The first time I found gold in the creek here is when I decided to try a new place to drywash on a hill not far from the dirt path I was on.

The sun was beginning to set, which put the light at just the right angle against the hillsides to where I believed that I spotted a very small dig and tailings pile up the hill near the top of the second wash.

The type of mine dump that is best for metal detecting are the ones that consist of mixed sizes of rock and are located near some sort of excavation, commonly a shaft or adit. Sometimes the piles located along a trench dug by the miners can be productive as well.

“The evidence is clear—mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract precious commodity investment dollars...”