Lead and gold.

[Greglz86]

I read from time to time that if your finding lead your using your detector right. I'm interested in knowing why this is and will a bit of lead the same weight/size to gold give the same sound.

Greg

 

[echidnadigger]

Greglz86
Yes lead and gold do give a very similar signal even a seasoned operator struggles to hear the difference. I can often call the lead target before I have dug it but I would never walk away from that sound. This is because I have dug countless .22 bullets and they all sound very much the same, so I have gotten used to the sound, but gold at the same size and depth will sound exactly the same. The other way to look at this topic is, because the two sound so alike. If you are getting lead targets then the ground may not have been detected to well because no good operator would leave a lead target undug. So there is a good chance if you have put yourself on the right ground, there might be some gold left in the ground.

 

[Nugget]

Another reference commonly made is toward the actual size of the lead such as small lead shot. The belief is that if you're picking up on lead shot at reasonable depth's than you shouldn't have too much trouble pinging a nugget of equal size. This is providing gold is present and you actually swing over it of course .

 

[Greglz86]

Thanks mate. I feel I little less silly now. Because after reading it in places I decided to put a small peace of lead in a plastic vile. I would then burry it and wave my detector over it to get an idea of what I should be listening for. I just wasn't sure if the bit of lead should have been smaller or larger.
And thanks for the good point at least the spot I have been trying hasn't been completely flogged. Found a few on the weekend

Greg

 

[echidnadigger]

Greglz86,
Just a little tip: while putting different targets in the ground for practice is a great idea. Don't put them in a container. For some reason you will get a different signal from targets in a container with space around them to the signal you will get from a target actually in the ground. I simply use the pointed end of my pick to punch a hole in the ground then drop the target in and refill the hole. You can measure the depth by taking note of how far the pick went into the ground. Don't worry about loosing the target after all you do have a metal detector.

 

[Greglz86]

Thanks for the great tip ill be sure to put it into practice next time I'm out.

Greg

 

[steveo1]

will I must be using my detecter ok .because that's all I fine is LEAD and more LEAD.

 

[Greglz86]

will I must be using my detecter ok .because that's all I fine is LEAD and more LEAD.

Don't worry mate. One day we will dig up a target expecting just another bullet and walk away with a massive smile.

 

[Ryan27]

I would love to know how much lead prospectors extract from Australian soil every year. You could certainly get a rough estimate of how much goes into the ground by the amount of bullets and shells sold throughout Australia.
When you've finished with the area and cleaned up all the lead, let me know and I will give a shot.

 

[Greglz86]

In my research on trying to find why gold gives the same reading as lead I stumbled across this. It's defiantly an interesting read. Maybe I should keep all the lead I find

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/generalchemistry/a/aa050601a.htm

Greg

 

[Ramjet]

In my research on trying to find why gold gives the same reading as lead I stumbled across this. It's defiantly an interesting read. Maybe I should keep all the lead I find

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/generalchemistry/a/aa050601a.htm

Greg

That was a good article Greg.
Thanks

Rod

 

[echidnadigger]

In the real world the elements on the periodic scale are set. Lead and gold are part of that scale. If there was ever a way for science to cheaply alter elements like lead and turn it into gold then gold would become as cheap as lead hence pretty worthless in comparison. Lets not forget that gold is valuable because of its rareness. Im not about to cry next time I loose a sinker while fishing. lol

 

[Greglz86]

Lol. Yeah I'm not going to dive in for sinkers anytime soon. Just thought it was interesting that its been done. However the cost to do it is a lot more costly than the gold itself. If it was going to be done on a big scale it's defiantly not going to be in my lifetime.
[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/zJthd3SkiEM[/video]

Greg

 

[Greglz86]

This way seems much Easier. Lol
[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/NJU67r46q1M[/video]

 

[echidnadigger]

There is something in that video that got me thinking. How is it that mercury can dissolve gold and form an amalgam?
What is happening at a molecular level to allow this to happen? Both solids, no acid or alkali reaction, no heat, no electrical current etc and yet they bond. So many questions.

 

[Greglz86]

I'm sure the answers are out there somewhere. But for now if I was to try it myself, I would just stick to the second Video. Seems to be a little more practical lol

 

[Rambling rude]

Hi Greg, I have found lead shot and lead shot sized gold, the gold seems to reach a higher
Peak in the response. Not much higher but defiantly higher in my experience.
I learnt to avoid most lead by walking a Lille further away from the nearest tracks..say out of
Shot gun range and you will not be wasting as much of your day picking up lead.

I carry a shot sized piece of gold with me when I'm out, it really helps every now and again
To put it down and swing over it to compare targets.

Best of luck to you..

RR

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Good to see your hanging onto the Gold and letting the lead go Rambling Rude.

Just an idea, put some of the local dirt in your sample vial, you should be comparing apples with apples.. mineralisation of the local soil, etc.. of course keep your sample a size that you wont loose easily.

Cheers, Tone

 

[Ridge Runner]

The Reason it is A GOOD thing you are finding Lead Is because Both Metals have similar Conductivity and Resistance and it proves to you that you have your machine set pretty close to Perfect, Here's a Table that shows you the figures although the numbers have been rounded off it will give you some Idea of what is going On Under the Coil,
And yes it also shows that you are in an area that has not been detected before

Please note that the first set of figures are the resistance and the second set are the Conductivity I did split them TWICE but the software here keeps stuff them up.

Hope this helps.

Table of Resistivity and Conductivity at 20C

Material (m) at 20 C
Resistivity (S/m) at 20 C Conductivity
Silver 1.59108 ----------------6.30107
Copper 1.68108 --------------5.96107
Annealed copper 1.72108--- 5.80107
Gold 2.44108 -----------------4.10107
Aluminum 2.82108 -----------3.5107
Calcium 3.36108 -------------2.98107
Tungsten 5.60108 ------------1.79107
Zinc 5.90108 -----------------1.69107
Nickel 6.99108 ---------------1.43107
Lithium 9.28108 -------------1.08107
Iron 1.0107 ------------------1.00107
Platinum 1.06107 ------------9.43106
Tin 1.09107 ------------------9.17106
Carbon steel(1010) 1.43107
Lead 2.2107 ------------------4.55106

 

[Borat70]

I've read that aluminium "sounds" most like gold, so you're probably better off making a test target out of that. Also you're better off punching a small hole with a screw driver as the least disturbed the ground is the more accurate the test will be.

The whole turning lead into gold thing was what got alchemy (chemistry and magic) started..