MINERALIZATION:

see also:
reading the beach
water hunting with the explorer
who dares wins
water 3
formulate a plan
mineralization
wetsand

Mineralization is the amount or concentration of any and all metals and minerals present in or on the ground. Since all metals and minerals generate magnetic fields, they make detecting metal targets much more difficult by covering a good signal with varying degrees of magnetic interference or noise.

The light to moderate mineralization on the East Coast is concentrated mostly in the Virginia area with almost none in Florida. The northeast coast has generally light mineralization. The West Coast has very heavy mineralization from Washing ton to mid California. Then broken areas of heavy to moderate in the rest. The West Coast has generally much more interference than the East Coast. Inland, the country is generally light except near mining areas which are concentrated in the Rockies, the Smokies, and Upper Michigan. You can consider Mexico as having generally heavy mineralization except on the east coast. The Hawaiian Islands are old volcanos and vary from heavy to light. Oahu is on the lighter side while Kauai is generally moderate to heavy.

In general, the lighter the color of sand. the lower the mineralization and the nearer to mountain areas. the higher the mineralization. When sand and dirt is moved, the heavier material naturally goes to the lowest level it can. Walking on a beach you are looking a the top of the heap lightest or lowest density sand. The more it gets moved by water or wind, the more its layers concentrate, heavy being on the bottom. High density metals, like lead sinkers and gold, sink fast, especially when they have less surface area such as a wedding band! On the good side a metal loop, such as a ring, has a relatively strong magnetic detectable field. Near Nome, Alaska in 1985, 1 dug a small zinc? barrel hoop out of a dredge pile that was buried over 3 feet deep. I was hoping that the strong signal covered a smaller gold nugget magnetic field.

*A detector's frequency is the critical factor in its ability to penetrate the interference generated by mineralized soil or sand. That is why a multifrequency or pulse detector has the edge. One of those frequencies is best or close to best for that particular mineralization environment.