What's the smallest nugget I can find with the 1400 coil?

[Tony N (Michigan)]

I have an MXT with an Eclipse Deepscan DD 1400 coil.
I am curious what the smallest nugget you think I can pick up with that coil?

Thanks for any help.

Tony

 

[jerryk]

Tony,

I am in the process of evaluating the DFX for just this purpose. I have not found much info on nugget hunting with the DFX however, a search of this forum has several posts on this subject that will be of interest to you.

I live in CO and have attempted to locate objective test results that would help me evaluate the DFX's nugget search capabilities prior to purchasing a dedicated gold MT.

Currently I'm using various weights of lead (smallest is 1 grain). I also have an assortment of gold nuggets on order.

My testing is currently a work in progress and I will post my results when complete.

In the event you discover any formal tests of the DFXs nugget hunting ablities please let me know


Jerry K
Falcon, CO

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Jerry, are you putting the lead nuggets down in the type of harsh soil that gold nuggets are usually found in?

I am curious if the DFX is capable of handling harsh soil like that?

I know the MXT is designed to handle some tough environments in which gold is found.

 

[Jim McCulloch]

On the MXT, the 1400 finds #8 birdshot with no problem.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Do you think that where I'd be detecting in California that nuggets of that size are still rare and it might be better for me to use my 10 x 6 coil?

I'm just trying to get all this stuff figured out before I come back out again.

Tony

 

[jerryk]

To the question of ground mineralization for testing the DFX using lead nuggets. My test plot is located in my back yard and suffers from two issues. The first is high EMF interference which limits my gain to 2, sometimes I can push it to 3. On an average, I'm pretty much limited to G2, AC65.

This second issue relates to your question on ground mineralization. Using the ground mineralization estimating method in Digging Deeper, which is the only objective method I know of for estimating mineralization, my test plot gets a reading of low mineralization.

On my next trip to the high country I'll be conducting additional tests in ground which I expect will be very highly mineralized.

Jerry K

 

[ralph]

Tony- There are copper & silver nuggets in upper michigan (so I've read), you might want to do some research on them.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Ralph, I found a copper nugget (part rock and part copper) on a farm just to the east of me in southern Michigan. It might have been brought down by the indians as they used to have a camp on that farm. But, yea, you are right, there are places in da U.P. to find ores. Even gold was found up there at one time.

 

[Jim McCulloch]

... for most brushy placer areas, your 10x6 will outmaneuver (and probably outproduce) the 1400. I use the 1400 in more open areas, for slightly greater depth, and considerably better ground coverage. Otherwise I use the 10x6. Hope this helps; HH jim