Metal detectors respond very differently to a solid, dense gold nugget than a thin, wiry gold specimen. Sometimes these unusual, “non-traditional” gold nuggets are virtually invisible to certain types of metal detectors.
It isn’t just the size of the gold that makes them hard to hear. I have seen large multi-ounce specimens of gold that were actually “invisible” to one of the best gold detectors on the market! It wasn’t the size of the gold that was the problem, but the unusual wiry structure that prevented the detector from sounding off.
Gold specimens have always been a challenge, and only certain types of detectors work on them with any consistency.
Sensitive VLF Metal Detectors
Sensitive VLF-type gold detectors have always been a good choice to hunt areas that frequently produce crystalline gold. They do a good job even on smaller pieces. There are 3 specific metal detectors that I would recommend for specimen hunting:
There are plenty of other VLF gold detectors that will work, but these are my current top-3. If I were only able to use one, it would be the Gold Monster.
The downside of all these VLF-detectors is their limited depth. They work good for small, surface deposits, but most specimens deeper than a few inches in depth will be missed. Yes, in bedrock they are awesome detectors, but any crystalline gold at depth will be difficult or impossible to hear.
Not all natural gold is going to be found as a solid nugget. Sometimes gold forms as fractured, thin, veiny, spongy, disjointed specimens. Some metal detectors can’t hear this type of gold at all…
Minelab SDC2300
The Minelab pulse induction type detectors have always been notorious for missing small, crystalline type gold. In fact, one of the only reasons that many of the goldfields throughout the West aren’t completely “worked out” is because the old Minelab detectors miss a lot of the specimen gold.
The Minelab SDC2300 was the first Minelab that could really hear those fine specimens and smaller gold that the other pulse induction units were missing. Plus, it’s ability to neutralize ground noise opened up ground that was too challenging to hunt with the noisier VLF detectors.
This detector is a killer unit. It folds up easily for easy transport. The biggest downside for me is that it’s hardwired with a small 8” coil, so even through it gets better depth than the Gold Monster, it still doesn’t punch as deep as it would with a larger coil.
Minelab GPZ7000
The GPZ7000 is new technology, and the biggest leap in gold detector technology for many years. Unlike many of the other Minelab’s that showed only minor, incremental improvements from their predecessors, the GPZ7000 is undoubtedly better than the earlier GPX models in a variety of different ways.
The ability to find small gold at depth is impressive. The capabilities are well beyond my older GPX 4500. And although there are certain things that I still prefer about the older Minelabs, they can’t compete on the small gold at depth.
It is also the first detector I have seen that is not effected by the “specimen effect” like many other detectors are. It finds big sluggy nuggets, it finds small gold flakes, and it sounds off on unusual types of crystalline, spongy gold too!
There are a couple downsides. One is the weight of this detector. It isn’t very fun to swing after a couple hours and a harness of some sort is pretty much a necessity.
The other very obvious negative is the cost. They currently sell for just under $8,000, which is out of reach to all but the most serious gold hunters. Yes, you might recuperate some of that money by finding more gold, but it takes several ounces of gold before you’ll even break even on your purchase.
Cheaper Can Actually Be Better
If you are willing to shell out $8,000 for a metal detector then I won’t discourage you. You will be getting a very good detector that is killer on all types of gold.
You don’t have to spend that kind of money through. A good VLF is still very capable, and a fine choice for hunting areas that have unusual specimen types of gold. Those wiry, spongy little gold nuggets that are out there.
The White’s Goldmaster 24k is one of the best deals going right now, with a price tag of just $599. It has a lot of features and is proving itself to be very sensitive on specimen gold.
My suggestion is to hunt areas that have been overlooked by others. The downside of VLF detectors is that they are “old technology,” so most of the popular goldfields have been hammered pretty hard with them. They still work well though, you’ve just got to put your coil over ground that hasn’t been hit too hard.
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