Gold Nugget Hunting in New Mexico 2013
With Metal and Gold Detector Coils it could be far too easy to become lost in granular discussions. I use both terms Metal and Gold Detector as different people refer to the same gold recovery tool (detector) with both terms. Below are some general guidelines that should help you decide on what coils you will need to be a successful gold prospector with a detector. This article is written with Pulse Induction Metal and Gold Detectors in mind but can also apply to Low Frequency Metal and Gold Detectors. I’m just sharing my personal experiences here, yours may vary. This article is based on my use of the following, a Tesoro Lobo 1995-2002, White’s GMT 2002-2006, Minelab GP Extreme 2002 – present (Nov. 2014), Minelab GP 3500 (July 2005 – Jan. 2007) and Fisher Gold Bug 2 March 2011 – present (Nov. 2014). The pictures here are all of me detecting gold over the years and I’m not going to claim to be an expert anything, just a seasoned prospector who has spent years in the field, constantly learning.
Hiking out from a gold nugget patch with multiple coils and detectors. Southern Arizona, 2006.
Consideration 1, size. Size does matter with Metal and Gold Detector Coils. Generally, the smaller the coil the more sensitive it is to smaller gold nuggets. If you’re not wanting to dig deep holes and plan on hunting for gold nuggets on shallow bedrock then small coil is the way to go. With both my GP Extreme (pulse induction | 8 inch mono coil) and Fisher Gold Bug 2 (very low frequency| 6.5 inch coil) I’ve found extremely small, sub gram gold nuggets and tiny bird shot. On the larger scale size I’ve found half ounce gold nuggets with both as well as shallower depths.
If you want to use a mid range coil that covers both small shallow gold nuggets on bedrock and somewhat deeper targets an 11 or 14 inch coil might be your best bet. My favorite coil of choice is a 14 inch mono by Coiltek for the GP Extreme. The 14 will have you digging some holes three plus feet deep with larger targets, so keep that in mind. With the Gold Bug 2 the 10 inch coil is the deeper end of the unit’s performance spectrum but it won’t match the Extreme for depth and handing the hotter, more mineralized ground.
Gold Nugget Detecting 2008. Central Arizona.
Going larger in the pulse induction arena my maximum preference size for a coil is 18 inches, but there are larger. I have an 18 mono coil but it does not see heavy use. I also have a 17 inch double d. Remember the larger the coil the heavier it is, just the way it works. Some coil manufacturers have been trying hard to eliminate weight and have moved to a more “open spoke” design on their Metal and Gold Detector Coils. So the guideline here is small equals shallow, larger equals deep. All coils have their own range of sensitivity but that also follows the guideline, the larger the coil the less chance it will find smaller targets. Think of a graph, there are trend-lines where growing size and sensitivity part ways. Easy.
Gold Nugget Hunting Little San Domingo Placers 2004
Consideration 2, Mineralization. Double D coils are preferred by many in hotter (more noisy) soil conditions but mono coils normally outperform them in areas of sensitivity. I’ve only found a few places that I could not run a mono coil by adjusting the detector but they are out there. If you’re not prepared for this scenario then it’s likely you’ll miss recovery of some gold nuggets. I prospect for gold with a mono coil 95% of the time.
Consideration 3, terrain. What coil you select should be weighed against the terrain. A larger coil needs more open ground and a smaller coil is easier to work in tight brushy areas.
Gold Prospecting in Southern Arizona 2011 with Minelab GP Extreme and Coiltek 17 DD Pro.
Consideration 4, discrimination. Discrimination is possible with pulse induction double d coils but you have to be very close to the target for it to work. As a note here the discrimination knob on my GP Extreme broke 10 years ago and I never bothered with it after that. I have been impressed with both the GMT’s and the Gold Bug 2’s iron discrimination I dig all targets and I promise you, that if you don’t dig all targets you will, at some point leave gold behind.
Sampling for stringer gold with a metal detector. White’s GMT 2005.
Consideration 5, search patterns. Search patterns are different for a mono and double d coil. A mono is a conical shaped search pattern (upside down cone) while a double d is generally the shape of the coil or some call it, blade shaped.
That’s hopefully enough quality information for you to begin your selection of coils. I’m not a gold equipment dealer so I can’t help you there but you may find some good info here Gold Prospecting Links on the folks I’d recommend. And if you still need help on choosing a detector you might want to read this article, Gold Detectors a Quick Beginners Guide to the Best Models. And on that note I’d like to let you know that my decade plus old Minelab GP Extreme still finds plenty of gold. You don’t need the latest and greatest model, just some good old fashioned experience at gold prospecting, patience and persistence. Good luck out there!
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