White's MXT Will Go Down In History As All Time Favorite

[Gerry in Idaho]

Looking back over some of my finds in years past and my favorite detectors, I keep coming back to the tried and true MXT.  Well balanced, user friendly, great selection of coils, is good in England on lower conductor targets and also a champ at finding solid gold nuggets.  So many of my friends have had great success with the MXT as there is not much to setting it up.  It is almost a Turn on & Go detector literally and the older folks like it that way.  I have years of fond memories of the MXT and even the newer versions of it.

What are some of your favorite White's detectors and if you have photos of finds, please share with us.

A few pics of MXT success I have enjoyed.

[auminesweeper]

Good Lord Gerry you did alright, I have to agree with you there, First thing I always do is update my MXT after I got that one secure then I buy the rest at my leisure, Like all machines they all have their quirks but it just so happens that the MXT's quirks work In the right way, And your right about the coils, I have from the little 4x6 and the 5.3 which is the hottest coil for the MXT right up to the 15" MAX coil, My favourite DD is the Detech 14x10 it has a couple of inches more depth over the 10"DD possibly even the 12" concentric but it can handle the hotter ground better than the concentric,

The MXT has become a Legend in it's own life time, Two must have detectors for prospecting is the MXT and the GPX but I would also have to add the SDC,

I would sell any detector but not the MXT unless I was buying another one and trading it in for the new one, I think it's just that it works no excuses needed no silly menu's to get wrong, just turn it on beep and dig, plus there are about 40 or 50 coils out there made for it, Love the Balance of that 14x10 on there, it just Glides over the ground, Heaven, "Oh Yeah".

John.

PS, Gerry I gotta ask, but how deep were those nuggets ? Awesome pics, any stories to go with those pictures thanks for posting.

[auminesweeper]

JW, I still got the Love for the GMT,  both the MXT and the GMT are to reliable machines that are hard to pass up, If there is Gold there then they will find it, And if a person feels the need once it has been found then ya can bring out the new younger whipper snappers, I love VLF's when the trash keeps turning up,

The ZED is a whole new world, but I would imagine junk might make life tough, The only down side to the ZED is you need an extra long Pick and a Shovel to match and Arms like Popeye to Dig with.

[Steve Herschbach]

There have only been a few metal detectors that are real classics, and the White's MXT is one of them. One of the first truly "do-it-all" detectors that pulls its weight equally well for many uses.

I am going to take a lot of the credit for popularizing it as a gold nugget detector. I got to run the first MXT at Ganes Creek - actually one of the first MXTs anywhere - and it was like the perfect machine for the place. I advertised it as such and it did indeed become the machine of choice at Ganes Creek for several years. That in turn led to a steady flow of incredible nugget finds from Ganes Creek, with Gerry and his yearly visits playing a prominent part in that.

My own 6.85 oz "Ugly Nugget" was found at Ganes in 2002 setting the stage for it all, and creating a nice bookend for my story Thirty Years with White's Metal Detectors - 1972 - 2002

Great subject - thanks for posting Gerry!

[Gerry in Idaho]

Auminesweep,  I have dug gold with the MXT up to approx 14".  It used to be my #1 machine in trash areas and tailing piles.  Many stories to tell with that model of detector, but not the time to tell them.  Maybe out in the field at Rye Patch some evening over a couple whisky shots, the stories might come out.

Kiwi,  I realized the White's site has been slow, so I thought a few pics and MXT  info could get it fired back up.   We (as detector users) never want to see a company go down hill as competition is what keeps advancements.  Yes there are some other fine detectors I like too, example.  The Gold Bug-2 has been a Gold Magnet in my arsenal for 20+ years.  That little picker you share is the bread and butter of nugget hunting.  Experience shows you know proper coil control to get those.

Steve,  We both have had some serious success with the MXT and yes you did plant the seed in my mind about Ganes.  1st few years the GB-2 was king there, then you realized the better DISC of the MXT and if you put in the time, all kinds of gold was coming home.  Luv that young mug you have in the pic.

