How do I find out how mineralized my soil is? I called and talked to someone about detectors. He asked that question. When I answered with "I don't know", he was incredulous.... He asked how I cold detect and not know my mineralization...... Truth is, I just detect....I never thought that much about it...perhaps I should have?!?!
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
mineralization?
- Thread starter mncricket
- Start date
BarberBill
New member
When I first started, with a preset ground balance machine, I didn't know a thing about mineralization or what or why one would need to fool with ground balance. In spite of that, I did make a good number of finds and as time went by, I learned more about this area of the hobby. At this point I've learned enough that I would recommend any body buying and owning just one machine to be sure it either has manual ground balance capability or true auto ground tracking. If owning more than one machine, then at least one in the stable should have ground balancing capability, at least in my opinion. This way, when hunting an area with a fair bit or more of mineralization, one can still tune the detector for the best performance for that area. All this said, if what you're using is working well for you and you're finding stuff and having fun, don't let this concern detract from that.
BB
BB
What color is your soil ? If it is reddish = mild iron mineralization Red/ Brown = slightly heaver mineralization, iron+ other minerals, Deep red == heavy iron mineralization Black dirt = usually low mineralization but can have magnetic minerals
in it, check with magnet by scooping up a shovel full and let it dry good so the particles can separate then drag any size magnet through it, = the more stuck to the magnet the more it will effect your detector, Sandi loam = normally not a
problem but in some areas it can have enough mineralization to effect a detector = salt most likely but can contain other elements also such as graphite that can play oh holly hell with any detector. This is only a guide and there are ( if I
remember right ) seventy three different color and types of soil in the U.S. alone. Soil is nothing more than ground up rock in unlimited combination that has been transported to every area in the world. Always ground balance your detector
at the place you detect,. If your soil is mineralized bad enough you may need to ground balance every few feet. If the ground color changes, reground balance. Usually we hunt in such a small area that we don't have that big a problem,
but there are area's where you can have it, when in doubt, GB !
in it, check with magnet by scooping up a shovel full and let it dry good so the particles can separate then drag any size magnet through it, = the more stuck to the magnet the more it will effect your detector, Sandi loam = normally not a
problem but in some areas it can have enough mineralization to effect a detector = salt most likely but can contain other elements also such as graphite that can play oh holly hell with any detector. This is only a guide and there are ( if I
remember right ) seventy three different color and types of soil in the U.S. alone. Soil is nothing more than ground up rock in unlimited combination that has been transported to every area in the world. Always ground balance your detector
at the place you detect,. If your soil is mineralized bad enough you may need to ground balance every few feet. If the ground color changes, reground balance. Usually we hunt in such a small area that we don't have that big a problem,
but there are area's where you can have it, when in doubt, GB !
Rainyday101
New member
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1270/pdf/PP1270_508.pdf
Go to page 35 of 63. Iron mineralization is shown. This will give you a general idea,
Go to page 35 of 63. Iron mineralization is shown. This will give you a general idea,
Cricket, I know right? Like BarberBill said...if its working for you, dont sweat the small stuff!
When I was new at this, 4yrs ago, I NEVER once ground balanced, and I hunted the heck out of my area and several other States, from GA to MI, hell even out to Salt Lake and up into Idaho...totlots, sand beaches, sportsfields, slag filled parks, even in the winter on snow...I only just started GB'ing regularly this year, just to see what all the hubbub was about, and to be able to answer that mineralization question when asked!.
..
I'm a clad/jewelry hunter, but I was still getting old silvers and whatnot pretty deep and not ground balancing...this is with an F70, I had a 10k+ coin year in 2012, OK so that was clad, maybe 15 silvers in the mix...now I also have an atPro, (a July 2012 purchase) and have not Gb'd that thing once and between the two have hauled in over 175grs of gold and many silvers, both coins and rings, 1 plat, 1 plat/18k, 3 big gold chains....so whats up with this? ...From my own personal experience, this GB thing is not as critically important for a successful hunt as its made out to be...the thing is you cant convince a fervent GB'er of that unless they attempt to go a few months hunting all sorts of various strata without GB'ing at all...and of course they will never do that! I'm sure now some Poindexter will pipe up about how important it is or you wont find dink...but they wont convince me...So its probably easier for US to start Gb'ing, telling the group "Its a gb of 78" and not bring this not GB'ing subject up too much! Its just one of those things, the "GB or not GB" debate is best left alone so go ahead and start GB'ing, everybody else does, your machine has a GB button there right? Some engineer felt you needed it. So it sure cant hurt to use it even just for giggles!
