What I saw was a beach area that was just completely covered in black sand. Rubbing my hands close together like a kid in a candy store, I could not wait to get set up.

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.

We all love to see that first glimmer of gold when it peeks out from under the black sand in our pan, or feel the weight of a nugget in our scoop when we dig a good target. But sometimes things don’t go quite so smoothly.

The only thing that saved me was talking to a local miner who gave me a “heads up” that private individuals owned all the mineral rights in that section.