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I became involved in metal detecting and gold prospecting at an early age and have been at it now for over 45 years. My quest has taken me all over the world and this journal documents many of those adventures. I hope to offer an idea of what can be done by one person with relatively inexpensive equipment. Keep in mind I have been doing this most of my life, and that I am familiar with the areas I am working. I don't want to imply you can just jump right in and have the same results I have. On the other hand, if one works at it, the rewards can be immense. I'm not talking about just the gold and other finds, but the sheer fun and adventure of the search! So here we go, with the successes, and occasional failures, of a prospector and detectorist from Alaska. Steve with 14.1 Dwt Nugget found at Ganes Creek, Alaska The reuse of these stories and images is strictly protected under the copyright laws. You may not do so without my express permission. Image reuse on other websites will normally only require a credit and a link back to this page... but only if I am notified in advance for permission. This Journal is dedicated to my wife for encouraging and supporting my adventures, and to my father for getting me started on the search for gold. ~ Steve Herschbach 2023 - Over 50 Years of Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Garrett Axiom in Australia September 2022 2020 - Year of the Pandemic Hunting Ancient Gold in England October 2018 Minelab Equinox Finds Silver Fall 2017 Minelab GPZ 19 Gets First Gold June 8, 2017 Gold Specimen With GPZ 7000 November 1, 2016 Garrett ATX Return To Hawaii April 10, 2015 Nevada Gold With The Garrett ATX September 9, 2014 California With Nokta FORS Gold October 11, 2014 Minelab SDC 2300 Finds Tiny Gold August 24, 2014 Detecting Hawaii With Garrett ATX February 4, 2014 Gold Detecting with Garrett ATX November 20, 2013 Fisher F75 Strikes Gold in Alaska! June 2013 Alaska Gold Dredging 2013 January 2013 2011 Australia Gold Adventure Ganes Creek with F75 and GPX 5000 June 2011 Alaska Gold with Minelab GPX 5000 September 2010 Detecting Micro Gold at Crow Creek September 13, 2009 Minelab X-Terra 50 at Cabo Spring 2006 Beach Detecting with GP 3500 Fall 2005 White's Surf PI & Platinum in Hawaii December 18, 2004 Coin Detecting with Garrett Infinium 2004 MORE STORIES BELOW THE AD Garrett Axiom in Alaska August 2022 Steve’s 2019 UK Adventure September 2019 The Chisana Story 1973 - 2018 XP Deus 74 Khz Elliptical Coil July 22, 2017 Gold With Minelab Gold Monster May 7, 2017 Nevada Gold With GPZ 7000 June 29, 2015 Minelab GPZ 7000 Eureka Moment March 11, 2015 Nokta Scores Gold Specimen Fall 2014 Sore Feet And Gold September 3, 2014 Steve's 2014 Alaska Gold Adventure Steve's 2013 Alaska Gold Adventure Gold and Silver with the Garrett ATX November 2013 Making Lemonade Out of Lemons May 2013 Last Visit to Ganes Creek June 2012 Fisher F75 & Gold Nuggets June 2011 Ancient Coins at Colchester, UK October 1, 2010 Moore Creek Gold Treated with Acid May 2010 White's TDI at Moore Creek, Alaska Summer 2008 White's M6 & Surf PI Pro in Hawaii December 20, 2005 Bulldozer Adventure (Moore Creek) Fall 2004 & Spring 2005 George's Moore Creek Nugget July 2004 Moore Creek Permits & Gold June 2004 MORE STORIES BELOW THE AD ads by Google... Garrett Infinium at Moore Creek Fall 2003 Moore Creek, Alaska June 28, 2003 GP Extreme in the Fortymile May 23, 2003 Shadow X5 at Crow Creek September 18, 2002 Detector Reps at Ganes Creek June 17, 2002 First Gold with White's GMT May 11, 2002 Minelab SD2200D at Fortymile August 18, 2001 Exploring Petersville, Alaska August 5, 2001 Gold Layers at Crow Creek June 15, 2001 Fall Mining at Mills Creek September 16, 2000 Where Gold Comes From August 13, 2000 GPAA Claims at Mills Creek June 24, 2000 Spring Gold Dredging at Crow Creek May 2000 Sniping for Gold at Mills Creek October 24, 1999 4" Subsurface Dredge at Crow Creek October 9, 1999 Gold Dredging at Mills Creek October 2, 1999 5" Subsurface Dredge at Mills Creek August 21, 1999 Mills Creek Cooperative July 17, 1999 About