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California Gold Country Mineralization


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How bad is the mineralization in the California Gold Country region? I cannot seem to find much information on it, but lots on the Arizona desert region.

Should I interpret this as mostly VLF territory or just a lack of postings about it?

I've been considering the ATX for the PI capabilities but if that area can be handled by a good VLF (GB2/V3i/ATGold) that may be preferable.

Priorities for me:

1) Waterproof (I used to scuba so it may see submerged use)

2) Small-ish nugget detecting in California (primary reason for getting a detector in the first place.)

3) Surf detecting (again, see #1 just for peace of mind =)

#1 is the killer - really the only other option there is a 3030 (VLF). Things like the ATGold aren't recommended for the surf and the GB2 isn't waterproof. (I used to scuba and am looking at mask+snorkel as well.)

It really sounds like it's right up the ATX alley but I'm open to other suggestions. I wish Minelab would hurry up with the SDC2300 - not much info on it out there right now!

I don't really want to run 2-3 separate detectors but ... /shrug. Might have to, but I'd strongly prefer to just learn one machine really really well (for now.)

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Moxford;

I am not being a smart-@#$ but your question covers way to much ground...some pun intended.

In parts of plumas County there is some very hot ground...one claim is named the HOT PATCH...

Hopefully others will chime in with conditions in other areas...

 

fred

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Fred got it. Everything from low mineral great for VLF ground to stuff that will challenge the best PI in California.

The CTX and ATX are no more SCUBA capable than the AT Gold. All three are good to ten feet and my CTX I do not think I would trust to that. Frankly, I would separate SCUBA needs from nugget detecting needs. The SCUBA units good to 200 feet do not make the best nugget detectors but if I had to pick one it would be the Garrett Infinium.

I have found gold as a California newbie with the Gold Bug Pro, Gold Bug 2, F75 SE, ATX, and GPX 5000. A Gold Bug Pro would cover me for most stuff but there are plenty of places I would rather have a PI.

Check out the posts from a California expert on this forum - Ray Mills (TRINITYAU)

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Gotcha, thanks.  I was hoping that the issues with hot-ground would be the same as surf (eg, both just needing a solid dose of PI radiation instead of VLF.)  If it's really that varied then it opens up the door for VLFs more.  I've been eyeing the V3i in prospecting mode @ 22kHz - not quite GB2/ATGold but probably good enough without getting uber-specialized.

 

I am not looking for SCUBA at this time - I sold all my gear when I moved back to the States ... just playing with mask+snorkel and peace of mind for splash damage in the rivers, surf, or rain (because I'm one of those nuts who enjoys the rain.)

 

Thanks for feedback - will keep looking!

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The SCUBA units are designed to work in salt water. Salt water is conductive and actually has the same reading as a very small gold nugget or even as a very large gold nugget at the edge of detection depth. The salt water signal increases with depth, and so SCUBA capable units are detuned to a certain degree to eliminate this salt signal. This also sacrifices a degree of sensitivity for dry land gold prospecting.

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Hello Moxford, I by no means call myself an expert but I can offer my opinions on what has worked for me. I detect for gold and that is it. I currently use two units. I have a Minelab 3000 that was modified by Ishmael many years back and I have been using the Sadie coil with it lately, it is a small almost round mono coil that is produced by NuggetFinder Coils.

The other unit I use is the GB Pro by Fisher and I use the ten inch eliptical coil. The GB Pro is a VLF unit. 

I am going to offer my opinions in the order in which you asked them.

California mineralization...

 I have not found any places in which my 3000 could not handle the ground. You will however have to become familiar with what type of coil and size of coil to use in a particular ground situation. I hunt many diverse areas and choose to go with the Sadie coil because I have been able to find pieces of gold right at a grain, sometimes a hair smaller along with six or seven pennyweight nuggets at 16 to 20 inches in pretty hot ground.

How do I judge what is hot ground or mild ground ? Here lately I have been using the GB Pro to somewhat gauge the ground. I have some areas in which the GB Pro will balance out with a ground reading of 25 to 50. I have hunted over some Serpentine areas that give me a ground reading of almost a 100. The depth of the ground you are looking at hunting is going to gauge a lot of what you are going to be up against.

