on the ground and it gave a lower meter reading. On the next target I stuck my digger into the ground and pryed the soil up to loosen it a little to see if I can break up any halo. When I swept the coil over the target again the meter changed to a lower reading. Maybe purer metals like gold, silver, and copper will maintain the same meter reading. Did that only about a half hour yesterday then I had to get back home but will try it again. Who knows, maybe it will eliminate some digging.