Mud
When I was new at this, 4yrs ago, I NEVER once ground balanced, and I hunted the heck out of my area and several other States, from GA to MI, hell even out to Salt Lake and up into Idaho...totlots, sand beaches, sportsfields, slag filled parks, even in the winter on snow...I only just started GB'ing regularly this year, just to see what all the hubbub was about, and to be able to answer that mineralization question when asked!.
..I'm a clad/jewelry hunter, but I was still getting old silvers and whatnot pretty deep and not ground balancing...this is with an F70, I had a 10k+ coin year in 2012, OK so that was clad, maybe 15 silvers in the mix...now I also have an atPro, (a July 2012 purchase) and have not Gb'd that thing once and between the two have hauled in over 175grs of gold and many silvers, both coins and rings, 1 plat, 1 plat/18k, 3 big gold chains....so whats up with this? ...From my own personal experience, this GB thing is not as critically important for a successful hunt as its made out to be...the thing is you cant convince a fervent GB'er of that unless they attempt to go a few months hunting all sorts of various strata without GB'ing at all...and of course they will never do that!
I'm sure now some Poindexter will pipe up about how important it is or you wont find dink...but they wont convince me...So its probably easier for US to start Gb'ing, telling the group "Its a gb of 78" and not bring this not GB'ing subject up too much! Its just one of those things, the "GB or not GB" debate is best left alone so go ahead and start GB'ing, everybody else does, your machine has a GB button there right? Some engineer felt you needed it. So it sure cant hurt to use it even just for giggles!Mud
In neutral soil GBing is not as important, in mineralized soil it becomes more necessary for optimum performance. When I first started detecting (1962), detectors did not have any ground bal. And the coil had to be operated at a certain distance above the ground, if it were raised it would sound off. The mineral in the soil is a metal target and the detector detects it, gbing tunes it out. The more the magnetite (FE3o4) ,in the soil , the more necessary it is to GB. For gold nugget hunting it is absolutely necessary to GB. If GBing were not important the MFG.s would not put a gb control on the detector. No professional detectorist would consider detecting in mineralized soil without gbing. My advice, if it has a GB control, use it.....
MarkCZ
Well-known member
Its my understanding that the MORE (higher setting) of ground balance that is required indicates more minerals, so, if your low in the setting then the soil would be on the low side of minerals, if your near the mid point of the setting than the minerals would be somewhere in the average range, or if you have to run 3/4 or more of the setting then the mineral content is pretty high, Black sand is always HIGH!
Mark
Mark
One possible sign that your GB is not set correctly is when you start getting false(ghost) signals at the end of your coil sweeps. Most people hunt with GB set just a tad positive others like it "spot on" and a few like it just a hair negative so there is some room to play with before you start having real problems with GB.
My 705 has auto gb tracking so I keep it on period. I enjoy messing with the machine and that's one reason I bought one with so many settings. But that's me. If it doesn't really "Peter your O'toole" don't worry and just have fun.
And mudpuppy, For the love of God son! How much do you hunt? And I've figured your good at it but ,,Wholy coin scooping Bat Man! That's like making $$$ .
Good for you dude. HH an keep it up.
Dog
And mudpuppy, For the love of God son! How much do you hunt? And I've figured your good at it but ,,Wholy coin scooping Bat Man! That's like making $$$ .
Good for you dude. HH an keep it up.
Dog
Rainyday101
New member
Digdoggy said:
Yea Mudpuppy is a coin finding machine for sure!
