Prospecting & Detecting
Prospecting for Surface Flood Gold Placers on Low and Intermediate Gradient Streams
February 2015 by Alex Dolbeare
Sample panning is a very important method used to find the richest parts of a flood gold deposit before setting up equipment and running material.
Gold Mining Boom in the Carolinas
Not too far from the pine-filled mountains, a young boy was exploring along Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, one fine day in 1799. He discovered a beautiful rock that he took home and put to good use as a doorstop. Shortly thereafter, a jeweler stopped by to visit his folks, and as it turned out, the new doorstop was actually a 17-pound gold nugget. That nugget truly did open a door as it marked the beginning of the first gold rush in America.
Ask the Experts
What are the tell signs of garnet deposits?
Want to Go to Australia?
Every year there are large nuggets found by the diligent, and occasionally by the lucky newbie.
What's Left Behind
I love to see old-timer workings while I am out detecting for gold. For one thing, it assures me that gold came from there. Second, it tells me gold should almost certainly still be there.
Gold in the Slate Creek Basin
In some areas these channels were thousands of feet wide, and just figuring out where you are in some of these diggings is a challenge.
Preparing For The 2021 Mining Season
On my final prospecting day of 2020, I went up to a spot where I had found gold years before and had my best day of the year—four nuggets for nearly one-quarter-ounce of gold.
Mining In The El Paso Range of Southern California
While none of the historical mining camps are active, the area is still a hub of activity for the modern prospector, and claims still blanket the hills and gulches.
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