Using Lead instead of gold to test MT response

[jerryk]

I'm interested in testing my MT to determine what its suitablility is for gold prospecting. I don't have any gold nuggets to experiment with, thus I'd like to find a substitute that will approximate the response of gold. I'm wondering if the properties of lead are close enough to that of gold such that hand formed lead nuggets will give a MT response similar to that of a same sized gold nugget.

If lead is not a good substitute, does anyone have any recommendations as to what metals might work for testing. Perhaps Zinc?, silver?

Of course the best solution is to simply purchase a dedicated gold detector and be done with it. But considering the cost of a such a MT I'd like to confirm the capabilities of what I already own befor shelling out big bucks

Any and all recommendation welcome.

Thanks

Jerry K
Falcon, CO

 

[Jim McCulloch]

When it comes to "test nuggets," lead is the ideal substitute for gold. But for your lead test "nugget" to be "suitable" it has to be the right size. Gemeral rule of thumb is if a prospecting detector, properly tuned, can find a #8 birdshot a minimum of 1/2 deep, then it's a good enough machine for gold hunting. Hope this helps; HH jim

 

[billm]

Jim,
How big is a #8 bird shot in grams. I know nothing about firearms.

Thank You
billm

 

[Nitro 54]

A #8 is small. About 1/8 the size of a bb.

 

[Jim McCulloch]

A #8 birdshot weighs 1.17 grains, thus slightly more than 20 of them weigh one pennyweight, i.e. 1/20th ounce. If your machine can find these, in mineralized ground, it will do well for nugget hunting. Hope this helps' HH Jim

 

[Nevada Gary]

Jerry-

Aside from the MXT being made for coins/relics/gold prospecting, it has been successfully used by many nugget hunter and done well at Gaines in Alaska--of course they have nuggets larger than #8!



good luck

 

[Larry (IL)]

If you want to find nuggets that small, you might want to just buy a detector built for the job Jerry. In my opinion, it would take a heck of a lot of #8 shot sized nuggets to pay for a dedicated gold detector. If you already have a MXT or DFX, it would serve you well for a weekend nugget hunt. If you spent $30-$40 for a one gram test nugget and tweak your detecting skills, I think you would be very happy with what you have. You really can't go wrong buying gold right now anyway. Good luck Jerry.

 

[jerryk]

Hello again Larry.

Took your advice and visited the MXT forum, first time here, and was surprised to find the number of posts related to nugget hunting. I never gave much thought to buying a gold nugget sample as I thought the cost would be astronomical. Goes to show that I don't dabble in the precious metals market. I did consider yanking out out one of my gold fillings, but the cost of a replacement filling would have been close to the cost of a dedicated gold MT...

I'll take your advice, again, and look to purchasing small nugget.

As a FYI I did experiment with an assortment of lead pieces but have yet to weigh them, thus I'm not sure exactly what I'm dealing with.

I made 5 samples which were all approx 1/16" in thickness and ranged in diameter from approx 1/8" up to 5/16". each was semi round in shape. The DFX would detect each of the samples, air tests, however, the small 1/8" sample was pretty iffy. The 5/16" sample would register a strong signal out to approx 10". I used my 1400DD for all the tests. Due to electromagnetic interference I could only operate the MT with a G=2 and AC=65.

I'll be interested in seeing what results I can get in a quiet environment and with the samples buried.

Thanks to all of you who responded to my inquiry

Jerry K
Falcon, CO