Guys,
The reviews posted earlier are supposedly user reviews. This one from AKMining.com states that it works on "gold visible to the human eye" & for "scanning quartz samples for enclosed gold", which would be less likely to be contaminated than most host rock, especially Fe/Mg cemented conglomerates.
http://www.akmining.com/cart/mimfalcon.htm
one of the "objective" reviews from previous post said it could detect a "standard one ounce nugget" :shock: :shock: at 4-1/2"!!
"The main drawback to the unit is the very small area that it scans. For very small gold the effective scanning area is about an inch wide by and inch deep. Larger gold may be detected a bit deeper, but very small gold is really what this unit is made for." AKMining.com
A standard metal detector would likely find that "standard nugget" from 8" - 12", depending on the mode, amount of mineralization, & etc.
I'm not trying to be argumentative, but exactly how large is this deposit? IMHO - You would be crawling over it on your hands & knees, literally, using the falcon probe on areas about the size of a postage stamp.
Take a pick, folding shovel, a sturdy hammer & threaded steel pipe cap, 1-1/2 - 2", a plastic gold pan (its lighter), several sample bags, a magnifying glass, maybe some sidewalk chalk, & some graph paper & pencils, as well as a digital camera (for perspective views, mark these on your rough map of the deposit) - resolution isn't that important, these are for your reference, for now.
Lay out a rough grid over area you're sampling & get representaive samples, photographing & marking these on your "map". If possible, crush & dry pan over some cloth or other pan, here you're looking for visible gold. If you see some, thats real good, record it save the whole sample, perhaps even getting some more & notating. You'll want to keep all your samples of course, (recording location, depth, etc. on an index card which you'll place in each sealed bag) for testing for "not-visible" gold (is that a term?). Continue over the rest of the deposit
Another suggestion - listen to butcher! 8) The test for gold sulfides above doesn't require a large quantity of acid, i would imagine it could be safely transported to your site with a little ingenuity - that's up to you. If you don't want to do so in the field, take these samples home & use solid, reliable, time-tested rough assay methods - this is better than spending money you may not have to work a deposit that may not yield enough gold to even pay for your device.
As someone on this forum advised me about a VERY promising prospect, "spend extra time, not extra money " until you know it will produce.