Yes I (any many others) would enjoy seeing some photos and stories of White's Success.  Hopefully other will share some of their detector discoveries.

 

[auminesweeper]

Going back more than a few years a friend showed me that the MXT could see things that my 2 new machines couldn't, And in a frosty mood I got on the computer and I found some of Steve's early success stories, not knowing too much about him apart from he had driven just about every detector that had come out and the fact that it even surprized him how good it was back then, This was a Sunday night, with the Major all brand detector importers 7 or 8 miles away I had a new MXT 300 in my hand by 10:30am Monday morning.

I phoned the friend who showed me what it could do and he told me how to set it up and off I went, In the excitement I went off without food and water 14 hours later I came home feeling almost broken, hungry, thirsty, and worn out from digging the toughest ground I have ever dug til this day, something was wrong, I dug good sounds that came out as bad and nothing worked, After a week of hibernating I thought I'd give it another shot only this time I took test pieces to set it up.

I got to a spot 800yds from the first place using the test bits to set up the machine and walked up the 4/5 foot bank on to the little plateau and the first sweep of the coil I got 3 medium volume signals about 4 feet apart, I dug the first one that was reading 55 on the VDI and it was a huge Mens 18ct Gold Ring, wiping off some of the dirt I said please be REAL, out with the eye glass "Oh Lordy" It was, I sat down and had a Coffee and laughed and I almost was ready to go home right then,

Then I thought I better dig the other signals, the second one 14" from where the Ring came out, and a few inches 4/5 down out popped a huge Pocket Watch T-Bar from a watch fob, out with the eye glass revealed that I had another 3rd of an Ounce of 18ct Gold, sitting on my Knees I thought my mate "his name is Steve too" Is never going to believe this, even more so when you consider this place had been used as a test site for the past 40 years and had been used for 100's of detector rallies and had once fallen victim to a full on archaeological Dig not 100yds from where I was standing,

Now I am more than ready to call it a day, then I remembered the third signal that was almost at the end of the sweep 4 feet from the first target I had another Coffee, gulped it down and started digging 5" out came a fine woman's Gold ring again in perfect shape, the eye glass confirmed that it was also 18ct, now I am shaking my head still saying "Steve is never going to believe this"  Not wanting to damage it I wrapped it up in tissue and put it in a safe place, 

Now the day was more than perfect, 3 lots of Gold in your first sweep of the coil with a new machine on the first day ? that can't be right ?,

The following weeks had me searching 7 days a week 10-14 hours a day and in a place that people said was dead / useless forgetting about the Gold, I found more ancient coins and relics in a day than anyone had found in 5 years prior and In a week I was finding the stuff I had only seen in magazines and only dreamt of, In a place that had seen every French, American and Australian detector made for the last 30/40 years from a time when brand snobbery had not been invented,

When people ask what machine you use they quickly dismiss the subject when you tell them an MXT with a deflated "Oh".  and I wonder Is there a best machine out there ? I don't know for sure, but from what I have seen with the MXT you can't reinvent the Wheel, that has been around for over 6/7,000 years, It's not a gadget or a gizmo, It's a Tool that is solely  about detecting, How do you judge something like that, that has done all of the above ? and why I spent so many years testing it in some of the worst places on earth, The only way I can judge it is by calling it a Tool because it just gets to work and gets it done. Is it the best detector ever made ?  I can't answer that but it is the best Tool ever made.

  

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Hi Gerry… thanks for a timely post highlighting White’s Metal Detectors, an American company that historically has set an innovative engineering standard by which all other metal detecting products have been compared. And for those eye-catching photos depicting a variety of extraordinary recoveries using a White’s MXT metal detector, they illustrate the ultimate in successful treasure hunting.

I currently have a White’s MXT 300 and an assortment of coils used primarily for prospecting native silver ores and nuggets in northeastern Ontario. Aside from silver float searching in natural environs where bedrock is generally near the surface, we contend with an abundance of iron and other trash signals in the abandoned mine tailings. We also struggle with conductive pyrrhotite hotrocks, niccolite, and cobalt minerals that generate good positive signals from both VLF and PI units. 

