Wednesday, November 15, 2023

27 Articles About Amateur Gold Prospecting Amazing Stuff!




There are two things common to gizmos designed to separate gold from heavy fines; water and agitation. All agitate, and nearly all use water. This write-up will discuss the mechanism of the highbanker with attention paid to advantages and disadvantages.

The Highbanker: An Automatic Power Sluice - Owlcation

As is the case with anything, you can really go basic when you start out gold prospecting by using the minimum number of tools. For that matter, all you really need is a pan! However, there are four tools that will help the prospector save time—and time savings ensues more work and a superior gold yield. Here are a few tool suggestions.

4 Important Inexpensive Basic Tools for Gold Prospecting - HobbyLark

 Culverts to crevices to old ore piles and grassy areas where gold has been found to stream beds in the hills - these are all places you can discover gold. Knowing about a few of these places can increase your chances of finding color.

https://owlcation.com/misc/Not-So-Common-Places-I-Have-Found-Gold-A-Hub-for-the-Curious-Prospector

Buffalo Bill Cody lived his life in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and traveled the United States and Europe with his Wild West Show. Few people know of his exploits in Arizona trying to mine gold. He was considered an expert on Indian affairs, and sympathized with the plight of the Native American.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Buffalo-Bill-Cody-and-Arizona-Gold

Luster, streak, hardness, and cleavage, physical characteristics which may help identify gold ore for amateur gold prospectors. Gold is heavy, forms few compounds, and is a golden yellow. These attributes help in identifying it. Learn about other tests here:
https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/ways-to-test-gold-ore

When visiting Tucson, Arizona, the Mission of San Xavier del Bac is a favorite tourist site. A National Historic Landmark since 1960, it has a history dating to 1683. The mission is perhaps the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States  with brightly colored paintings and sculpture adorning the whole interior. But the history of occurrences nearby involving mostly silver and some gold are less well-know.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/San-Xavier-del-Bac-Mission-and-the-Esmeralda-Mine

At 24 to 48 inches long and from 6 to 10 inches in width, today's gold prospectors use sluices to separate dirt, pebbles, and rock from placer gold. Placed in running water, these devices can isolate the gold faster than simply panning. They also save a prospector's back from wear and tear. This article goes into the details of why a sluice works so well. It also discusses its proper use.
https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/How-to-Use-a-Gold-Sluice

Throughout history there has been a common need to develop new tools and weapons. So along with this need came the need to develop mining tools. Tunneling for metals required cutting shoring, earth removal, and breaking of rock. Water was a never-ending threat with its removal a particularly devilish problem. History shows more and more ingenious methods for dealing with these problems on larger and larger scales. This article delves into some of these puzzles.
https://owlcation.com/stem/Ancient-Mining-Tools-and-Techniques

The article annotates some of Pancho Villa's escapades in trying to raise money for his army. He raided trains for silver ingots, robbed banks for gold. Legend has it that he buried a fortune in gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. Pancho Villa's reputation is that of a soldier, a politician, a revolutionary, a Robin Hood, a murderer, and a thief. Whatever version one accepts, he was a colorful character. This article covers three tales of Villa's treasure.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Pancho-Villas-Treasures

In the United States, "burro" is used as a loan word by English speakers to describe any small donkey used primarily as a pack animal, as well as to describe the feral donkeys that live in Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah, Texas and Nevada. These pack animals were used by prospectors in the Old West in the 19th century. On occasion they would wander away and get lost, be stolen by thieves or Indians, or be left to fend for themselves if a prospector died. They are very hardy and self sufficient, and were the most important tool for getting to claims with heavy packs and leaving claims with gold.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Indispensable-Companion-The-Gold-Prospectors-Burro

Fine gold concentrate panning is arduous and monotonous. But a Blue Bowl will recover gold as fine as powder and is much easier on the back. Learn the advantages of the Blue Bowl: how to run it and why it works the way it does.
https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/Fine-Gold-Recovery-With-A-Blue-Bowl-Concentrator

From 1880 - 1930 immigrants from Finland, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and England came to the United States to work in iron mines. Germans, Cornish, and French Canadians had experience and mined in Michigan's Copper Country. Early immigrant miners were primarily natives of coal mining regions of Great Britain and Ireland. Cornish miners were skilled in all facets of copper mining and came to Arizona at the dawn of electrification. They even encouraged relatives ("cousins") in Cornwall to come to Arizona for work. As in other parts of the United States, these miners had an impact on the culture of Arizona.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Arizonas-Invaluable-Cornish-Miner-Connection

In a nutshell, these tables are designed to separate gold from black sand. The table surface can be made from a number of materials that are covered in the article. All the gold remains on the table surface while sand and debris fall off the table end. The article explains how to run the table and why it works the way it does. Read up on Miller tables before you make a purchase or build one yourself.
https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/The-Miller-Table-Refining-Fine-Placer-Gold

Have you ever asked yourself, "Where is gold panning near me?" I think all amateur prospectors have asked that question. Sometimes the answer lies in a different question. Rather than asking the first, ask yourself if there is an area nearby you would like to explore because of its beauty, history, or proximity to mountains and\or streams. Along the way sample the area and pick up a little recyclable metal.
https://toughnickel.com/misc/For-Old-Codgers-Who-Fantasize-About-Gold-Prospecting-and-Recycling

Find gold the easier way. Nothing will turn a child off more than an early experience with back-breaking work. Children and gold prospectors alike will enjoy the Nugget Bucket concept. Simply portion up the pay dirt, pour in the water, and you will see gold separated from concentrate while you watch. Using filters, a bucket, and fluid dispersion, this tool will help introduce the family to modern day gold prospecting.
https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/Nugget-Bucket-Concept-is-Golden

