Golden Legends Tales of Buried Treasure

Thought I would share with you what I found today. Was prospecting in the Bradshaw Mountains of Arizona and was digging near a rock wall on a club claim. It took 4 years of searching - I've found placer gold, but not a nugget worth talking about. Well, for any of you who were like me, check this out and get the fever. Good luck.

Here are three photos of a handy pocket pan. This fella had a great idea. What he talks about has happened to me. You are going on a trip and see a waterway that looks promising for placer gold, or you just wonder about it. You didn't prepare to prospect, your goal was to do something else, but you sure wish you could dip a pan in. Here is a mini portable pan that is small enough that you can slip in a pocket and go sample a bit on short notice. Great idea. http://gpex.ca/smf/index.php?topic=3739.0

Did you ever wonder what the verbage is on Mining claim markers, Federal Mining Claim Corner Monuments, Registered Mining Claim Documents? - well, here is a link to illustrations. This site  advertises prospecting gear for sale, but these signs/notices are of interest just to visualize. It may be of use? http://rocksinmyhead.biz/MINING-CLAIMS_c232.htm

Here is a webpage chock full of content about gold prospecting. It comes from the news bank of the New 49ers, a gold prospecting club in Northern California, Happy Camp, founded by Dave McCracken. This page has so much information about dry washing, from how to set up, not standing "down wind", plans, clean up, placer geology, information on clay-like material and dealing with it, water flow and you just name it, that this would be one of the first sources I would go to if a newbie were contemplating dry washing. It is excellently presented. I was particularly impressed by the section Drywashing; or Introduction to the Blister End of a Shovel, written by Sam Long. There is a photo of a man prospecting on the inside bend of a wash in Kearney, Arizona. I prospect about 15 miles south of there and it is a rather desolate place with a spot in my heart. The area I like is a bit closer to Hayden, Arizona. Another feature is attached links to videos. See: http://www.goldgold.c...

It occurred to me that when attempting to build some of the wood contraptions previously listed for fsifting, classifying, and washing our placer gold, it might come in handy to be able to build your own miter saw stand. I built mine, but not from someone else's plan. I wish I had seen this plan before I assembled my own. The link to the actual plans is at the bottom of the page and looks like this -   Miter Saw Stand Plans. Have fun at http://woodworking.about.com/od/woodworkingplansdesigns/ss/miterSawStand.htm Photo courtesy of http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/my-miter-saw-stand-59660/

I recently found a website with a number of interesting topics from http://goldpanningtools.com/gold-guide/homemade-gold-prospecting-equipment.htm Here are the topics: California Gold Rush Facts Gold Dredge For Sale Gold Mining Claims For Sale Gold Mining Methods Gold Mining Stocks Gold Panning Locations Gold Prospecting Clubs Gold Prospecting Equipment Gold Prospectors Association How To Build A Sluice Box Sluice Box Plans Where To Pan For Gold In addition there are 8 publications you can check out. Some are free, like http://goldpanningtools.com/gold-guide/panning-for-gold-graphics.htm the one about finding gold at the bottom of the page by MacMillan. It's a pdf - just click on fetch doc .

If you are familiar with the Nugget Bucket, then this idea for a gold trap is pretty neat. The gold snare sits just below the surface of the running stream - it requires a lot of running water with a velocity behind it. A nugget bucket takes water to run material through a classifier, but a bucket at a time. The advantage of the snare is that is pretty easy to make and light to carry. I love the concept. Here is the video and you are given a website to find the instructions. Enjoy. See it at -  http://www.nuggetshooter.ipbhost.com/index.php?s=3319d2f3664d53547ca7e4d5443b82a6&showtopic=26313