Those conditions make the MXT’s 13.88 kHz operating frequency, target ID meter, discrimination modes, and particularly the motion all-metal prospecting mode featuring iron probability, VDI and ground phase readouts an excellent choice. The MXT and wide selection of coil types and sizes is ideally suited to this application, and especially so because the most desirable targets weigh ounces and more.

Below is an excerpt from a recent article entitled Recreational Prospecting in the Silverfields of Northeastern Ontario. It describes a rewarding field experience a year-and-a-half ago utilizing the White’s MXT 300 equipped with a 12” diameter concentric searchcoil to successfully recover large native silver.

A Tale of Two Target Signals

Late one afternoon, an elongated signal, correctly indicated by the MXT’s iron probability readout, proved to be a sizable iron bar that was removed from several inches below the surface. Rechecking the immediate area produced another signal that was slightly offset to one side and perhaps a foot deeper. It consistently read at 20% iron probability, and resulted in the large silver sample you see below. It was a special moment to find it so close to the surface, and to realize that the encouraging audio signal and target ID had been produced by silver. 

If the iron bar hadn't first been removed, that silver signal would have been entirely masked by it regardless of coil size or type. The overlying shallow iron bar had produced a completely dominant, blaring signal. 

The specimen below was HCl acid treated to remove excessive carbonate rock. It was cleaned with a rotary tool silicon carbide bit, followed by a soapy wash and rinse to produce the silver specimen depicted in the photo below. While not exactly a handsome sample because the silver is embedded in a dark blue-grey carbonate rock, it is a fine example of massively structured dendritic native silver that accounts for most of the sample’s total weight.................... Jim.

[auminesweeper]

Jim, It's always a nice day when you drop by, that is one massive lump of silver, It is almost like leaf Gold only Silver in colour, thanks for posting,

John.

[Gerry in Idaho]

Jim,  Your story and recovery are amazing.  Just goes to show that sometimes you need to remove some trash to find treasure.  The best native silver I have seem recovered with a detector.  I too enjoyed the Super 12" round coil later names 300MM.  Thanks for adding to the post and sharing Success.  Well done.

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:08 AM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Jim,  Your story and recovery are amazing.  Just goes to show that sometimes you need to remove some trash to find treasure.  The best native silver I have seem recovered with a detector.  I too enjoyed the Super 12" round coil later names 300MM.  Thanks for adding to the post and sharing Success.  Well done.

Thanks everyone for those appreciative comments above. I do enjoy responding to Gerry’s knowledgeable and interactive contributions to this forum. That’s not always possible for me because I’m not familiar with the western goldfields where Gerry conducts his training sessions or otherwise pursues gold nugget hunting.

Gerry… I have no interest in straying too far off topic, but felt I should respond to your comment highlighted above. The specimen posted earlier is only one of many sizable native silver recoveries made over the years. It’s a nice find, but I would like to show you an additional few examples from Ontario’s silverfields. The first two samples depicted below are pretty much in a natural “as dug” condition. I’ve included a third smaller example because its size is more than compensated for by its solid nugget structure and high purity, a rare find in this area. All these could easily have been detected with a White’s MXT metal detector. It was only a matter of chance that a different prospecting-capable metal detector was utilized when these samples were found. 

For hobby newcomers reading along, the photos are not intended to suggest that anyone can reasonably expect to head out and detect large specimen grade silver in this area. My intent is to point out that the potential does exist, particularly if one has experience in the area, is a competent metal detector operator, and is willing to persevere and physically work.

I don’t have a decent photo for the larger sample below. It’s just too lengthy to get sufficiently close with a camera to reveal detail. I’ve included an additional section close-up photo that helps in that regard. The entire calcite matrix is inundated with massive dendritic native silver of high purity, and incidentally, all the silver is electrically connected. There are no other mineral inclusions to subtract from the specimen’s appearance or value. To date Gerry, it is the most valuable thing I have found with a metal detector………………… Jim.