Subsurface Gold Dredges June 24, 1999 Tesoro Lobo at Crow Creek May 23, 1999 Origin of Gold at Crow Creek May 8, 1999 Canyon Dredging at Crow Creek April 24, 1999 Winter Dredging at Crow Creek Fall 1996 Minelab GP 3000 at Moore Creek August 7, 2003 GP 3000 & MXT Get Fortymile Gold June 6, 2003 Garrett Infinium in Hawaii February 18, 2003 Infinium & MXT at Ganes Creek August 29, 2002 Memorial Day at Ganes Creek May 25, 2002 30 Years with White's Detectors 1972-2002 Lode Gold at Hatcher Pass August 12, 2001 Detecting Gold at Ganes Creek June 22, 2001 Crow Creek Nugget Rescue November 4, 2000 Detecting Gold in the Fortymile September 1, 2000 Detecting Gold at Chisana July 21, 2000 Minelab SD2200D at Crow Creek June 10, 2000 Gold in Hawaii Winter 1999 Sluicing Gold at Crow Creek October 17, 1999 Metal Detecting at Mills Creek October 5, 1999 Gold Mining at Mills Creek September 5, 1999 4" Subsurface Dredge at Mills Creek August 15, 1999 Old Stream Layers at Crow Creek July 10, 1999 Detecting Small Gold at Crow Creek May 30, 1999 Flooded Out! of Crow Creek Goldmaster & SD2200D Detectors May 15, 1999 What's Placer Gold Worth? May 1, 1999 First Nugget with a Metal Detector 1973 - 1989

The Tarsacci MDT 8000 metal detector was introduced in late 2018 and is still in production. It is a selectable frequency metal detector aimed primarily at beach detecting at this time but that may find applications in relic detecting and other types of detecting. The Tarsacci MDT 8000 allows the operator to choose between one of four operating frequencies - 6.4, 9, 12, and 18 kHz. Tarsacci is a new U.S. based company just getting off the ground , founded by Dimitar Gargov. Dimitar worked previously at Fisher Labs and is credited with being a major force in the development of the Fisher Gold Strike, Coin Strike, and ID Edge detectors. The Tarsacci MDT 8000 is a different detector in that it is employing time domain processing in a selectable single frequency detector. This is in addition to the frequency based phase processing typical of most single frequency detectors, and so the MDT 8000 is being referred to as having multi domain processing, or as the Tarsacci website calls it, Mixed Domain Technology. This means the MDT 8000 has some unique capabilities and operating characteristics compared to nearly all standard single frequency detectors on the market today. The method employed is unique and currently has a patent application pending. In particular, the MDT 8000 features completely different controls for handling ground balancing, and also what it refers to as a salinity balance control. Multifrequency detectors usually handle the compensation for ground and salt mineralization as an under the hood process beyond user control. The Tarsacci MDT 8000 gives you the ability to ground balance with one control, and compensate for salinity and other low conductive issues with a separate control. In a nutshell, this unique ability is what makes the MDT 8000 different from other metal detectors available today. See the owner's manual link below for details. Tarsacci MDT-8000 metal detector From the Tarsacci MDT 8000 Owner's Manual: "The Tarsacci was developed under the premise of mineralized dirt. There is a wide variance of minerals around the World. As such, performance may be gained (in many cases) with "Black Sand" and/or "Salt" Mode(s) invoked, even if local dirt conditions do not contain black sand or salt. Finding a few deeper targets; then experimenting with the Black Sand and Salt Modes on these deeper targets, can be a real eye-opener. For example: a combination of natural graphite (a form of hot rock) present in mineralized magnetic soil. In this case, find a piece of native graphite. Using the salinity balance function, balance the detector to it: then ground balance the detector. With a proper salinity balance setting, the graphite will no longer exist to the detector and the targets ID and detectability range, in graphite presence, will be greatly improved (unmasking more targets). Depending upon local conditions, the Tarsacci can use the conductivity of the wet-salt to enhance overall depth performance. This is to say; there may be cases whereby buried wet-salt performance presents better results when compared to air-test performance. It is also common for the conductive wet-salt to increase depth performance too much; subsequently, lowering the Sensitivity a few points becomes a 'stability' requirement. Remember: The intended purpose of balancing the Tarsacci to "Salt"...