Beach Deposits

Beach deposits are also known as “terrace deposits.” Once gold reaches the streambed, it will be deposited in common ways due to the stream effects.

For an extent period of time, a creek tends to deepen into earth. This leaves portions of old sections that are dry above water level. These old beds that rest above the actual creeks are called “benches”. The accumulation of gold and other valuable minerals in the old beds are called “bench deposits.”

An eluvia deposit can be dragged downwards and deposit its minerals in an old bed (bench), but it will still be kept as an eluvia deposit until it is pushed by the stream of water. A bench placer deposit has gold deposited on the bed before being raised and dried out.

Many benches rest near the actual streams of water and are really remains of the actual creek when it flowed along there years back. Some dry beds (benches) are located very far from the current creeks, and there are times in which the remnants of those old rivers used to flow on the current ways they were formed.

Old stream benches are sometimes at the top of the mountains, far from deserts, or they could be located near creeks and current rivers. It is known that the old beds, no matter where they are, keep rich gold deposits.

Many of the gold-mining operations on today’s surface placers take place on bench deposits. The reason for that is the presence of an old streambed that evidences that it has never before been exploited. Any gold that could sometime be deposited there is still there in the same placing.