Which Metal Detector Should I Use?

Steve Herschbach visited Ganes Creek in 2001 and 2002 recovering over two pounds of gold nuggets. Here are his thoughts on the type of metal detector you might want to use.

The metal detecting at Ganes Creek is some of the easiest that a potential nugget hunter will ever encounter. The bedrock is composed primarily of slate and shale, and the general mineralization is very low. There are some igneous cobbles in the gravels, but nothing bad. There are basically no hot rocks to speak of. People used to hunting in more difficult areas will be amazed at how easy the metal detecting is here.

Typical bucketline tailings at Ganes Creek

There is a lot of iron trash in the tailings, however. Not very many bullets, shell casings, or other junk non-ferrous items. But nails, bolts, rusted cans, and other trash items are very thick in some areas. Large areas are also encountered that have very little iron trash at all. The area around the camp has a very high nugget potential, but it is also the area where trash items are most common.

I have a Minelab SD2200D, but I have found that it has little depth advantage in low mineral ground over a good VLF detector. It can get superior depths with some of the very large coils that can be employed on it. It also likes hitting deep iron trash. So my preference for Ganes Creek would be any good VLF detector with good iron id capability. Even a good coin detector would work well here. If a coin detector is used, care should be taken to insure that no more discrimination is used than would be needed to eliminate nails or other simple iron trash targets.

Large coils, such as the 14" accessory coils available for many detectors, are also going to help find those large nuggets deeper at Ganes Creek. I think investing in a large coil for your detector would be very worthwhile on Ganes Creek. My Fisher Gold Bug 2 with 14" coil found all but one of the nuggets I detected on this trip. And all were found using the silent search iron id mode. My buddies were all using Tesoro Lobo Super Traq detectors with 11" DD coils. The machines were also run in the discriminate mode set to reject iron trash.

At this point the ground has had little detector activity, and so scanning a lot of ground is more important then getting max depth. Later on, after lots of detectors have been there, it might be more important to dig deep targets. But for now, I think the person that scans more ground will have a better chance at finding that big nugget than the person that scans more slowly but gets another inch of detection depth. I think it's better to cover two swings at 10" than one swing at 12" in this particular situation.

Keep in mind this is simply what works for me. If you want to dig every single target, then do so! It's simply a judgment call, and there is no absolute answer as to what will find a person the most gold.

Here are some tips that might help you find gold at Ganes Creek:

• Use a detector with a proven ability to find large gold at depth. The ground mineralization at Ganes Creek is minimal, and so a good coin/jewelry detector will work well here. The use of large coils will give better depth on the larger nuggets found at Ganes Creek.
  
• Employ iron discrimination to your advantage. While digging everything can result in finding gold that others miss, it may be counter-productive in some of the more iron infested areas. If employing variable discrimination, use only enough to reject nails and other small iron or steel trash targets.
  
• The bedrock at Ganes Creek is generally a dark slate/shale that breaks up into shards and slivers. It decomposes into a dark gray soil. Bulldozer/dragline tailing piles made up predominately of this material are more likely to have gold nuggets. The overburden is a lighter tan color, and contains many rounded cobbles. Gold may be found in this but it is far less likely.
  
• Bucketline dredge tailings that have slate and shale shards on top indicate that the dredge was scraping bedrock, and these piles should be carefully searched. Barren cobbles indicate the dredge was not on bedrock yet, and so these piles have less potential.
  
• The dredge tailings contain lumps of clay material from the bedrock. They often contain gold. The clay clumps are almost always covered with moss. Search mossy areas or clumps in the tailings carefully. These clumps are more mineralized, and may give a soft signal with high frequency detectors in all-metal mode.
  
• Ganes Creek flows from west to east. All the creeks flowing in from the south contain gold, and the richest paystreaks were along the southern valley edge of Ganes Creek. Tailings to the south of the centerline of Ganes Creek valley have the greatest potential.
  
• Large bench workings exist at Ganes Creek. Several feet of bedrock was removed in the main work areas and they are relatively worked out. However, the perimeter areas of the benches do have some potential. Keep in mind that all the largest nuggets found at Ganes Creek have come from the main valleys, not the benches.
  
• Quartz rock and cobbles are rare in the material at Ganes Creek, while many of the nuggets contain quartz. Treat all quartz you see as a potential nugget, and check it with your detector.
  
• All the roads, trails, work pads, and even the airstrip are made out of tailings. Do not ignore them. In fact, you will find that they are flat and easier to work on, and are a good place to escape the mosquitoes!
  
• Speaking of mosquitoes... do not forget that headnet. The bugs can get thick at times, so thick that you will not be able to concentrate on detecting. Repellent alone does not work, as the mosquitoes will get in your eyes and mouth as you work. Long sleeve shirts, gloves, and headnets along with repellant will help you pay attention to your metal detecting.

Make sure you read my story at http://www.akmining.com/mine/jour129.htm for details on nugget hunting at Ganes Creek, and what worked for us.

I hope this helps,

Steve Herschbach

Copyright 2002 Herschbach Enterprises