Many guys will hunt over exposed to very shallow (six inches) bedrock with a larger coil. I have found that the signal rate sometimes is too slow to hear very tiny pieces with a PI in this very shallow ground. These same guys will also have some deeper ground very nearby where the larger coil will be more ''usable". I have found that by going with the smallest coil that has proved itself out in these varying conditions is the best coil to go with.

You will notice that there is less EMI with a smaller coil, and many times the smaller right coil will handle the same hotter ground and still get you that three pennyweight nugget at fourteen inches. This is the exact reason I go with the Sadie. If I think there may be a chance of a larger nugget at more depth then I change coils to one that will give me the depth I am looking at.

No matter how many times this subject is brought up it still comes down to the right equipment for the job. I do not believe you are ever going to get away from this situation and feel that you are getting what gold may be in an area whether it be tiny, small or large nuggets without having the right tools.

The GB Pro has served me very well in these very diverse hot and cold ground conditions. The GB Pro is a very capable gold detector and will find a pennyweight nugget in pretty hot ground at twelve inches, sometimes a bigger piece at more depth. Where the GB Pro or a few of the other VLF's will shine is on those sub-grain pieces on very shallow bedrock.

These same VLF's will also pick up specimens in quartz or other host rocks that a PI will not touch. Do not get me wrong as a PI will also pick up some of these same pieces, but not always. If I am looking for sub-grain pieces at zero to six inches or detecting hard rock mine tailing's then the VLF is the choice detector. Trouble is you hardly ever run into ground that will allow you to use only one detector, a VLF or a PI. So once again you are back at having the right equipment for the job.

I have hunted in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, California, North Carolina and Alaska and have found diverse ground conditions in all these states, from one end of the spectrum to the other. Some of these conditions can change literally in just a very few inches. 

Waterproof...

I do not use any of my PI coils under water. I have not used any of the Minelab units that are made strictly for underwater. Just from what I have read I would want to try the new Garrett unit that will allow for full submersion. This is an area of detecting that I just do not get into, I had enough Scuba in the military.

The GB Pro is submersible to the box and I have used it very effectively for finding underwater crevices that are not too deep. There are other VLF's that will do this also.

Smallish nuggets...

I cannot answer this with a sound answer without knowing how small or deep and in what kind of ground conditions. I tried to answer this above.

Surf Detecting...

Again this something that I just do not do, however, I have some friends that have had excellent results with varying PI's and VLF's on the beaches of Northern California. The units they are using are not fully submersible though,but they do handle the beach soils.

ATX...

I have played with one of these several times and while it is a very capable unit , in my mind, it does not compare to either my 3000 or GB Pro under the same conditions. Again, these are just my opinions. Hope this helps, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

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 Ray is dead on -again. But if you find the magic-do -it-all detector let us know. For gold hunting you will inevitably end up with a PI detector with an assortment of coils. Water proof is not a issue with me as I, myself, am not water proof.

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Thank you to everyone for the input!

Ray, huge thanks for dropping by with such a great post.  I'm down in the SF Bay Area and, as you can tell, just getting into things.  I have no idea what I'm actually up against so such an in-depth answer really shines some light on it - in some ways more so than the hundred-plus pages I've been reading off of Google.

Also, your information about the sub-grain quartz is excellent - while dredging is shut down and highbanking isn't allowed anymore (for all intents and purposes) there's no regulations that I can find against sluicing or drywashing.

I am surprised to hear that the ATX didn't hold up for you.  In many of the videos online (including the ATX vs GPX 5k shootout) it seemed to do quite well (and being that it's a PI I wouldn't expect much issue with soil.)  Interesting to hear that you think the ATX isn't quite as good as your 3k but it seems to stand up well to the 5k?  Is the 3k better for the type of hunting you do compared to the 5k or is it just "internet skew?"  =)

Thanks again everyone, and especially to Steve for being incredibly active, helpful and generous with his time on the many forums I'm reading (including his own)! 

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The other unit I use is the GB Pro by Fisher and I use the ten inch eliptical coil. The GB Pro is a VLF unit. 

 

If you don't mind my asking, what led you to the GBPro instead of the GB2?  I've heard that the GB2 is "better" for small gold, but perhaps you're using the iron discrimination?

 

Thanks!

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