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Minelab GP Extreme

The Minelab GP Extreme is one of the most controversial gold detectors ever made. When Minelab first started producing these machines the lack of quality control was amazing. Cookie quality machines were not produced. You either got an ok one, a lousy one or a fireball. Some people sent their fireballs back to Minelab because the threshold was too erratic but the sensitivity and depth were unparalleled and what most got back was a a dumbed down version of what they sent it. It was quieter but no where near as sensitive, a heavy price to pay. Below is a picture of yours truly using the GP Extreme.

I picked up my Extreme in early 2003 and from my experiences I got a fireball and that to me is a good thing. Yes it can be a chatterbox but I've managed to learn its language and have found several pounds of gold with it. It hears noisy interference from aircraft and I have to re balance it a lot more than my GP3500 but its like an old pair of shoes. I like it. I've found pieces of gold with it that have no weight on a 1/10th grams scale, that is under 1/10th gram and is very small. Now that is not what I am looking for as far as nugget size goes but its nice to know it can find it. Also I've dug 3 foot deep holes to recover a piece of pipe, again no fun but that depth and sensitivity is what keeps me using this machine. The discrimator on the machine in my opinion is useless from experience, I never use it. Don't confuse the GP Extreme with the new GPX 4000, several people call both units by the same call letters GPX.

When you buy a used one it a gamble honestly. EBay can be a great place to find great deals on used equipment. Minelab no longer manufactures GP Extremes. If you have the patience to learn this machine and take your time to research good areas you can find a lot of gold with it. You do not need the latest model to find gold, take it from a guy who is still finding more gold with an old unit that most are with the new units. Knowledge is key and research is paramount. Below are pictures that show just a little of the gold the Extreme has found for me, click to enlarge.

From my experience the best coils for this machine are the Coiltek 14 round mono, the 8 inch Minelab mono, the Coiltek little Joey 5 x 8 mono and the Coiltek Wallaby 17 DDPro eliptical.

5 gold nuggets / specimens all from an area pounded by other detectorist, all found in a few hours

  A 3/4 ounce nugget "slug" found at 16 inches depth

Small gold nuggets