Mariposa Mineralization

[VlPokeylV]

Hello all,

I was hoping to ask a few questions of someone who is familiar with the general western Mariposa County area. I ran a query for Mariposa and didn't find anything regarding ground mineralization. Hopefully I dug deep enough and am not asking the same old annoying question over again.

To start, I'm new to this. I've some experience with metal detectors from work but I realize this is a different ball-game, searching for gold. I'm looking to purchase one of the more affordable VLF's. I've been eyeing the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 and also the Fisher Gold Bug Pro. Where I'm looking to detect is near Barrett Cove (I realize this may be a little west of the "Gold Belt") on some family owned property. I've found a couple grained sized small "pickers" by pan after crack and crevassing. I'd really like to run the place over with a detector. Thing is, their soil is fairly red and seems to be very oxidized. Would I be wasting my time with either of these units in that general area? I've read about the PI machines and they sound fantastic. Unfortunately, I can't invest thousands at this point in time. I'd hate to buy a VLF and find out it's worthless, just screaming because of the ground the whole time. If it helps, I'm including a few photos of the general rocks/terrain on the property. I plan to also search farther south closer to home (Fresno) which I don't think soil will be a problem. Of course, not near as much gold farther south either, hah!

So if the ground in that area isn't too hot, what would you go with, the Minelab or the Fisher? Is the Fisher in fact American Made or only engineered? I'd prefer to purchase USA. Thank you much for your input.

 

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[Lanny in AB]

Nice to see that you made it here! Hope you find the help you're looking for.

Lots of good, helpful people here and on the goldprospecting page.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[russau]

Well WELCOME to the site ! I'm sure your question can and will be answered here !

 

[VlPokeylV]

Thank you Lanny! I've been reading through your Bedrock and Gold posts. Lots of good information, thanks for sharing.

 

[russau]

Hello all,

I was hoping to ask a few questions of someone who is familiar with the general western Mariposa County area. I ran a query for Mariposa and didn't find anything regarding ground mineralization. Hopefully I dug deep enough and am not asking the same old annoying question over again.

To start, I'm new to this. I've some experience with metal detectors from work but I realize this is a different ball-game, searching for gold. I'm looking to purchase one of the more affordable VLF's. I've been eyeing the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 and also the Fisher Gold Bug Pro. Where I'm looking to detect is near Barrett Cove (I realize this may be a little west of the "Gold Belt") on some family owned property. I've found a couple grained sized small "pickers" by pan after crack and crevassing. I'd really like to run the place over with a detector. Thing is, their soil is fairly red and seems to be very oxidized. Would I be wasting my time with either of these units in that general area? I've read about the PI machines and they sound fantastic. Unfortunately, I can't invest thousands at this point in time. I'd hate to buy a VLF and find out it's worthless, just screaming because of the ground the whole time. If it helps, I'm including a few photos of the general rocks/terrain on the property. I plan to also search farther south closer to home (Fresno) which I don't think soil will be a problem. Of course, not near as much gold farther south either, hah!

So if the ground in that area isn't too hot, what would you go with, the Minelab or the Fisher? Is the Fisher in fact American Made or only engineered? I'd prefer to purchase USA. Thank you much for your input.

View attachment 1859330 View attachment 1859331

Contact your state's Department of natural Resource's for the County your interested in about it's mineralization . You've already paid for this in your tax's and there's a host of other info ava. Ask for the free catalogue of Publications for your state ! These are ava. for all state's !

 

[Goldwasher]

looks like serpentine maybe that and the color make it look like pretty hot ground.

 

[Lanny in AB]

looks like serpentine maybe that and the color make it look like pretty hot ground.

If it is Serpentine, would the Gold Monster 1000 handle the mineralization for him? (If so, perhaps he could borrow one. If not, perhaps someone might help him out with a PI?)

All the best,

Lanny

 

[VlPokeylV]

looks like serpentine maybe that and the color make it look like pretty hot ground.

That's what I'm kind of afraid of! Still researching it some more. Thanks guys.

 

[Hard Prospector]

That is serpentine country for sure, and that stuff totally "pisses off" any vlf. However, the SDC2300 will handle it well and purr like a kitten finding the small bits. Probably not what you wanted to here as that detector is pricey.

Since its private property access, you could reach out to someone in a local club who has a SDC 2300 and work out a percentage split for a day or so of detecting. That could tell you a lot without spending the $4000.00 for the detector. Plus most people arn't brazen enough to poach private property. Notice I said most.......not all.

 

[VlPokeylV]

Thank you Hard Prospector. I've looked at the SDC2300, thought it was such a neat unit due to it's compact storage size. I'd love to throw it in a backpack and go... but cost prohibitive. I'm looking at this as purely a hobby and recouping zero dollars. That large of an investment isn't feasible for me at this time. I'm wondering if I could in fact do what you suggested or "rent". It is a bit nerve-wracking. Especially if you did find a significant amount (doubtful here but did find a few very small pieces), can others be trusted? Hard to say.

 

[Hard Prospector]

OK I totally understand. So its been my experience when it comes to VLF's and nasty ground, I've actually had good luck with the Gold Bug or Gold bug Pro. Only difference between the two is the "standard" Gold Bug uses a "ground grab button" for balancing and the GB Pro has that and a manual function for such........ 99% of the time, I used the regular ground grab button for balancing and cost of the Gold Bug could be had for around $450 (sometimes less). Super easy to use, lite weight, good external speaker, breaks down backpack-able better than most, and only uses one 9v battery. I could give you the fast trac settings for this unit and your off with almost no learning curve. Oh, and you'll want the 5" round coil as it handles the mineralization best

The Gold Monster is the newest and probably the best VLF out there but at twice the price. If this is just a casual hobby, I would go with the Gold Bug or Gold Bug Pro.

Good luck!

 

[99thpercentile]

Whenever I hear someone mention mineralized soil, I am interested. My PhD research all focused on measuring the complex electromagnetic properties of soils both in the lab and in the field and determining how they affected our ability to detect small compact targets.

I would be interested in getting samples of any soils that you call mineralized. I can arrange for shipping some samples that I would measure. I would need at least a quart sized sample double bagged in Ziploc freezer bags. I would also like the latitude and longitude where the sample was collected. Let me know if you have any interesting samples.

 

[james02]

FYI, I have detected upstream from you. I use a Gold Bug II. Experience is the key. When I first started the area kicked my but. I learned the machine and started being successful. I had a friend that let me hunt on her property across from Scott's gulch. That was many years ago. I still use my GB II.