History & Geology

LiDAR Opens a New Window to the Earth

Truths and myths about finding Gold

March 2023

Quartz: The Indicator of Gold

The largest and most perfect single gold crystals are nearly always in the form of octahedra. These large octahedral crystals often possess deeply recessed faces.

Congress decided that if they shared the riches of our lands with the people, we would colonize and expand the states at a much faster pace, thus the birth of public lands and mining claims in America.

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.

I have been finding nuggets all my life, beginning in Sierra County 50 years ago, and believe me they don’t pop up out of the ground like mushrooms when they see me coming and say, “Here I am and take me home.”

Gold specimens that include visible crystal formations are among the rarest, most attractive and most valuable forms of gold to be found.

Let’s examine why your placer gold looks the way it does and what you can tell about its journey based upon its appearance.

Gold on the bedrock is a good rule of thumb, but not one that is 100 percent effective. There are plenty of exceptions. So, how does a prospector recognize those exceptions?