Go Minelabbing in Santa Barbara May 18th on National Metal Detecting Day

Last year’s events drew 1,700 participants for the event, and organizers expect more participants this year. “This is the world’s biggest treasure hunt,” explained Gary Schafer, Minelab Americas’ General Manager. “Remember how you dreamed of finding buried treasure as a child? Now you get to do it for real, and meet others who share that same childhood dream.”

The all-day event features guest star detectorists Geoff Notkin of the Science Channel’s Meteorite Men, Team ATC’s Tim Saylor (Ringmaster Tim) and George Wyant (King George) from the National Geographic Channel. There will be events for all skill levels, from experienced detectorists to beginners and children. Group hunts will be conducted in separate rounds in specific areas that have been seeded with hidden tokens and keys, one of which will open a treasure chest and a special prize.

There are multiple ways to win some of the more than $30,000 in prizes available, including both an adult and a kid’s raffle and for Minelab Metal Detectors and lots of other great prizes. A special kid’s hunt for children ages 6 – 13 is also scheduled at 12:30 p.m. in a designated area seeded with prizes for young detectorists to find.

In addition to the hunts, detectorists will have the opportunity to meet Minelab staffers and participate in workshops led by guest speakers to learn the latest techniques and developments in metal detecting.

Unexpected prizes can also be discovered. According to Phil W., also known as “Gatekeeper” on http://www.findmall.com, a participant at last’s year’s hunt at Indiana Dunes, just outside of Chicago, Ill., found a diamond ring in the search area that wasn’t officially part of the hunt. “That’s the big attraction of metal detecting. You never know what you’ll find.”

Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the first hunt begins at 10 a.m. Salvation Army local chapters in the two US locations will receive a portion of the proceeds from the day’s events.

About Minelab

Minelab—a world-wide manufacturer of handheld metal detector products—is headquartered in Adelaide, Australia. Since its founding in 1985, Minelab has been a world leader, providing the best metal detectors for consumer, humanitarian demining and military needs. Minelab is an ISO 9001 Quality Endorsed Company.

Minelab Americas, based in Lisle, Ill., USA, provides sales, support and service for countries throughout North, South and Central America. Minelab’s parent company, the Newton, South Australia-based Codan Limited, is an international leader in high frequency radio and advanced communications markets with customers in more than 150 countries.