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Tips For Buying A Minelab GPZ 7000 ?


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I live in CA in an area where there are literally 1,000s of old gold mines. I have the gold bug and I've saved up to buy a GPZ 7000 specifically for detecting inside old mines for rich quartz ore and outside for buried nuggets (mostly the later).

This will be my very first metal detector and I'd like to know if there are any "must-have" accessories or this particular detector for what I'll be doing? There seems to be a never-ending list of accessories and I don't want to waste money I don't have, nor do I want to cut myself short after buying the best.

Also, separate from the detection rig, what other accessories are a must? I'd like to find a pick/shovel combination, an over the shoulder bag. I already have a hardhat with a light, spare flashlight, and a canteen.

I'm also the sort of guy that will be refining the gold myself prior to sale to obtain the most value (unless it's a gorgeous nugget to sell as-is). I'll be doing a crushing > nitric acid > aqua regia > smelting > casting small bars setup. Of course, I won't invest in any of that until I have enough ounces of gold to start and pay for itself.

Thanks in advance! This is going to be a weekend hobby for my 16 year old son and I as the next step of the mine exploring we have been doing for years.

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I would say you have some ideas there and I hope your hopes come true.  It should not be for any of us to say it can't be done.  There is still lots of gold out there.

What I would say is that there is a 'difference' in exploring old mines and tailing piles and prospecting them.  Research the present owner to know if you are on a claimed location.  You want to go back again and again to that gold you do find so have someone help you file a claim.

If there are going to be two of you prospecting you should consider a second detector in a VLF category.  As a matter of fact you may want to get the second detector first when considering the areas you are working.  You may not need the Zed power to find that gold.  Wait for other replies and for the snow to melt and then you should be ready.

Mitchel

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I'd look into a sdc2300 for underground detecting.  The 7000 is pretty tough to swing around in tight places and the big coil is not easily stabbed down into craggy bedrock. 

The 7000 is great for wide open field hunting, hydraulic pits and that type of ground.

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G'day anguilla.  Welcome to the forum.

For inside the mine (unless it is quite open and cavernous) you may find the GPZ a real pain in the bum and nowhere near the best detector for that job.   Holding a GPZ sideways in a mine will bring weight challenges, will be awkward, may not ground balance properly, has a very large coil, etc.   Coil control is essential to get the best out of the Z. 

Something like a Gold Monster that you can stick on a shortened broom stick (literally) and that has a small coil that you can poke into holes and crevices and is smoking hot on really tiny gold might be a much more appropriate and cheaper alternative. 

Certainly for outside the mine the GPZ will shine with regard to detecting shallow and deep gold.  But...it will also detect every other scrap of metal known to man and will have you digging some seriously deep holes for bolts, screws, tin, etc.  And if this location has had a thousand mines then it has had 10,000 miners and they will have left crap everywhere. 

The GPZ is a beast and I have loved mine but yours may be a situation where another detector/s may suit your needs better?

Whatever you decide, enjoy the time with your son.  That's the gold  ?

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anguilla, pity you can't get hold of a QED as not only are they super light, but a QED will not go 'off it's nut' when used vertically, unlike Minelab detectors. Very good for checking the walls of open cuts and drives.

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If your looking for a 7000 then I would get a list of Minelab dealers then start calling or emailing them and asking if they have a demo unit for sale.   These should come with the full 3 year warranty and you should be able to pick one up for around $5100.  I know five guys who all did this and the range was $5025 to $5300.   Good Luck

 

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  Mr. Anguilla; You already have a couple of very important "accessories". One is your optimism  and the other is the willingness to seek advise. A GPZ 7000 is not the last word in gold detectors. for detecting under ground you will find it to be a big, clumsy, heavy, club of a detector. So here is 2cents worth of advise. Get a good Minelab GPX model with a small mono coil ( a Nugget Finder Sadie comes to mind) and what you loose in performance (questionable) will be more than compensated by the agility to work overhead and easily follow the contours of the tunnel surfaces plus  ability to shorten the coil shaft on a GPX. However the 7000 is unbeatable (at this time) for cleaning up hydraulic pit floors and ground sluice areas. If it is at all possible try to arrange  at least a couple of hours with a 7000 and that would tell you a lot about what you are trying to learn. There just isn't one detector that will do it all.

  You can pay me 2 cents out of next summers profit.

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Thanks a lot for the advice everyone, much appreciated!

It's given me much more to think about and consider. Good thing I asked before making the purchase.

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