Do long-range locators and underground gold scanners work?
Verdict summary
No. Long-range locators and 'underground scanners' that claim to find gold, treasure or voids from many metres or kilometres away have no working scientific principle and have failed controlled tests. Real detectors sense metal within about a metre; deeper searches use ground-penetrating radar or magnetometers, which show anomalies, not 'gold'.
The same kind of device was sold as a bomb detector: the ADE 651, an empty case with an antenna, led to a fraud conviction in the UK in 2013. Be wary of any device that claims to target a chosen metal from a distance.
What works for deep or distant targets is research: old records, geology and terrain show where to search, then a real detector or a pan finds the target.
Sources: R v McCormick (Old Bailey, 2013, ADE 651 fraud); Published double-blind tests of dowsing and locator devices.
Can a metal detector find gold nuggets? Yes. Detectors built for gold, either high-frequency VLF models or pulse-induction (PI) models, find gold nuggets. Small flakes and fine gold are too small to detect and are recovered by panning instead.
How deep can a metal detector detect? Most hobby metal detectors find coin-sized objects down to about 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) in typical soil. Larger objects can be detected deeper, and pulse-induction machines and large coils reach further, while mineralised soil reduces depth.
Can LiDAR see underground? No. LiDAR cannot see underground; it measures the ground surface. Its power is seeing the bare earth under trees and brush, which reveals foundations, mounds, old roads, mine dumps and earthworks that are hidden by vegetation.
Primary sources cited
- R v McCormick (Old Bailey, 2013, ADE 651 fraud)
- Published double-blind tests of dowsing and locator devices