Recommendations for a Detector in Mineralized Soil

[childoftechnology]

In the past several years I've had a habit of buying a detector in the spring, and then reselling it in the fall to pay some bills, and repeating this every year. In the past 4 years I've had four different detectors - a Garrett GTA 350, Whites XLT Spectrum, Minelab Musketeer, and Fisher 1232-X. The only one that performed well for me was the Minelab, as it was able to compensate for my highly-mineralized soil and still give good depth. Unfortunately, the Minelab had some annoying drawbacks - shoddy craftsmanship (the main unit falling off the shaft, for example), lack of a volume control, and the awkward design that required flipping two switches to go into pinpoint mode. I might have kept the Minelab if not for those flaws.
I'm now considering buying one of two Tesoro machines this time - either a Cibola or Vacquera. The Vacquera is preferable because it has a ground balance adjustment, but whether this helps or not I don't know - and that's why I'm asking you guys. Do you think it would perform as well in mineralized soil?
Just to give you an idea of how bad my soil is.... any copper coins over 100 years old are always very green and corroded, and anything over 150 years old is almost unrecognizable. My Dad found an 1812 Nova Scotia penny and only an area about 1/4" square was still visible - everything else was completely eaten away.
Thanks for any advice.

 

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[AgileMJOLNIR]

For me the Minelab Explorer and Sovereigns have done the best when it came to highly mineralized soil here in California.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

I would say the ground balance is most important if you have bad ground at your location. Many Minelabs don't need to be ground balanced like the PI types. I don't think it is the minerals in the ground that eat the metals but the acids that oxidize them.

It should be hard to learn a new detector every year.

 

[gregl01]

I use a Cibola and have no problems but if your area is that bad I'd go with the Vaquero. You may also want to check out the Lobo ST(auto ground tracking) Tesoros are top notch in quality and performance!!!!
Greg

 

[Gribnitz]

I'll have to be honest here...I use the Tejon and Vaquero. I got to dig in Virginia which had the absolute worst ground I have ever seen on earth. Plowed fields were blood red from the iron...literally. There was one area that was a firing range where hundreds, probably thousands of bullets had been fired into on one of these fields. Most machines couldn't even get a chirp on them even though they were only a few inches deep. These were top of the line detectors, not junk models, from all makers. My Tejon with standard 8x9 would only pick them up with a faint chirp about 4 inches deep (at least mine would see them). If you got a consistent chirp, dig ! The Nautilus did well with the monster 15 inch DD coil, but not at all with the standard coil and it's known as the depth hog. The only machine that was doing really well seeing them was the T2. It impressed me, but my soil in MO isn't anything like in VA so I am not too worried.

 

[BioProfessor]

If I understand the way things work (yeah right), it is not the brand of machine so much as it is the type of machine to use in heavily mineralized soil. From all the reading I did before buying a machine to use on beaches loaded with black sand, they all agreed that a PI machine with a coil to match the search criteria (deep coins, shallow jewelry, etc) would perform the best. I chose the Garrett Infinium LS because it has multiple frequencies (76 I think) and can usually be ground balanced in even the most difficult of soils. As with all (I think) PI machines, it is pretty much a "dig it all" machine as there is little discrimination (iron is about it) but it does find objects that are there and it does find them deep.

If I set mine up carefully, I could hunt with an extremely quiet machine that only sounded off on actual targets. There was a little ghosting or false targets at the end of swings but that was mostly my fault.

My 2 cents worth.

Daryl

Daryl

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

The machine is only half of the equation, the user is the other

 

[swingman]

Ditto for Minelab Sovereigns and Explorers. They have multiple frequencies, and DD coils - can't be beat.

 

[TonyinCT]

The Vaquero is a good detector but the Minelabs are better for what you need . The SE and GT are great in mineralization. Let me know if you need any help with a purchase. I'll be glad to help you out.

 

[Ant]

I tend to agree with BioProfessor.

The only way to cut thought highly mineralized soils is with a PI (Pulse Induction) machine. It's well known that VLF machines have minimal depth after they are ground balanced in highly mineralized areas. The highend VLF machines can find targets an inch or two under the surface in areas like this, but they are severely limited. That's the wat it works out in the goldfields and or on California salt beaches.

If I understand the way things work (yeah right), it is not the brand of machine so much as it is the type of machine to use in heavily mineralized soil. From all the reading I did before buying a machine to use on beaches loaded with black sand, they all agreed that a PI machine with a coil to match the search criteria (deep coins, shallow jewelry, etc) would perform the best. I chose the Garrett Infinium LS because it has multiple frequencies (76 I think) and can usually be ground balanced in even the most difficult of soils. As with all (I think) PI machines, it is pretty much a "dig it all" machine as there is little discrimination (iron is about it) but it does find objects that are there and it does find them deep.

If I set mine up carefully, I could hunt with an extremely quiet machine that only sounded off on actual targets. There was a little ghosting or false targets at the end of swings but that was mostly my fault.

My 2 cents worth.

Daryl

Daryl

 

[TonyinCT]

Let me get this right... VLF's only go down 1 or 2 inches in the gold fields? If that's true then I guess most of the gold detectors and the MXT which is now one of the preferrred gold hunting detectors are not finding anything . HMMMMM. I have to disagree with you. A properly ground balanced detector will see well into any iron mineralized ground. Thats what they do. There may be degrees of depth of course but the high end detectors I use don't have any of those depth problems. Aoto Gb detectors are a different story. You almost always have to turn down the sensativity to compensate . For CA beaches I'll agree .. A PI is the way to go since it is salt minerals that you are trying to see through. PI's do a better job than VLF's in this instance.
No offense just my two cents.

