| A Gold detector is simply a metal detector | | | | allow for more accurate prospecting although |
| designed specifically to find gold and gold nuggets. | | | | proper ground balancing is a skill that can take |
| These specialty metal detectors are designed to | | | | time to master. |
| find gold in a variety of different forms, these | | | | 2. Iron discrimination. Iron discrimination is another |
| forms of gold can include: | | | | key feature you want in a this type of detector. |
| - Lode or hard rock deposits in a vein and often | | | | In the iron discrimination mode, your gold detector |
| mixed with other materials. | | | | can identify hot rocks and small trash items like |
| - Placer deposits, either in a stream or in dry sand | | | | iron nails and other ferrous trash before you |
| and gravel. | | | | waste your time in digging them up. You would |
| - Nuggets of pure gold, which can be found by | | | | want to use this mode in extremely trashy areas |
| themselves or in veins of placer deposit. | | | | to check a target for its iron content. |
| This gold finding ability is what sets these | | | | 3. The ability to vary mineralization settings. This |
| detectors apart from a general purpose | | | | feature is also unique to a good gold detector. |
| instrument. Choosing the right machine will enable | | | | The ability to vary mineralization allows the user |
| you to achieve the best success in your gold | | | | to change the mineralization settings on the |
| prospecting adventures. | | | | machine to concur with the current ground |
| Arming yourself with the right instrument will save | | | | conditions. This allows gold hunters to operate |
| you plenty of grief in the field and prevent you | | | | effectively in soil with high mineralization content |
| from spending a ton of money on the wrong | | | | and containing numerous hot rocks. |
| metal detector. As a minimum a good gold | | | | Remember, if you are considering a detector that |
| detector should have the following features: | | | | will primarily be used to prospect for gold, it is |
| 1. Deep seeking All Metal mode. The deep seeking | | | | highly recommended that you consider one that is |
| all metal mode offers precise (and usually | | | | made specifically for finding gold. |
| adjustable) ground balance. Most modern metal | | | | All major manufacturers offer at least one metal |
| detectors that are build for general purpose use | | | | detector designed specifically for gold detecting, |
| feature automatic ground balancing. This is fine for | | | | and the most expensive machine is not |
| beginners and the weekend hobbyist, but most | | | | necessarily the best choice when looking for a |
| hard core gold prospectors prefer the ability to | | | | good gold finder. |
| adjust the ground balance themselves. This can | | | | |