Prospecting & Detecting
Looking for that Hidden Placer
March 2013 by Ray Mills
I detect in a wide array of situations. I like to search for places that no one has been to. I really like to find areas that have never been worked at all.My First Gold Patch
After finding little specks and occasionally little nuggets all season, I had finally reached something economical and interesting! This had never happened before along the Pellice Valley in Italy.
Piles of Gold
These gritty clay lines were only a quarter of an inch up to three inches wide. Once the line had been laid out, they would look at the wall of gritty clay material and seek more indicators.
Gold Placers in Italy
Gold is a fairly widespread mineral in the Italian Alps and in the Northern Apennines. It is found both in primary mineralization and in past and recent floods.
Want to Go to Australia?
Every year there are large nuggets found by the diligent, and occasionally by the lucky newbie.
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.
Detecting Old Pocket Diggings
Looking around, I could tell that this was an old hand-digging. As I walked around the perimeter of the digging I could see shovel and pick marks scratched on the clean, hard clay and bedrock.
Strategies for Detecting Heavily Pounded Areas
The problem is every other nugget hunter and drywash prospector had the same idea. As a result, you can spend days, weeks, and even months detecting these areas and not find a single nugget.
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