Only a few hours every morning if possible, See, I'm back already and done for the day! and its only 9am! 
Maybe longer if its overcast and cool and I'm into something good...trouble is, I've wiped out the majority of easy pickens in my area, and have to be happy with just a little clad and possibly some jewelry, like this am, I got less than a dollar clad and a hotwheel car, 3 empty beer cans, so not all my days are successful...of course after a big event I try to be first on location....I cant take any heat and very little sun, so this sport is perfect to get me up early and out walking around hunting...then, I have to crawl back into my coffin for the day!...I can hunt for up to about 7hrs during the right conditions before my CPU overloads from the tones...i can hunt all night if the situation merits, warm water, cool breeze, nice gold and silver filled cuts that are only open for a few hours, etc..
All this said, I am constantly 'hunting' looking for tearouts/locations...checking Craigslist for ideas of where jewelry is lost, most are in parking lots...hell, even at a big Art Fair this weekend where I took my Wife, I was looking for all the big gold chain wearing guys and sort of following them around to try to get an idea of what their age/personality/hobbies/smoke or not? Chains are rare, so any little hint helps...all that stuff that may give a clue as to the type of person that wears a big chain, and what or where they may go that could precipitate a loss..also I notice where all the jewelry booths are so I can get in there quick and sweep those hotzones after the show is finished...so I watch people and terrain quite a bit to try to get better site reading skills...sort of like when I was a trapper, get to know your target, where it lives and hangs out, and then go and get it!
it may appear that I mostly 'wing it' but that is not the case, I attempt to mimic the skills of the posters on this Forum, that sure helps a LOT!
Mud
Maybe longer if its overcast and cool and I'm into something good...trouble is, I've wiped out the majority of easy pickens in my area, and have to be happy with just a little clad and possibly some jewelry, like this am, I got less than a dollar clad and a hotwheel car, 3 empty beer cans, so not all my days are successful...of course after a big event I try to be first on location....I cant take any heat and very little sun, so this sport is perfect to get me up early and out walking around hunting...then, I have to crawl back into my coffin for the day!...I can hunt for up to about 7hrs during the right conditions before my CPU overloads from the tones...i can hunt all night if the situation merits, warm water, cool breeze, nice gold and silver filled cuts that are only open for a few hours, etc..
All this said, I am constantly 'hunting' looking for tearouts/locations...checking Craigslist for ideas of where jewelry is lost, most are in parking lots...hell, even at a big Art Fair this weekend where I took my Wife, I was looking for all the big gold chain wearing guys and sort of following them around to try to get an idea of what their age/personality/hobbies/smoke or not? Chains are rare, so any little hint helps...all that stuff that may give a clue as to the type of person that wears a big chain, and what or where they may go that could precipitate a loss..also I notice where all the jewelry booths are so I can get in there quick and sweep those hotzones after the show is finished...so I watch people and terrain quite a bit to try to get better site reading skills...sort of like when I was a trapper, get to know your target, where it lives and hangs out, and then go and get it!
it may appear that I mostly 'wing it' but that is not the case, I attempt to mimic the skills of the posters on this Forum, that sure helps a LOT!
Mud
i've never known the mineralization of any place i've hunted. i've been told that the ground here in kentucky is very mineralized but i've never had any trouble finding coins. the tip of today on lost treasure magazine website today is about mineralization. if you don't get to see it and would like to read it its out of the apr. 1990 issue page 22. good luck
undersc0re
New member
I find the mineralized ground is not bad if you have a good detector that ground balances fast and easy, its the areas where you run into many larger hot rocks with different and strong mineralization qualities, like the large black green and red rocks. I can go pretty quickly searching sandy, pebbly areas, but those large rocks tend to give me a problem, the at gold I use now is much better at mineralized areas than my older one. You might have a better chance there, all the guys with the cheap detectors give up on these areas, if you can tune yours and have some patience it might pay off. In my area we also have this blackish graphite type bedrock and areas around that drive my garret pin pointer nuts, the at gold can figure it out though.