Something for a bit complicated area

[Skirmitch]

Hey guys, new around here (already made my introduction post). I'm starting to research the world of treasure hunting with metal detectors but I need some specialized guidance in one of the topics. The main place where I want to start hunting is a place I know like the palm of my hand. Has much much potential to hide conquistadores related objects and other stuff from around that time buuuuuuuut (there's always a but) I went there already once with a friend of mine who happens to have a metal detector and the experience was horrible.
This place is in the mountains (Imagine a climate like California and 800 meters above the sea lvl, cacti everywhere and small bushes, rocks everywhere and lose dust or stone like hard soil) and is stupidly rich in copper (there are actually mines around), also, near the specific place we were checking, high tension lines pass precisely to these mines. The thing is that we went there with my friend (which is VEEERY amateur, we could say he only owns a metal detector and that's it) and tried to find something, anything, even something from 1980 would have driven me crazy, but we ended up with the metal detector going crazy, (a very cheap one too), giving positives everywhere and then negatives in the same place and then positive again and well, u get it. My friend blamed the high copper contents of the mountain (which indeed are high) and/or the high tension lines running some meters away from us (less than 100 meters). The point of this post, is that for me that place is stupidly special and if I get in this world of treasure hunting I want to start there YES or YES or YES and the potential finds range from gold stuff to steel or brass or whatever the soldiers of those times would have carried (swords, buttons, insignias, armors, horseshoes, rifles, etc. So here go the questions:
1.- Is it so stupid to try to hunt there, too difficult for a new guy (I have TONS of background in different fields so I learn quite fast)?
2.- Can u guide me around what I would have to buy in terms of detectors, what kind of features am I looking for, brands or even specific models?
3.- Is it correct the deduction of my friend about the copper contents of the mountains and/or the high tension lines?
4.- Is there anything MUST READ that u have, could u point me in that direction, please?

EDIT: In case u are wondering, the one I have been looking at is the Garret AT Pro but I could be absolutely wrong and don't want to screw it.

 

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[Rawhide]

To answer your question from my own experience, you may be doing nothing wrong. The metal detector could be having issues. The soil is only going to effect depth. With that said, you have years of blowing sand and rains that has buried most of what you are looking for. I have used the AT Pro with some success in the desert of New Mexico. My best finds were made with my Fisher F75 using a assortment of coils. Try to look for mine tailing piles. Look for a camp or old stone or mud buildings. If you can find any old maps of the area you may be able to locate areas to hunt. Mines themselves are just trouble, but searching around them safely may produce some finds. One thing you will need to do, when you get a metal detector you will need to read the manual and learn how best to use it. I usually just barely crank my detectors on and run low sensitivity with little or no discrimination. Threshold is important too. Not all detectors have threshold adjustments. If you go economy and get a beep and dig machine, you will be hard pressed to find much. But there is always exceptions. I like copper deposits, but then depends on what you are looking for. As we used to say in the Army, "You'll never get rich". In your situation since you mention the AT Pro, you may consider the AT Gold as it has a true all metal mode. Hope this has answered some of your questions.

 

[cudamark]

Some mining areas have real challenging soils. Hot rocks can drive you crazy! Some areas the ground mineralization can change every few feet. Get a machine that has both manual and automatic ground balancing. You may have to do a bit of research to determine which model will also be good handling the EMI of the power lines. You may want to contact people who nugget hunt in your area for recommendations.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Minelab GPX machines (Pulse Induction) Starts at $2,400.00 new

VLF Machines $600.00+Up

Garrett AT Gold
Whites GMT
Fisher Goldbug
Tesoro Lobo Super Traq
Teknetics G2

and the list continues. Important to have manual ground balance, a DD coil, and a higher operating frequency (18kHz+)

 

[cudamark]

Minelab GPX machines (Pulse Induction) Starts at $2,400.00 new

VLF Machines $600.00+Up

Garrett AT Gold
Whites GMT
Fisher Goldbug
Tesoro Lobo Super Traq
Teknetics G2

and the list continues. Important to have manual ground balance, a DD coil, and a higher operating frequency (18kHz+)

Those are fine for small gold, but, there are better choices for relic hunting. High frequencies are great for tiny nuggets, but, you get better depth with low frequencies.

 

[Skirmitch]

Those are fine for small gold, but, there are better choices for relic hunting. High frequencies are great for tiny nuggets, but, you get better depth with low frequencies.

Nuggets u mean small natural gold pieces? Like non-crafted natural gold? I have absolutely 0 interest in that, does that mean I need to use low frequencies? Can u suggest a range and/or metal detector brands and/or models? As far as I've been researching it seems I'm interested in relic hunting in both, medium and low trash content places but sometimes very high copper mineralization of the ground.

 

[cudamark]

Yes, I was talking natural gold nuggets. For a relic machine with discrimination, I'd look at the Fisher F75, the XP Deus, and Minelab machines such as the Safari, Xterra 705, E-trac, and CTX.