Many claim that spiral wheels will get 50 times as much gold as panning by hand. Besides saving your back, it is far faster than hand panning. Read this article to find out about the two wheels I find are the best. The names of 3 other popular models are also included. Learn the pros and cons of each. Learn about the operation of each. That golden nugget may be in your future!

https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/Spiral-Wheel-Gold-Panning-Machines-Automated-Gold-Recovery

There is some expertise required to find placer gold. If you are not interested in hunting for the proverbial needle in a haystack, you need a little science on your side. The article helps you understand the nature of placer gold, its settling spots in a waterway based on speed and volume of water, and how placer can accumulate. Even more information will be of great use to new gold prospectors.
This hub will convey information that I, an amateur prospector, have learned about the location of placer gold. Believe it or not, it took me quite some time to figure out how to increase my odds of finding placer gold. Due to the fact that discovering gold is an exciting prospect, people frequently delve into the activity simply digging, most often near a bank, at a claim where gold has been found before. Usually it is after several trips that the neophyte realizes that there must be more to finding gold (even at a location that has produced gold) than simply digging. Well, the good news is that there is more to it.


https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/Metal-Detectors-A-Hobby-with-Bountiful-Treasures

Metal detecting is one of those things a person usually dreams about, while not really picturing themselves as participants. Whether it is the call of the wild, gold fever, antiquities hunting, coin shooting, or the lure of any treasure, metal detecting has become one of America's favorite pastimes. You may have given it thought, but usually there is a critical moment when the decision is made to take the leap and purchase a metal detector.


https://owlcation.com/humanities/19th-Century-Gold-Prospecting-in-Arizona

There are times in our lives when we know not the significance of an experience. Over the years I have looked back in wonder at places I thought were meaningful, beautiful, and awe-inspiring but I had little to no knowledge of what they were about. Later, in the last half of life, remembrances of these geographic spots become more meaningful as time allows an individual to reflect and to learn.

https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/Making-Placer-Gold-Mining-Easier-A-Piece-of-Desert-Equipment-the-Dry-Washer

Amateur prospecting has gained popularity over the years, especially in the last ten years. The search for gold is inspiring many people—young and old to seek their treasure. Treasure-hunting and prospecting clubs have popped up all over the country.

https://hobbylark.com/metal-detecting/Finding-Gold-Placer-Deposits-Gold-in-Quartz-Veins-of-Gold-A-Gold-Piedmont-and-Minerals-Found-with-Gold

It is one thing to know high probability areas for finding placer gold near a stream. It is quite another thing to locate property that is a good contender for holding gold. Finding a property that might contain gold is the subject of this article. And, just as there are places to look on a claim where the nature of placer gold is likely to dictate where it "falls out" or settles, there are some fundamental rules for selecting an unclaimed area.

https://skyaboveus.com/climbing-hiking/Hiking-for-an-Abandoned-Gold-Mine

As I walked up the trail, I could see evidence of two wheeled vehicle travel. Perhaps it was ATVs, or perhaps it was evidence of old trucks or carts. Sometimes the trails in Arizona have vehicular evidence caused by traffic from many years before. The wheels from that yesteryear compacted the earth very hard. Even though some older vegetation was on the trail, it wasn't much. That was another good sign. The other tell tale thing was to the right near a wash that was getting farther and farther away from view, beer cans, about 20, were gathered near a dip in the sand, and they were very rusted. Recall that aluminum cans for beer were brought out in 1959. Can corrosion was evidence of old beer! This was another good omen.
By way of first notions of gold in Arizona, our earliest associations are with Coronado's search for the Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540. It was here that a city of gold supposedly existed, but turned out to be Native American huts of mud. The village, to this day not discovered, is by way of old writings supposed to be about 30 miles west of current day Safford, AZ.


https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Free-Panning-Gold-at-State-of-California-Park

My most recent short trip outside of Arizona was for 3 days in August, 2011. The intention of the trip was to celebrate my father-in-law's 90th birthday in the Central Valley of California. But what else might I do with my time? The answer came pretty quickly since this is an area in which the quest for gold opened up the west in 1848. In fact, this was the first place! While building a saw mill, James W. Marshall found gold in the Coloma-Lotus Valley. His partner John Sutter is also well-known for starting Sutter's Fort in 1839. The fort was built in the same location as the state capitol, Sacramento.


https://hubpages.com/education/Discovering-Ancient-Gold-In-Arizona

Evidence has it that gold has been mined since about 3000 BC. The oldest objects of gold were discovered in the Sumerian capital of Ur, which is in the southeastern part of present day Iraq. There, a royal tomb was excavated revealing gold chains for jewelry. From 2500 BCE on, gold was produced for jewelry and found in Egyptian tombs. Objects including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, diadems, pendants, pins and brooches have been discovered. The ancients mined it for their rulers for ages.


Nothing could be more blasé than walking, head bent down, and passing concrete sidewalk sections and expansion joint dividers, one after another. But in bustling urban jewelry quarters, a new kind of gold prospecting is taking place. Gemstones, silver, platinum, and especially gold are being mined from sidewalk cracks full of years' worth of traffic dirt from customers walking in and out.


During the Tertiary geologic period, the United States (and much of the world) was warmer and moister. Arizona rivers of gold were formed at the end of the tertiary period when cooling occurred and the tropical plant life changed to grassland and woodland.

Amateur prospectors enjoy heading to the mountainous areas when the rains clear out in anticipation of big placer finds. In truth, I find small amounts on my trips to club claims, but nothing resembling huge finds.The rain and flood waters in the desert serve to wet the gold appetite.

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