… is to generate a condition whereby the Tarsacci no longer sees the wet-salt; unlike conventional detectors that must phase-shift out/compensate for the wet salt. If the Tarsacci sees/uses too much of the conductive properties of the wet-salt, the unit may become unstable; hence, zero the salt via "Salt" balance. Use this function wisely and to your advantage. If the volume of salt becomes too conductive (i.e.: submerged in salt water) it may also become a requirement to lower Sensitivity in order to bring excessive (unstable) depth performance back down to maximum (stable) depth performance." Tarsacci MDT 8000 control panel and display Technology : Mixed Domain (Patent Pending) Operating Frequency : 6.4kHz/9kHz/12kHz/18kHz Ground Balance : Manual / Fast Auto Tracking : Yes Black Sand Mode : Yes Salt Mode : Yes Salinity Balance : Manual Salinity Level : 0 to 50 Target Identification : Ferrous -30 to 0 / Non-ferrous 1 to 30 Sensitivity : 1 to 9 Threshold Level : -9 to 0 Target Volume : 1 to 15 Target Tones : 4 Tone Break : Ferrous and Non-ferrous with adjustable notch filter Audio Modes : All Metal / Discrimination / Mix Audio Output : Speaker / Headphones Display : 128X64 Graphic LCD LCD Backlight : Yes Battery : 26650 Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery (3.7V @ 5000mAh) Battery Life : Up to 18h@6.4kHz/24h@9kHz/30h@12kHz/36h@18kHz Operating Temperature :-10C to +50C (+14F to +122F) Search Coil : Tarsacci MDT 11” x 9” DD Optional Coil : 12” DD Shaft : Telescopic 3K carbon fiber with molded 3K carbon fiber “S” rod and armrest Length : 965cm to 1346cm (38” to 53”) Weight : 1280g (2.82 lbs) including the battery Waterproof : IP68 (Up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes in still water). Headphones (Included) : Wired 3.5mm non-waterproof Tarsacci Company Website Tarsacci Metal Detector Forum Tarsacci MDT 8000 Owner's Manual Tarsacci MDT 8000 Quick Start Guide Tarsacci MDT 8000 Usage Notes, Part 1 Tarsacci MDT 8000 Usage Notes, Part 2 Excellent video for hearing how the MDT 800 sounds plus a look at the optional 12" coil.....

The Fisher Gemini-3 metal detector was introduced in 1988 and is still in production. It is worth mentioning that the Gemini-3 is a direct descendent of the 1938 Fisher Metallascope or "M-Scope", the first ground penetrating metal detector to receive a patent. The Gemini-3 is a "two-box" metal detector that is designed for finding large objects at depth. Two box detectors are not sensitive to items much smaller than a baseball, but can detect large items like a 55 gallon drum or water main to depths exceeding ten feet. Two box detectors are a favorite of the classic "treasure hunter" but are more often used by utility companies and surveyors. "Two-box metal detectors are used by prospectors, geologists, treasure hunters and public utility companies to locate large, deep objects, ore veins, pipes and cables. Fisher Labs, the recognized leader in the field, was granted the first two-box metal detector patent in 1938. The GEMINI-3 is respected for being the best there is because it goes deeper, traces farther and is easier to use than any other cache finder in its class." Source: Fisher 2014 catalog Fisher Gemini-3 metal detector V.C.O. audio response for target pinpointing Inductive Search Mode Conductive Trace Mode Wide and Narrow Scan Inductive Trace modes 60-Cycle Noise Reduction circuitry Power On-Off Push-Pull switches Uses 16 AA batteries; 8 in Transmitter and 8 in Receiver Battery Test Meters 81.92 kHz Operating Frequency Weight: 7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) 5 Year Warranty Official Fisher Gemini-3 Product Page Fisher Gemini-3 Owner's Manual First Texas (Fisher) Metal Detector Forum