Gold Prospecting Terminology

All Metal Mode
After you have located a target in the motion discrimination mode with your metal detector, you will most likely want to more accurately find it for so as to recover it easily. If your metal detector is prepared with a depth meter, you will also want to measure the target's depth. Pinpoint locating and depth measurement is done in what is called the "All Metal" mode. Given that discrimination is not necessary to carry out these tasks, loop motion is not generally required, except for the motion necessary to get the loop over the center of the target. The All Metal mode is also on occasions called the "Normal" mode, or "D.C." mode.

Alluvial Gold
Alluvial gold has to do with gold that has been deposited by running water. This is usually associated with sand, gravel, silt or any material that is alike and means it has been washed away from one place and deposited in another.

Automatic Ground Balancing
Automatic ground balancing has to do with the circuitry that can be found on most modern metal detectors these days. Most of them do not require any manual adjustments to rule out unfavorable effects of earth with iron and salt mineralization. In many cases this is used when nugget hunting is done and this feature helps makes the job a lot easier.

Bedrock
The earth's crust is composed of rock. However the type of rock is diverse in the majority of places. Rock that can be found at any given place on the earth is called that location's bedrock. In some instances the bedrock is in fact uncovered, and is said to outcrop at the surface. Outcropping bedrock is something prospectors love, because it allows them to get to the gold they are involved in getting to. 

Bench Testing
Bench testing has to do with the stationary measurement of the abilities of a metal detector. This is usually lying on a bench, table or any other type of flat surface.

BFO Detector
BFO, which means "Beat Frequency Oscillator" metal detectors are about the most basic of all metal detector equipment, in fact a person can even build one of these type metal detectors quite easily if you learn how to. Due to the simplicity of BFO metal detectors they are relatively cheap. These used to be used for gold hunting in the 1960’s and the 1970’s; however they are not as adequate as the new modern metal detectors are these days.

Black Sand
Black sand can be seen as a layer on top of silica sand in areas that have a lot of wave energy, such as on the flanks of volcanoes, and in spots where most of the source rock is mafic, or dark colored and does not have a lot of silica. Black sand can be made out of a number of different dark minerals, however most of them are rich in iron and heavier than silica sand. This weight makes it easy it to stay put when energetic waves wash the lighter sand grains out.

Claim
A claim is what is done on a tract of land that has been legally ventured out and has been claimed for purposes that exclusively have to do with prospecting.

Classifier
A classifier is a device that is used to fit on top of a gold pan through which the materials that go into the pan are first passed through. In other words, it classifies, as the word suggests. Classifiers can be made out of metal, plastic or some other material and are specifically made to get rid of rocks and other large pieces from the gold pan. Classifiers are also known as grizzlies.

Concentrates
Concentrates consist of materials that are heavier such as gold and black sand. The concentrates are what are left after having panned out the rocks, gravel and sand.

Discriminate Mode
This is used as a mode of operation of a metal detector and helps to define which metallic targets are distinctively chosen by the operator to be gotten rid of from detection. The discriminate mode is also used to eliminate hot rocks.

Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability of certain circuits in a metal detector to remove from detection metallic objects that are undesirable.

Dredge
A dredge or a suction dredge is a potent underwater type of vacuum cleaner. Its function is to suck up streambed material such as rocks, sand, gravel, silt, gold and other minerals, the suction dredge then passes it up through a suction hose, and runs it across a recovery system floating at the surface. Pieces of gold, which are very weighty, are separated from the other streambed materials and trapped, as the gravel and other material wash through the recovery system and are then washed back into the stream. 

Dry Panning
Dry panning is what is done when there is not water available to create the state of fluid suspension in which the gold sinks into the riffles of a gold pan. Alike results are accomplished by determinedly working to get rid of the bigger pieces of material while letting the gold settle into the riffles.

Electronic Prospecting
Electronic prospecting has to do with using a metal detector in order to look for gold, silver or other types of precious metals. The most known of electronic prospecting is done when nuggets are searched for.

Elliptical Search Coil
Elliptical search coils have an oval shape to them and the length is approximately two times its width. This was at first intended for use by electronic prospectors in rocky areas that were tight, however they have now been designed and enhanced so that they can provide deep, cutting edge scanning.

Float
Float consists of a chunk of ore that has been broken off from the mother lode and moved down hill (in most cases) with the help of gravity, the wind, water, the movement of the earth or any other action caused by nature.

Flour Gold
Flour gold is the finest type of gold that exists and has a consistency almost similar to that of flour.

Ferrous
Ferrous pertains to iron and components made out of iron, such as soda bottle caps or nails etc.

Gold Pan
A gold pan consists of a broad and shallow container in which components that are suspected to have gold can be placed in a liquid suspension and which permits the gold that is heavy to sink down to the bottom of the pan. Gold pans are generally made out of plastic or metal.

Gold Panning Kit
There are different options for gold panning kits in the market. Most of them come with a gold pan, a classifier and a suction or sniffer bottle to vacuum up microscopic gold.

