Prospecting & Detecting
Heavy Glacial Rocks and Gold in the Midwest
December 2013 by Chuck Lassiter
Over the years, I've noticed a pattern in the type of rocks associated with the best gold deposits in Midwestern glacial gravel.
Gold: Is It Everywhere?
Gold, on the other hand, is super rare, and is one of the rarest elements in the earth’s crust. It averages only 0.000004 percent of the earth’s surface. That is four parts in a billion.
Reading A River: Understanding Erosion and Gold
Rivers are not just random and accidental; streams and other drainages are what they are because of the forces of erosion acting on the bedrock.
Customizing Your Dredge
I am going to suggest dozens of ways you can increase suction power, dredge to greater depths, and improve recovery methods in your sluice box.
Gold Hunting on Libby Creek
The biggest nugget I have found detecting here was three grams and the following weekend someone found a 9-gram nugget while detecting. Some have even found quarter-ounce nuggets, with one being a chevron nugget.
Successful Detecting Requires Attention to Detail—Part I
So much of gold detecting depends on attention to detail. Every gold area offers its own distinct geological markers and as prospectors we must pick up on those markers.
The "Madonna Nugget"—A Weekend Hunt to Remember
I worked my way to a flat area along a ridge where I could see a quartz blowout. As I got within 100 feet of it, I started seeing rock that I knew to be associated with gold.
How Long Does It Take to Find and Recover An Ounce of Gold?
Some ask if a prospector can collect an entire ounce in a day. It is possible; I’ve done it before.
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