I looked over and saw Ben on his knees, digging at the edge of the Manzanitas, almost underneath them. I thought back to the previous weekend when we were planning this trip—that day had been a “Ben day.”

Some prospectors would have assumed it was another shotgun shell, but in this case it was 17.6-pennyweight nugget!

Back at the entry point of the mine, we took turns slowly crawling down the slope leading into the mine portal with our metal detectors, hard hats and flashlights. The mine was hand dug and is about 75 yards long.

Some ask if a prospector can collect an entire ounce in a day. It is possible; I’ve done it before.

The right ground balance setting for the conditions you are working is critical. If your detector isn’t set properly, you will lose depth of detection, sometimes to an extreme degree.

The design of metal detectors well-suited for prospecting is an interesting process and not necessarily an easy one to achieve. It is a combination that blends the desires of what prospectors would like, the requirements of sales people and dealers, with the science and physics of what the electronics can achieve.