For beginners (and experts alike for that matter), a simple plastic gold pan is going to be your best option. Plastic pans are inexpensive and lightweight, while still being durable enough to withstand hard use while out prospecting. I have some plastic pans that I have probably owned for decades that still function properly after […]
The Short Answer: No. First and foremost, gold that is found in nature is NEVER 100% pure. The gold is naturally alloyed with a variety of minerals, most commonly silver and copper. This results in a metal that is not truly “pure gold,” but rather a mix of several different metals. Having said […]
The Smith River watershed drains the mountains in the most northwesterly corner of the state of California. Situated in Del Norte County, this region sees much less activity than most other parts of the state. Even most Californians have never been here. Gold mining in the region dates back almost as early as the original […]
Almost 75 million years ago, the Indian tectonic plate (previously part of the supercontinent Gondwana) drifted northeast. At the same time, the Tethyn oceanic crust subducted under the Eurasian plate, causing the Indian continental crust to thrust under Eurasia. These massive tectonic shifts created the extreme altitudes of the Himalayas, while the south created a […]
The region around Grand Junction is certainly not the richest gold mining area in the state. In fact, there is very little in the way of mining history in this region. Any amount of gold or silver that was recovered here was vastly overshadowed be the discoveries farther east. Despite the lack of any serious […]
A lot more is involved with successful prospecting than many people might realize. There is a whole lot more than just digging for gold. You’ve got to find a good place to go, and that’s the biggest challenge. Finding virgin ground is no easy task, but nowadays we are often following in the footsteps of […]
Gold Basin is located roughly 10 miles south of the Colorado River (Lake Mead) in Mohave County, Arizona. It is situated between Meadview and Dolan Springs. This is a fairly popular gold prospecting area that has been known to produce some very large gold nuggets over the years. Plenty of prospectors from Las Vegas explore […]
The Alleghany mining district has come to be known as one of the richest mining regions in California. The rich gold/quartz deposits were as extensive as anywhere in the world. There are active mines in the region even today. The gold was found here within the first few years after the gold rush. Alleghany is […]
Strike gold and stake your claim! That is what most miners dream of doing. In most Western states a prospector can still go out and stake a mineral claim and make a living off the land. It’s not easy I assure you, but there are still valuable mineral deposits that can be profitably mined. Filing […]
One thing that surprises a lot of beginners is that nearly all of the richest gold mining areas have already been found and mined. The cream-of-the-crop is long gone… the old-timers already found it. Now that isn’t to say that you can’t still go out and find gold today. Not by a long shot. What […]