacturing company they are all over seas.


My point being is the use of light emitting diodes ,"LED" lights, less than 20 years ago the use of these low energy high output bulbs was expensive and hadf limited applications. Now toady led lights are used in every single place I go and cost cents.

 

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[Gravelwasher]

Fullpan, I know exactly what your saying about all that south fork bedrock it looks great. That's why so many people rush right out to it with all sorts of detectors. Every pc of bedrock between Kyburz and Folsom lake has been worked with VLF and PI detectors. First spots people hit was the rivers and creeks and then on to the diggins and hydro spots then hard rock spots, now we just wonder around all the spots between looking for crumbs...lol It is extremely difficult to locate new areas to detect these days. You will buy lots of maps and spend countless hours doing research, usually to find out someone else has beaten you to the poke. No joke this is how it goes hunting gold. But if you study and hunt long enough you will find some.

 

[Goldwasher]

and as Gravelwasher and I have seen first hand somebedrock can't even be balanced out on a vlf...and all my pickers are coming from cracks that are too deep for a vlf to pick up on. I do believe there are several spots that have minimal coil sweeps they are just very remote. and as i have laid in bed thinking about rafting down and staying the night to really hit them I know others have too.I also know that all those rivers were hit hard with dredges and why would a fellow with a dredge having ounce plus days even bother with a detector especially the old ones. there are a handful of good nuggethunters who have hit those remote patches of bedrock but, only a handful.I have seen first hand some amazing nuggets pulled from the local goldfields very recently so I for one believe there are some nice finds to be made. But, like those dredgers of days gone...its hard for me to spend my little free time hoping to find a nice nugget when i can find pickers and good bread and butter fines every time I go sniping,sluicing.It is a hard choice for me.Placer mining is a very succsessful venture for me and detecting has remained in the realm of hobby.

 

[DizzyDigger]

America is not really the leading tech supply. Just like every phone,
computer, tv , manufacturing company they are all over seas.

That is correct, however the odds are very high that the electronics they are building in China were designed,
engineered and tested here in the US before they ever took the manufacturing off-shore. Now, many
of the design engineers that are working for companies here in the US are Chinese, Korean, etc. due
to the superior post-grad education, better living conditions and higher pay than they would ever
get in China, but still the bulk of the design people are American, Canadian etc.

China and other countries in that region are very good at "re-engineering" existing products,
however they aren't so good and coming up with their own products/designs.

 

[Fullpan]

Fullpan, I know exactly what your saying about all that south fork bedrock it looks great. That's why so many people rush right out to it with all sorts of detectors. Every pc of bedrock between Kyburz and Folsom lake has been worked with VLF and PI detectors. First spots people hit was the rivers and creeks and then on to the diggins and hydro spots then hard rock spots, now we just wonder around all the spots between looking for crumbs...lol It is extremely difficult to locate new areas to detect these days. You will buy lots of maps and spend countless hours doing research, usually to find out someone else has beaten you to the poke. No joke this is how it goes hunting gold. But if you study and hunt long enough you will find some.

Ok, that video could have been shot also on the rivers north such as all three forks of the Yuba, all three forks of the feather, not to mention the bedrock on
Oregon, canyon, texas, diamond, slate, brush, deer, lavazola, kanaka, squirrel, wolf, poorman's, Washington,pauley, and salmon creeks, and SLUG GULCH!!
Haha, I know - most are claimed up, but still.

 

[goldfinder]

I have detected all over Arizona and some in Utah and Idaho. I concur, the easy to find Au is gone.

And Reg is right about technology. Current analog stuff and the mickey mouse digital won't hack it. I am an expert in signal processing and with the new microprocessors the detectors could be made to go much deeper. You would be amazed what we could do with poping signals out of apparent noise.

And treasure, all that is gone gone gone. If you dream of getting rich, build up a nice dive boat and go to Colombia or Other Country in South America with ocean frontage. Friends are finding the treasure. You really need good equipment.

 

[charlotte49er]

Two words: Australia & Alaska!

XP DEUS 3.1 Finds Four Gold Nuggets Totaling 15.7 Grams in Australia

Well, within 10 minutes of going through the most iron infested area I had bagged a 5.6 gram gold nugget. We finished up with four nuggets – total weight 15.7 grams.

Back in the Mid-80's I went to Alaska to metal detect a mining company in Skagway. (You paid them a fee and ate with the workers. Slept apart from the workers and had bathroom away from the workers as well. But was really spartan quarters.) Deal was, you detected their tailings and got to keep any gold you find. They offer to buy any gold, for spot, that you cared to sell. I sold all the gold I found to them, EXCEPT the 2.5 grammer. (To get my Father off my back for spending money on a "stupid vacation!" Didn't work!) I still have the 2.5 grammer today!

 

[minerjoe]

so many people say the good stuff is gone... Thank you for doing so! I have a mentor that has made a great living off this great craft, and I KNOW I could or would if I didn't have a family and to be honest, I think it would SUCK doing this full time.. So I am thankful for a good job, and a great hobby!

 

[Farwalker]

How often does one "Hear"a voice of knowledge, with no expectation of it's listeners. Is it all of the "Easy Gold that's gone? Or all of the "Lazy" Gold". Mining is work & the labor's are few. Good hunting Ken/CO...Peace Joy & Proaperity
Ken/Or.

 

[Hard Prospector]

The main problem that I see is not so much lack of gold but difficulty in accessing it. More and more public land being "locked up" in the name of preserves, wilderness areas, or "critical environmental concern" plus the expansion of national park boundries, monuments and military bases. Up until around the 1970s, dirt roads and trails in the national forests and BLM lands werel maintained and occasionally expanded. Public access was considered important by those in government managing these resources not just for recreation but mining, logging, ranching etc. Of course, we all know the priorities and mission objectives with these same government entities have spun a 180 in recent years and I don't mean to preach to the choir here but every year seems worse than the last and I'm getting really tired of this heavy handed sh*t!

 

[zdawg3579]

I haven't particularly had an interest in gold detecting, but if I were to start this is how: Get a steady part time job, whatever will cover a good portion of your expenses. Then detect on weekends and before/after shifts depending on when my shifts were. That would be how i'd do it. Also, do your research, check out old USGS maps and get the history scoop on your local area. It's a possible dream, just play it smart, don't let these "debbie downers" ruin your motivation. Give it six months and see where you are.

 

[el padron]

Even in the small mountain range that I'm near, there must be a few hard-to-reach gold-laden washes that have never seen a coil. White's and Garrett are both releasing new PIs this fall. Can't wait to get out and swing new tech at the end of the year. I ride a dirt bike up some perilous trails but only spend $6 on gas and $20 on food per 3-day trip. Money burns, gold lasts forever.

The vast majority of the western United States has never been searched by detector. Period.
I have not searched for gold in natural form with a detector, but I do know one thing for sure.
The United States is about 88% unoccupied. Upon leaving the population centers on many stretches of interstate you can drive for hours without seeing anything at all.
Upon leaving the main highways there are tens of thousands of square miles that are completely landlocked with no roads at all
I have run marathons, and have also done lots of rock climbing.
Do you know how hard it is to climb just a small 3000 or 4000 foot mountain?
it's incredible hard and even if you are a seasoned runner it utilizes a whole different set of muscles

No, the vast majority of people here or anywhere else could never get to places like that, no way. They certainly couldn't do it carrying a detector....

The majority of this space has never been stepped over by modern man, therefore
The vast majority of the western United States has never been searched by detector. Ever