Metal Detector Just For Gold

With the advancement of technology, detectorists are spoilt with choice of metal detectors, but is there a metal detector just for gold? 

Let’s look at which type will be most suitable and then at some products currently on the market.

Metal Detector Just For Gold

When coin and treasure detectors are developed, the focus is on their discriminate mode, whereas gold detectors focus on all metal mode.

Targets have varying time constants; VLF gold detectors typically specialize in very short time constants and short to long for pulse induction detectors. Midrange targets are what coin and treasure detectors specialize in.

Ultimately the best goldfields are typically highly mineralized and interfere with a metal detector’s depth. This is where gold detectors have been engineered to work and can keep the effect of the ground to a minimum.

Strictly speaking, the all-metal mode of gold detectors won’t just find gold; junk and other targets can also be found with these detectors.

Which Detector Technology Type Is Best For Gold?

This is a common question from folks looking to start prospecting for gold nuggets and specimen gold; not surprising; this can leave some folks needing clarification. 

VLF is the most common type of detector technology used in your most basic detectors. A single frequency is used to generate a magnetic field which the coil then transmits into the ground in a continuous wave. Although this basic method has been around for a while, it has a proven gold-finding track record. Progression in VLF technology has now allowed some manufacturers to produce VLF detectors that are better at finding small and larger nuggets.

Pulse induction, or PI, sends short pulses into the ground, causing a magnetic field to be created, which quickly collapses once the pulse ends. Any targets within the magnetic field will remain magnetized until it eventually decays away; the detector’s coil picks up that decay.

Both technology types are used for gold detectors, but due to how pulse induction detectors operate, they are typically far better at handling highly mineralized ground. 

Coil Suitability 

Double D coils have a large search pattern due to their design, with two D-shaped wire windings overlapping in the center of the coil. The great thing about double D coils is they maintain stability in mineralized soil but also maintain good sensitivity and depth.

Monoloop coils are precisely that, a winding around the outer edge of the coil. Although the monoloop coil has better depth than double D coils, they can be tough to ground balance in highly mineralized soils.

Gold Detectors On The Market

Here is a list of detectors designed for gold detection; even though each detector might be perfectly capable of finding gold, each has its specific use. For example, a detector such as a VLF made for the European market will most likely struggle to operate as effectively in somewhere like Australia due to the high mineral content of the ground in Australia.