Using Multiple Detectors to Maximize Gold Recovery

It dawned on me very early on in my gold detecting days that relying on one detector was not going to give me the best chance to recover the majority of gold on offer from all the goldfields that I frequent. Using one detector was just not going to get the job done. I would say that most of us who are more serious in our quest to find gold will know this and will very likely have multiple detectors for multiple uses.

The more serious of us gold prospectors will rely on at least one of the premium Minelab Pulse Induction detectors, such as the SDC 2300, GPX-4500 or the GPX 5000, while a number of us will have the Minelab flagship GPZ 7000. However, I strongly suggest you also consider a single high frequency VLF to maximise your gold recovery as relying on just one of the ‘big boys’ alone may mean you are missing out on plenty of gold. Let me explain…

I carry the GOLD MONSTER 1000 (GM 1000) with me all the time as my single high frequency VLF, either in my car or strapped to my backpack if hiking to remote spots. Its weight is not an issue, so there are no problems with transporting it along with my GPZ 7000 (GPZ).

When I get a signal with the GPZ that has me digging down around 500mm (just over 19 inches) or more, I find it gets very difficult to accurately pinpoint exactly where in the hole the target is with the GPZ’s 14” coil. To save a lot of unnecessary digging or widening of the hole, I will turn on the GM 1000 with the 5” coil attached, set it to Deep All-Metal mode and then use this to get into the hole and accurately pinpoint the target.

As well as pinpointing the target, I can also see if it is ferrous (iron) or non-ferrous just by looking at the Gold Chance Indicator.

I usually use the GM 1000 in Deep All-Metal mode with the Sensitivity set to Manual 10 as this provides excellent depth and strong sensitivity in our very mild ground conditions here in New Zealand. Sometimes though, if I am in an iron trash rich area I will switch to Gold mode. In this mode, the detector still visually indicates when I have found iron on the Gold Chance Indicator but there will be no audio sound.

I had a choice here after confirming the iron signal with the GM 1000. I could have ignored the target and back-filled the hole, or kept going. I always choose to dig — it could be masking a good gold target.

Not long after, I hit a good deep signal with the GPZ. I switched to the GM 1000 and it confirmed a non-ferrous target. After a few moments digging, I recovered 4 gold nuggets out of the hole!

I then spread out the dirt from the hole and scanned it with the GM 1000.

Guess what? I found another 11 gold nuggets in the dirt!

15 gold nuggets, thanks to the GPZ and the GM 1000.

There are still exposed bedrock areas where small gold lives but our top end machines just don’t see. The GM 1000 with a small sensitive coil is ideal in these locations. I’ve gone back to some of these areas and had great success.

Very best of luck out there.