Metal Detecting In Alaska, Recommended?

[GoldBellMining 1]

I mostly planned on dredging this summer, but after reading some posts ive reconsidered my thoughts on detecting in alaska, do you guys think tis worth it to have a detector, or is it just person preference. sometimes you feel like a nugget, some times you dont?

 

[Steve Herschbach (Inactive) 32]

It is a matter of whether detecting works for you. Most people do not have the patience for it. Most people buy nugget detectors, try it a bit, never find any gold, and are done with it. Alaska does not favor detecting in general and so applying yourself with a gold pan, sluice box, dredge, or highbanker is a more reliable way to find gold.

Many locations in Alaska that have detecting potential are rapidly detected out. Then it is back to digging. I love metal detecting and enjoy doing it so I stick with it when most people go back to the more tried and true methods.

[GoldBellMining 1]

It's understandable that most people would get discouraged, it takes a true passion to go out every day and search for buried treasure. There is alot more research and hard work than people realize. Most people think just because they bought the equipment, then they are entitled to go out and find something, when really it is not as simple if you don't know where and what to look for. I think that only 5% of the people who go for gold can make a living isnt because of the lack of gold, but because of the lack of determination and hard work that it takes to get it.

[Steve Herschbach (Inactive) 32]

"I think that only 5% of the people who go for gold can make a living isnt because of the lack of gold, but because of the lack of determination and hard work that it takes to get it."

Try less than 1%

[GoldBellMining 1]

Yeah, It's a tough living, and many people aren't prepared for it. I laughed at watching an episode on tv of Gold Rush, where the little girl had gotten sick from a parasite in the dirinking water... turns out the drinking water is just ground run off that they weren't boiling or filtering!!! WOW, Talk about not being prepared. I read an ad once about a mining company looking for the "Get off the couch, and go do that" kind of guys, and frankly those are the guys who are going to not make it. Theres a whole lot of process from getting from A- Get off the Couch.... to B - Get gold....  that these guys just simply don't get or understand. You wouldn't go be a dentist and start pulling teeth and filling cavities without some sort of direction, same goes for mining and the lifestyle that goes with it. 

[GoldBellMining 1]

Wow Steve, you sure are popular in Alaska, I was at the AKMD today and heard your name dropped, and then your website advertised!

[Geowizard 122]

AMDS is under revised management.

 

There are prospecting shops in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Amazon and ebay have everything you need.

 

- Geowizard

[GoldBellMining 1]

AKMD, Disneyland, Whats the difference?

[Doug W1 0]

The difference is trying to get the kids talked into talking mom into digging dirt instead of Disneyland. Somehow Disneyland has got the kids duped!

[GoldBellMining 1]

Gawsh, Tell em they can take a picture with Blue from Jungle Book

[Geowizard 122]

So, go where there's gold! and get your detector busy looking!

 

- Geowizard

[GoldBellMining 1]

I see, I seen on a youtube video that they were doing "Cobble Pushes"  in McGrath And the people would then go out and look for nuggets, It looked pretty cool but its probably more rewarding than profitable

 

A few 1/4oz nuggets were shown.

[wwace 0]

It certainly does not hurt to have a detector if you find yourself in some nice tailings, but chances of finding anything without long hours of working at it are slim. This isn't Australia or Africa or Brazil and we are basically a rainforest with huge mountains mixed in for fun, not to mention cubic miles of overburden.

[Harry Lipke 13]

all the videos were filmed when they found gold. they don't show the hours, days, weeks, months or even years where they were detecting and found nothing.

Although I had detected coins for years, when I got my first gold detector, it took months to find my first nugget. I had gotten a White's Vsat. Never used one before and I think there was something wrong with it and I didn't know!

I then got a Gold Bug 2 and within 15 minutes, I found a 70 grain nugget. Hundreds of nuggets followed.

I guess my message is, don't go out and buy a detector and expect to find enough gold to pay for the machine right away.

