PI Detectors - And Gold Prospecting

[Goldfleks]

So I recently picked up a Tesoro Sand Shark for beach prospecting. Got my first gold ring today!

How can I improve the value of this detector in ways off the beach? Where do PI detectors fit into gold prospecting?

Sniping in the river in the summer? Nugget shooting in the desert? Or are they limited just to the beach?

 

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[IMPDLN]

PI detectors, like Minelabs are preferred for gold detecting especially in the desert. The problem with the Sand Shark is it isn't designed for that purpose. I am no expert on that unit, but if not mistaken it has no ground balance feature. Also, if my memory serves me, I don't think that unit is known for sensitivity to small nuggets. However, even though not a unit you would necessarily purchase for that use, it is a metal detector and what could it hurt to try. Dennis

 

[Lanny in AB]

Dennis has given you some good advice on the Sand Shark. As well, I would like to add a few things.

I bought my Sand Shark years ago to detect nuggets in insane bedrock where VLF's just could not ground balance. The Sand Shark has a processor that operates to ignore harsh ground mineralization, especially salt and high concentrations of black sand, and the pulse induction feature completely ignored the mineralization in that awful bedrock I've referred to. However, as Dennis has stated, the Sand Shark will not find small gold. Nevertheless, when I got a signal with the Shark, I knew it was metal, and the bedrock I was hunting was not littered with trash, so I also knew it was going to be a meaty nugget, nothing tiny.

There were two types of bedrock it excelled on. One was a red bedrock that was hiding nuggets from VLF's and the other was a black bedrock with lots of graphite and other minerals that completely overwhelmed VLF's. The Shark ran nice and quiet over both until I got the coil over a target, and I liked that simplicity.

Compared to today's modern PI's with intricate ground balance, and numerous settings designed to allow detection of small gold with a wide range of coils designed as well to assist in sniffing out that small gold, the Shark is just not a contender. However, when I ordered it, PI's were still in their early stages of birthing, and the Minelab 2100 had just come out. The 2100 also handled the mineralization and produced a lot of nuggets on that bedrock for me, but at that time, it would not find small gold either as there were no sensitive small coils developed then. As the Shark was far, far lighter than the 2100, it was a pleasure to swing it compared to the beefy Minelab.

I've used the Sand Shark for sniping bedrock after I've dredged clean a section of bedrock, and it will find the gold in the bedrock, but once again, nothing small.

I ordered it specifically to do a job for me on insane bedrock that completely ate VLF's right up! It will still find nuggets as long as they're nothing tiny, and there are a range of coils for it now. Regardless, now that I have a highly dedicated gold-finding pulse machine with a wide range of coils and micro-processor settings, the only time I use the Shark for chasing nuggets is underwater on bad bedrock where a modern VLF won't operate.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Terry Soloman]

I've used my Sand Shark as a farm field hunter and nuggetshooter, but never found a nugget under three-grams with it. Most, like the ones pictured, were four-grams or better. It is designed for saltwater detecting and that is where it excel's. In farm fields it also does very well.

 

[Goldfleks]

At least if I take it to the river and swing it, I'll know I have a monster nugget! Haha! Summer time will have to wait! Kinda what I figured on small gold though. Just like my MXT, going to miss the small gold. Defeneteley going to look into a small gold detector as my next club in my golf bag. Maybe over the summer when I get into the mountains again.

 

[Lanny in AB]

All the best with your nugget shooting!

Lanny

 

[Goldfleks]

Thanks Lanny, always a pleasure to get advice from your copious experience.