Pilot comparative study of detritus and soil geochemical surveys was conducted over the Shaquanzi Cu-Ni deposit of Xinjiang. The results show that there are Cu-Ni-Cr-Co geochemical anomalies delineated by these two methods, and the anomalies are located right over the known orebodies, indicating that the two methods can be used to effectively locate reliable prospecting targets in Gobi desert terrain. A comparison shows that fine-grained soil can yield relatively better results in that it shows higher element concentrations and intensive anomalies over the deposit, which could help identify weak anomalies caused by mineralization in such landscape.