You might get lucky and do it, or, you might not. Talk to people that use them. Try one out.

[Steve Herschbach (Inactive) 32]

You only hear the success stories. Plenty of people visited Ganes Creek or our Moore Creek operation and found little or no gold. My policy at Moore Creek was nobody goes home empty handed, so I handed out quite a few ounces of gold by way of an end of trip arranged hunt for those that got skunked. The truth is you can plop novices down in gold bearing ground and it is fairly common for them to find little or nothing. Experience counts for far more than one might imagine. Nugget detecting looks simple on the face of it, but the fact is I have only met a handful of people who are really good at it.

[Ricky D N 7]

Yeah, It's a tough living, and many people aren't prepared for it. I laughed at watching an episode on tv of Gold Rush, where the little girl had gotten sick from a parasite in the dirinking water... turns out the drinking water is just ground run off that they weren't boiling or filtering!!! WOW, Talk about not being prepared. I read an ad once about a mining company looking for the "Get off the couch, and go do that" kind of guys, and frankly those are the guys who are going to not make it. Theres a whole lot of process from getting from A- Get off the Couch.... to B - Get gold....  that these guys just simply don't get or understand. You wouldn't go be a dentist and start pulling teeth and filling cavities without some sort of direction, same goes for mining and the lifestyle that goes with it. 

and training and having tech skills like welding , three phase motors and controls, being a well rounded miner with a lot of skills, that's what it takes, if you cannot find equipment build it yourself, I can and do

[Ricky D N 7]

I thought!!

[Reno Chris 101]

Ricky DN - This is a family friendly forum and parts of your posts were deemed inappropriate, and those portions were deleted. If you dont like someone, fine, you are free to have your own opinion. You need to know however, that we really don't care about who you like and dislike, but if you would care to tell us about the equipment you can and do build yourself, your experiences as a well rounded miner and that sort of thing, we are happy to hear about that.

[Got the bug 6]

Thanks, Reno C.

[james a. 0]

Time an profit.I have a job an know that will keep me going on living.Having the time to prospect than having to come back to work.

Time off for mine is work mon an teusday,then off the rest of the weak for a month.

Sure would like to have more prospecting time.But it is fun when getting the chance to do so.The job gets the equipment anyway.

Being maintenance for 22 years helps out in the field also.

[AkNugget 2]

Just picked up a near new Whites GMT at an CL garage sale for $200.  I've been lookin' for a year or so.  Goes to show you never know what you'll find at GS's, this one was listed only as "metal detector". 

 

Anyway I'm a happy camper!! 

 

And even happier to Steve's got a dedicated GMT page on his site.

http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-equipment/whites-electronics-gmt-metal-detector.htm#.UapMhmfTl9c

 

Neal

[Steve Herschbach (Inactive) 32]

Smoking deal, would have snapped it up myself!

I am happy with my GMT page, probably more tidbits there on the GMT than you will find anywhere else. I plan on expanding the equipment information pages on my website with more photos and details so that eventually a person can find anything they want to know on a model all in one place. I hope you find it helpful.

[Ricky D N 7]

Also using your metal detector in conjunction with a high banker to find a probable place the smaller gold with stop, even if you do not find a nugget you may find a lot of iron targets on say a corner of the river you are working , when I do that I also find gold at the same spot, it is a very good tool for finding gold when you use it to find iron lead and brass that has gotten into the river, even a less expensive detector that finds iron my BH Pioneer 505 just a inexpensive little detector but it can become a powerful tool when used correctly when looking for gold or all the other heavy metals that gravity has had it's way with, it is a good way to get started for a small investment, and then buy a more expensive detector as time goes by, remember it is only metal and you should be able to out smart it !!!

[Steve Herschbach (Inactive) 32]

"remember it is only metal and you should be able to out smart it"

I like that! I may have to quote you on it in the future.

[Guest ShayneThill]

If you have enough time, you may try metal detecting in Columbia. I heard there is a gold rush there and many American went there with their gold detector.