Grizzly
Also known as a classifier. A grizzly or classifier is a device that is used to fit on top of a gold pan through which the materials that go into the pan are first passed through. In other words, it classifies, as the word suggests. Classifiers can be made out of metal, plastic or some other material and are specifically made to get rid of rocks and other large pieces from the gold pan.

Ground Balancing
Ground balancing is the ability a metal detector has in order to ignore or get rid of the effect of detection of iron minerals or salt that is wet. Ground balancing is very important when it comes to searching for gold.

High Grade Specimen
A high-grade specimen is a nugget that has a high content of gold or any other type of conductive mineral.

Hot Rock
There are diverse types of definitions on what hot rocks are but in general they are what we know as ordinary “granite”. It’s a remainder of that cosmic meltdown. In the molten planet, heavy minerals moved down to the bottom. Lighter elements, such as granites, floated to the top. To this day, they are still implanted in the earth’s crust as “hot dry rocks”.

Magnetic Black Sand
Magnetic black sand is magnetite, which is a magnetic oxide of iron along with hematite in a lesser amount. Magnetic black sand can also contain titanium and other earth minerals but they for the most part serve as an indicator of the likely presence of placer gold.

Manual Ground Balance
Manual ground balance is a circuit in a metal detector that allows you to rule out or ignore the harmful effects of iron earth and salt mineralization. This function is not included or needed on automated metal detectors.

Metal Detector
A metal detector is a device or electronic instrument that is normally battery powered and that has the ability of capturing or sensing the presence of objects that are conductive, such as gold nuggets. Metal detectors give the operator the ability to hear or see the identification of the object that has been located.

Metal/Mineral
This refers mainly to the zero discrimination point that is vital when it comes to eliminating hot rocks. A detector that is adequately calibrated and signals at the zero point it will tell whether the target is a mineral or a metal.

Microprocessor
A microprocessor is an integrated circuit that has the necessary elements of a little digital computer. When a microprocessor is used in a modern metal detector, the memory of the microprocessor allows the metal detector to automatically perform a lot of different functions that enhance its potential.

Motion Detector
Motion detectors are also commonly known as motion detectors. These instruments use factory set ground balance and are able to respond to a target on when the metal detector is being moved right over the target. Motion detectors are generally not suggested for gold hunting, although computerized instruments can be used to help locate gold nuggets.

Non-Ferrous
This pertains to non-iron metals and compounds. Some example of non ferrous components are gold, silver, lead, brass, aluminium etc.

Non-Motion Detector
A non-motion detector is an instrument that allows the search coil to be placed directly above a target for any amount of time while it is being detected. These instruments also have manual ground balance and are suggested for all types of gold hunting.

Nugget
A nugget is a lump of precious metal that can be found in nature. The size of gold nuggets can vary from teensy little pinhead size flecks to large size rocks that weigh quite a few pounds.

Null
Null is a tuning or audio adjustment condition that suddenly becomes “quiet” or in a zero audio operation.

Ore
An ore is a source material that is mined or worked on in order to extract precious metals from it.

Placer
Placer describes an accumulation of gold, black magnetic sand, and other elements that have a specific gravity that is higher than that of sand and rock etc that is located in the same area.

Riffles
Riffles are the grooves that can be found in a gold pan. Riffles force the gold to sink and be able to become separated from the other materials in the gold pan. Riffles allow the gold to be panned in a wet or dry state more quickly & more thoroughly.

Scanning
Scanning pertains to the actual movement of the search coil over the ground or any other area that is being searched for precious metals.

Signal
A signal usually describes the electromagnetic data given by a metal detector from a target and the audio or visual response caused by it.

Search Coil
A search coil is a part of a metal detector that holds its transmitter and receiver antennas. Search coils are normally attached to the metal detector by a stem that is adjustable. The search coil is used to scan over the ground or any other area that is being searched. 

Sluice Box
A sluice box is a device that water in induced into to flow. Sluice boxes have slots into which gravity and water can cause the gold to sink and other materials that are heavier and allows them to become separated.

Sniping
Snipping is the testing of a site by the selective use of a gold pan on its own or along with a metal detector, dredge, etc.

Suction Dredge
A suction dredge is a floating device that has a motor and tubing and serves to recover material from a lake or a stream bottom, and sluice box for separation of precious metals.

Suspension
Suspension is the status of a substance when its particles become mixed with fluid but it is not dissolved. This suspension causes the flakes of gold to sink into the riffles of a gold pan when it is adequately used.

Tailings
Tailings are what remain after precious metal has been recovered from a certain area and is usually referred to when mining or dredging is done.

Threshold
The adjustable level of audio sound at which a metal detector is used when precious metals are searched for.

TR Disc
A TR Disc is a non motion mode of metal detector operation and in which discrimination can be recognized with manual ground balance. This is almost always and exclusively used when electronic prospecting is done in order to classify samples.

Wet Panning
Wet panning is the action that is done for gold with water that is used to create the state of suspension that allows the gravity to make the gold flakes sink into the riffles of a gold pan.