 

[Ant]

I'm refering to highely mineralized soils, not moderitly mineralized soils. The highely mineralized soils we have in the gold fields in Califorina and Arazona VLF machine won't work.

VLF machines are used in these areas, but when they come across a highely mineralized zone they move on. PI mahines can cut through these soils.

I'm not putting down VLF machines as the only machine I own is a VLF gold machine. Most VLF machines won't even work in the areas I'm refering to. Because, after they are ground balanced in HM soils they loose to much depth. As for the MXT and other similar machines, they won't proform in the HM zones in areaas like the Old Dale, New Dale and the Gold Park Mining Distrits near me.

I'll reinterate that when detecting below the heavy mineralized zones out in the gold fields near me, the VLF mahines work better than PI machines. VLF machines out preform PI machine in all other aspacts im my opinion, that is other than in HM zones or on California salt beaches.

Let me get this right... VLF's only go down 1 or 2 inches in the gold fields? If that's true then I guess most of the gold detectors and the MXT which is now one of the preferrred gold hunting detectors are not finding anything . HMMMMM. I have to disagree with you. A properly ground balanced detector will see well into any iron mineralized ground. Thats what they do. There may be degrees of depth of course but the high end detectors I use don't have any of those depth problems. Aoto Gb detectors are a different story. You almost always have to turn down the sensativity to compensate . For CA beaches I'll agree .. A PI is the way to go since it is salt minerals that you are trying to see through. PI's do a better job than VLF's in this instance.
No offense just my two cents.

 

[Eu_citzen]

For extrems a PI is well worth it, but consider the discrimination as well, most PI's won't take the standards of VLF in the way (DISC.)
Infinium LS has 96 frequencies.

 

[99thpercentile]

The two metal detectors with the highest scores for detecting landmines in magnetically viscous soils are the MineLabs F3 and the Foerster Minex F4.500 based on extensive studies by the EU. I don't know of any location in the continental US (CONUS) that has highly viscous soils. The color of the soil really is not an indicator of the magnetic properties. It just indicates the presence of magnetic minerals. It is the grain size of the minerals that cause the viscous magnetization effects. Tropical soils such as those in Hawaii, Ghana, Cambodia and some areas of the former Yugoslavia are much worse. Soils which I have collected and measured in the lab from some of the previously listed locations have magnetic viscosity in the range of 10%. I have found some CONUS locations which are in the neighborhood of 7% and anything over 4 or 5% can cause problems. I collected some rock cores at Yucca Mountain, NV which have a 30% magnetic viscosity which is due to how the particles of tuff formed as the superheated ash blew down the side of the mountain. I have never found these properties in actual soils.

The Geophex GEM-3 shows promise for detection of targets in magnetic soils (if you have $20K). The best way to get detection in magnetic soils is to have multiple orthogonal receive coils. The coils which are perpendicular to the transmitter coil are the best for target detection.

Ryan

 

[Davidedh]

Hello to all
I am writing from Italy 'and I joined the forum to get your beautiful more precise seen your great experience in the USA about the metal detector!
I found this speech to interessanto highly mineralized ground, I have no experience in this area but in my area we have the red soil enriched with iron ... Bauxite and aluminum oxides and different, I'd like one of your precise advice as to what Metal Detector purchase. in my part .. I only had responses directed to the commercial interests of the bins to see me (garbage) only to earn but not to advise in the right!
in the town where I live, a few kilometers, we have the Croatia where there is a high concentration of iron in the ground throughout Italy with those features you can not find, so you only by the United States in the best way I can recommend! ! because you have the same substances in the soil oxides!
my research is targeted to countries abandoned by age in 1600 until after the Second World War, so I try a little of everything ...
my budget is around $ 600-700
I thank you in advance for your answers and sorry for my bad english language

David

 

[Davidedh]

can anyone give me some advice please

 

[cudamark]

I haven't tried every detector made but I own 13 and have tried dozens of others. Here in SoCal, I can recommend the Minelab E-trac and the Excalibur. I haven't found any ground bad enough where they won't work good. That includes our beaches which have lots of mineralized and magnetic black sands. I would check with others who detect in your area and see what works good for them. Join a local club.

 

[Davidedh]

Thanks cudamark! but what do you think of these here ... Garrett AT Pro - Fisher f5 eg white matrix M6 or MXT? in my current budget, I read in the discussion that it is important that they should be PI? right?

 

[Davidedh]

I haven't tried every detector made but I own 13 and have tried dozens of others. Here in SoCal, I can recommend the Minelab E-trac and the Excalibur. I haven't found any ground bad enough where they won't work good. That includes our beaches which have lots of mineralized and magnetic black sands. I would check with others who detect in your area and see what works good for them. Join a local club.

Hello
Of course, I've joined a local club, I've heard many versions about Minelab E-Trac both positive and negative, so I went about you I want to know the truth about the various md suited to these lands!

 

[cudamark]

As long as you can get a PI machine with manual ground balance, it will work fine in bad ground. The main problem with a PI is there is very little useful discrimination. After dozens of hours in the field you can tell a little about a target by the sound but it's not 100% accurate. With most PI machines (at least the ones I've used), a nail, gold ring, and silver coin all sound the same. If you discriminate out the nails, you can also lose small gold. If where you hunt has very little iron, that may not be a problem, but most places I hunt, it's a big problem.