How to Find Gold With A Modern Metal Detector

File:Pictograms-nps-misc-metal detectors-2.svgMetal detectors are an essential part of any plan to look for gold. There are many different kinds of metal detectors available on the market, at a wide range of price points, making shopping for a metal detector that will work for you a tricky proposition.

Before considering specific models of metal detectors, it is important to understand exactly how a metal detector works. They all work on the same basic principle, in that they feature a coil on the wand that becomes an electromagnet when the metal detector is turned on. The kind of gold you are planning to search for determines what specific kind of metal detector you need, as the ones required to find gold nuggets tend to be more expensive than those that would find buried jewelry.

There are two basic kinds of metal detectors. One is induction balance, also known as a VLF model. This version works by moving the energy up and down through the coil, which makes the machine more sensitive, triggering the discovery of smaller amounts of minerals than other detectors will.

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The other kind of metal detector is a pulse induction, or PI, model. In these machines, the metal detector works by pushing pulses of energy through the coil in short bursts. They are less sensitive to small amounts of minerals than the induction balance detectors but can detect minerals that are deeper in the ground than the induction balance detectors.

The flagship metal detector for most serious gold-hunters is the Fisher Gold Bug 2. This highly powerful induction detector has a wide range of special features and coil sizes to make it versatile enough for any mineral searcher. Field tests indicate that this metal detector can find very small gold nuggets, down to half a gram, at a distance of 1.5 inches.

Another popular choice is the Goldmaster GMT, which is said to be the best in the VLF, or very low frequency, class. One unique feature of the Goldmaster GMT is the ability to “follow the streak” to track gold deposits more easily and effectively.

Simply buying a metal detector is not enough to make a person into a gold prospector. Metal detectors are valuable tools, that are best used in conjunction with traditional mineral finding techniques. Understanding the kind of rocks and mineral content in the soil of the area where you are prospecting, as well as the history of gold discovery in the area, is essential to know before you take your metal detector out to hunt for gold.

Gold metal detectors are not inexpensive items and extensive research into your needs is recommended before purchasing anything. However, having a good metal detector can make finding gold a feasible option for you.

For more information on beginning prospecting get the eBookThe Prepared Idiot's guide to propesting !

How to Pan for Gold

To be the most suGold Panningccessful in your endeavor to pan for gold you will need some basic equipment and some practice. The good news is that the equipment is fairly easy to get. As for the practice that is up to you. Here is list of basic equipment for the job.

 

  • Gold Pan Black or Green Plastic doesn’t matter you just need something to contrast the color of gold.
  • Shovel
  • Magnet
  • Tweezers
  • Snuffer bottle
  • Small squeeze bottle of dish soap
  • Classifier in size 1/4 inch (4 mesh)
  • Small glass vial with lid

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How to Use a Sluice Box

In the early gold Old gold rush sluice boxrush days the sluice box consisted of a simple wooden trough lined with raised obstructions placed at a ninety-degree angle to the flow of the water. These obstructions are what are known as riffels. When all of the gold carrying gravel is “run” through the sluice the water is shut off and the riffels are removed. The heavy materials containing the gold known as concentrates would be gathered. This run would sometimes consist of processing several tons of gold-bearing gravel through the box. Continue reading

How to Stake a Gold Claim

You might be surprsluice-box-3ised to learn that you can still find gold in the United States. In fact, over 80% of the world’s gold is still yet to be found. I guess once you realize these facts the questions are: Where can I go to find gold? And if I do find gold how can I be sure I get to keep it? Well, there are two likely routes you can go to answer these questions. First, you can join the Gold Prospector’s Association of America (GPAA) then you are entitled to go out and prospect on any of there gold claims or land leases across America. If you are the more adventurous type you can strike out on your own on any of the open public land across the country and try and stake your own claim.

Here is the Idiot’s quick guide on how to find and stake your very own gold claim: Continue reading

Dry Prospecting vs. Wet Prospecting

There ideserto-sonora-paesaggios a great difference between wet and dry prospecting.

Wet prospecting is by far the more useful and the one which will provide the most frequent discoveries this is because you get a much better separation rate of gold from gravel when wet and sent through a sluice box and subsequent sieve or series of sieves. However, this separation rate is much, much lower when dry and the likelihood of expelling gold with your sand or gravel is greatly increased. Continue reading

The Prepared Idiot’s Guide to Prospecting for Gold

Eureka! In this episode Rich Barna “The Prepared Idiot” takes a look at how to start prospecting for gold! Who doesn’t dream as gold covera child of stumbling across a pile of gold, buried deep in your own backyard? Unfortunately, not many pirates have left treasure troves just under the surface in cities and towns, but you may be surprised to learn that gold prospecting still has a vast number of enthusiasts up and down the country. However, you may be sad to learn that the actual financial value of what you find could be very low indeed. It is the thrill of the chase and the wonder of being in the great outdoors that many people find so invigorating, and so why not give it a try?

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