New Coil Takes MXT to Next Level at Ganes Creek?

[Steve Herschbach]

The White's MXT has been the single most successfull model of metal detector at Ganes Creek, Alaska. Nobody knows for sure but it would not surprise me if over 1000 ounces of the more than 1700 ounces of gold found with metal detectors at Ganes Creek has been found with the MXT.

White's has released a new coil for the MXT that could pay off big time for somebody at Ganes Creek. At 2.2 pounds it would be a bit heavy for everyday all day swinging, but for going over spots after everyone else is done this coil will no doubt hit those big nuggets deeper. I think anyone going to Ganes Creek with an MXT would be well advised to seriously consider getting one of these coils from their local dealer.

#801-3245 MXT MAX 15".

MXT MAX 15" Concentric Search Coil (15 kHz) Specifically for use with MXT, MXT Pro, DFX.

Designed for larger metal items, relics, groups of coins, jar Hunting, searching sand bars for large nuggets, etc. Three feet plus (depending upon target size and search mode) on larger masses of metal. Suggest15 kHz "single frequency" when used with DFX. Not tuned for VX3 /V3i.

Suggested Retail $249.95

By the way, Ganes is totally sold out for the summer. They are no longer accepting names even for the waiting list. I can't wait to get back up there in June. You can bet I will be packing an MXT. I want to see how deep a nugget I can find with this new coil.

By the way for others considering an extra large coil on a VLF, it is not always a good idea. Ganes has exceptionally low mineralization and so is a perfect place for a large coil. In areas with more ground mineralization a large coil can work against you as it "sees" more ground. This can force you to reduce the gain or sensitivity, negating any potential extra depth. In worst case situations a large coil can actually get less depth than a smaller coil. So consider your ground mineralization when thinking about getting a extra large coil.

[Reno Chris]

Is it a DD, concentric or ?

[Steve Herschbach]

I have inquired, probably have an answer Mondy or maybe Tuesday with the holiday.

I am guessing concentric. That would make it less good in bad ground but offer more depth in a place like Ganes.

[HardrockMiner]

I too will be going to gains this summer - taking the MXT Pro and F-75. I am interested in this new coil, but how much time and energy will be spent digging rusty bolts at great depth. Not sure if it would be worth the trade off.
Ray

[Steve Herschbach]

The MXT eliminates most ferrous targets. The few that are left I will dig for a shot at a 1 pound nugget. But that's just me.

[Jonathan Porter]

The secret to any large coil, especially DDs, is to 'GO SLOW'. There is an amazing amount of information available in the signal response once you train your brain to listen for it amongst the clutter, even in noisy problematic areas where mineralisation levels are high. Probably the biggest hurdle to overcome with large coils is the positive responses from things such as clay domes and hot rocks, then you just have to dig, identify and move on.

I used a 20" Nugget Finder DD coil with my XT 17000 back in the 90's with good success, biggest piece was a 55 gram slug at 12 inches in very high mineralisation using the 7.4 Khz freq. Steve I took you and Chris quite close to this spot just before the end of our trip (not far from where Chris was pulling little nugget after little nugget, same place as my dog Mia got all that grass seed up her nose and almost sneezed herself into oblivion :-) ) Over a period of a 10 days I managed to get 9 ounces, all of which came out of deep, virgin, highly mineralised West Australian ground, those experiences set me up for the big gun PIs when they came out a year later.

Lastly patience is required with the large coils, in any given session you have to be prepared to maybe only get one shot at a good faint deep target, so don't expect to get a nugget fix every few minutes or so. Large coils are for the glory payday gold, a whole lot of work and concentration with the occasional big nugget find reward, addictive stuff for sure! :-)

JP

[Reno Chris]

Lots of good info in JP's post above for those willing to take it to heart.

I'd forgotten all about Mia's sneezing fit until reminded. I've wondered since what color those soils would have yielded if we'd have taken few samples and panned them. Probably a decent spot for a day's dry blowing. The drill rigs were not too terribly far away.

[Jonathan Porter]

Chris I popped back late one afternoon and snagged a few more before the setting sun drove me out, so technically they are still biting for when ever you want to hop the pond for a bit of Aussie beeping. :-)

Hard to say on the fines, some of the gold looked like it came from that location so there's a good chance there would be dry blow gold available.

Here's some pics of a patch I found in the Kimberley that did yield some nice colour for the dry blower, ended up with 43 grams for a days work for me and my brother, original patch had over 20 ounces on it for the metal detector. There would have to be heaps of pickers left there for the Gold BugII now that I know what it can do thanks to Steve H :-)

My brother and I got sick of the dust, considering we were averaging over an ounce a day between us with metal detectors with the chance of a good patch thrown in we pulled the pin on the dry blowing venture (this was back when gold was $500 to $600 per ounce).

JP

[Reno Chris]

Great photos. I guess when you are running an ounce a day each, 43 grams split two ways for a days wages does not sound all that great. Still, with today's prices, half of 43 grams for a days work is well worth having.

I'd bet there are lots of places with heaps of little pickers. We never ran the GBII at the spot where Mia inhaled the grass seed, and I was running a 14 x 9 coil there - big enough that I surely missed some.

I'll thank you again for the wonderful time we had in Australia. What an amazing place. Just tonight my wife and I were talking a bit about trying to get across the pond in 2013. She'd have no interest in prospecting, but I figured we'd do tourist stuff for a couple weeks then put her on a plane back to the states, where she can visit with family. I figure I'd stay and head out to the bush (assuming you'd have me). Would we head to WA or Vic or Qld? - way too early to say at this point and it all sounds great.

[Steve Herschbach]

Response from White's today is that it is a concentric coil.