Substituting a piece of Lead for a gold nugget in my Test Garden.

[ToddB64]

Greetings Gold Prospectors !

On more than one occasion I've read that you can substitute a piece of lead for a gold test nugget to practice for prospecting gold with a metal detector.

I'll preface my following questions by saying that anyone qualified to give an accurate reply should have sufficient knowledge and experience in prospecting, as well as being studied in the science of basic metallurgy.

Now, I know that the purity of gold nuggets sold by dealers could probably vary for example from 10 K ( .417 % gold ) all the way up to maybe 18 K ( .75 % gold ) and I would guess that something similar could be said of alloyed lead in terms of the different metallic ingredients within the alloy.

Gold nuggets, even small ones mesh-size 6 (.167") to mesh-size 4 (.250") are expensive. So, would a piece of lead cut from a wheel weight, or a sliding egg-shaped lead fishing sinker, or a lead buck shot, work just as well in a Test Garden, as far as getting the same response from a metal detector as a gold nugget of the same size, planted at the same depth ?

Since natural gold found in the field with a metal detector can vary in purity and lead alloy available in the form of wheel weights, fishing sinkers, buck shot, etc. can have various percentages of metallic ingredients, then if I choose one or the other form of lead just mentioned and plant it in my Test Garden, will it mimic a gold nugget to my metal detector ? And would the piece of lead I choose need to have a certain metallic analysis to mimic a gold nugget found in the field ? Also, is there an average purity, or purity range, for small nuggets found in my home state of Ohio, or the adjacent state of Indiana ?

I know this post has probably been stressful for most folks to read and maybe hard to comprehend for some, so I'm sorry if you were left with a headache. :sad:

Anyhow, I hope to receive some good replies !

Thanks much everybody

ToddB64

 

[steve herschbach]

"I'll preface my following questions by saying that anyone qualified to give an accurate reply should have sufficient knowledge and experience in prospecting, as well as being studied in the science of basic metallurgy."

Well, I am guessing most of of lack the qualifications for answering. I am certainly not studied in the science of basic metallurgy! But I will give it a stab anyway.

I use actual nuggets myself for test purposes. I also know I dig pounds of lead because I can't tell it from gold.

Differences in conductivity especially as relates to the oxide coating that forms on lead dictates there would be differences in the detectability of lead and gold. If you are that concerned about the issue you may want to invest in a couple actual test nuggets. I usually use a one grain (not gram) nugget taped to a test card that would cost maybe three dollars for the GMT and Gold Bug 2. A five grain nugget for most other detectors would run around fifteen dollars. I rarely worry about testing large nuggets. If i am set for the little stuff the big nuggets tae care of themselves. But if I am curious about large gold capability I usually use a US nickel.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Hoser John]

A nice screaming red poker chip with a half grammer glued to it is my favorite tool for numerous reasons. You will drop it and cover with a few inches of soil every half hour or so to check battery strength--also ground balance as ground conditions change radically, microwave towers /repeaters can cause problems, damp soils change settings radically also and ez to retrieve and used same one for over 33++++ years now,made it for the NEW FABULOUS 660 MOTHERLODE tests I did with good ol' Irwin Lee RIP dear friend . John

 

[fredm]

Well, it is doubtful anyone on these forums is qualified to state the pure facts, unfortunately for you...
Nugget hunting is not bound by mere facts in a book...reality has too many varibles to be bound by such rigidity.
I have never been able to sort lead, aluminum and gold by the detectors reaction to those objects. Certainly if you are able to find small lead shot, tiny bits of melted aluminum and other nonferrous items-in a test garden or otherwise) you will eventually find gold when you get the coil over and in range of it.
A long winded way to agree with what Steve said...
fred

 

[jmoller99]

Based on the amount of birdshot I dig up prospecting, lead would be good to add to your test garden.

 

[steve herschbach]

I get a warm fuzzy from birdshot at the very same time that it annoys me. There is no way to pick the small gold out and leave the birdshot behind, so I figure if there is birdshot I still have a decent chance at finding gold. But when the birdshot gets thick I can only take so much before I wander off looking for someplace with less.

When I get into a spot where nothing has gone beep in two hours a piece of birdshot at the least tells me everything is working and I have not fallen asleep!

Steve Herschbach

 

[Reno Chris]

Well, I have had university courses in metallurgy, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering and mineralogy - that should be enough.

What Steve has said is correct. You really cant tell lead from gold in the field, and a piece of lead in your test bed would make a good substitute for a nugget. The problem in telling a difference is that they both come in a wide range of sizes and shapes. There are only so many common bullet sizes, but bullets break on impact sometimes so there are a whole range of fragments. The metals in a bullet also have a range - you have different lead alloys, partly copper jacketed and full metal jackets. Nuggets also have a full range of sizes and shapes as well as alloy make ups.

While a chunk of lead the exact same size and weight as a chunk of gold will not respond exactly the same, the lead will respond in the same range as gold in the wide range of sizes and shapes in which nuggets occur.

I almost never use actual gold test nuggets - lead is plenty good enough and if you lose it, no big deal.

 

[mudpuppy]

Well, at least your thinking smart Todd, and the answers given have been informative, lucid, and well constructed...now all you gotta do is go find it where it lives!
Mud

 

[Ed in SoDak]

You're overthinking this. Just my unqualified opinion!
-Ed

 

[ToddB64]

You're overthinking this. Just my unqualified opinion!
-Ed

Ed.....Your probably right ! slingshot said something similar to me back on Nov. 17, 2011 when he said the following:

"The worst thing a detectorist can do is to fall into the trap of "paralysis by analysis" instead of getting out and just enjoying."

However, it's just my personality to dig for the details that make things work and then use that knowledge to improve the results in whatever I'm trying to achieve. In that regard, I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Edison and his light bulb.

We all have different drives in our life. Sometimes I think the search for scientific knowledge and understanding is just as satisfying for me as the doing of a thing.

Thanks for your opinion.

Todd

 

[ToddB64]

Steve, John, fred, jmoller99, Chris, and mudpuppy.....Thanks for your inputs ! ...

Todd

 

[au79]

some things can be over thought - I hunt with a friend who is all about his tools and equipment. I can't express to him in a polite way that he is getting nowhere with all his gear. A backpack weighing 25 lbs. - a duffle bag weighing 25 lbs. - 2 detectors - 2 picks (one long handle one short) a shovel and a variety of trowels. He gets all caught up in thinking his tools are going to find the nuggets. Frustrating because I cover 20 acres in 3 - 4 hrs. and when I return to the quad he is only 100 ft. away and has only dug 3 - 4 targets - usually ammo! Lead, for me is frustrating out in the desert but while hunting in the creeks it is my best indicator of gold being close at hand. I have never been able to distinguish any difference between lead and gold from tones on my Infinium but always welcome it while hunting in a wash or stream. I always carry a test pan when Hunting in the water flow areas and have had good luck when finding lead there. A pinch of fine gold always brightens up the day. Get out there and hunt!

 

[ToddB64]

Ray/au79,

Your little story is very convincing ! I realize the truth of what slingshot recommended "The worst thing a detectorist can do is fall into the trap of "paralysis by analysis" instead of getting out and just enjoying" (findmall, Nov. 17, 2011) and I am trying, but it's an uphill battle. At age 71 changing my old habits and mindset aren't easy. That little voice inside my head keeps reminding me that people who give major importance to details are also a valuable component in society, otherwise we would all still be laborers and there would be no inventors (those who are preoccupied with details and analysis). I think we just need to seek a happy balance between the "doer" and the "thinker".

Thanks for your input.

ToddB64

 

[steve herschbach]

All I know is I am froze in sub-zero temperatures and I appreciate all the thinking you have as going and and doing is not an option right now. The only way I get my detecting fix in the winter is via the Internet so thanks!

Steve Herschbach

 

[au79]

Hey Steve - why don't you come on down to Az. and help us clean up some of this lead? I was driving into a Roadrunner Prospector Club Claim the other day and there were two young men standing beside the road with a shot gun. They were at a place that overlooked a large alluvial plain in the creek below. As I passed I noticed 10 - 15 empty hulls lying on the ground. I stopped and asked what they were shooting at and they replied, " this claim is no good so we thought we'd give the MDers that come here something to dig". As I turned to get back into my Jeep I asked if they would at least pick up the shell casings. As I was driving away I saw them throwing the casings over the bank.
Getting back to replacing lead as gold target - I have noticed that my Infinium will give a nice High/low reading on a # 71/2 bird shot (about 4 inches deep) which is pretty darned small. I have never found a bit of gold nearly as small as that. I am wondering if lead really is a good substitute for gold in a test garden? It gives the same tone but for trying to establish size for depth compared to gold I am thinking it is not a good idea. An actual nugget (as Steve suggested, is spot on good advice) would be the way to go at least with my Infinium especially if I was testing size for depth. Get out there and good hunting! Oh, by the way, it was 25 degrees where I'm at in Az. this morning - bbrrrrr