Finding Gold Float

There are usually three different ways in which float is discovered or found. In most cases it is normally found lying on the surface where it has recently deposited itself after a little bit of movement. Surface float can also be found after it has recently been uncovered by water erosion or with the wind.

In second place, float can be found in streams, gullies, or washes where it has located its way and been carried further on by water. This kind of float might either be a rock or it can also consist of a well-defined placer deposit that has the mineral inside of it.

In most occasions it is not common to find float in a placer deposit itself. This is not the same as the second situation we described because the placer is made up of another mineral and traces of another mineral are found, in most cases at the time of the last concentration. One example of this would be where minerals of platinum for example is found as this often times happens and can be found with gold placers. In most cases, it is known that if one mineral is found with another placer, they can also be found together in the lode. However, every once in awhile they will both have different sources and this will add on to the problem of being able to locate one or the other or both.

Float can be found in many different sizes such as from teensy grains that need to be looked at under a strong magnifying glass or they can also occur very big sized boulders. This is the reason why one of the somewhat true rules of the early prospectors existed that said that if a piece of float was bigger, it meant it has traveled less distance. If the drainage systems are not big, it might have only traveled a few square miles within in the area and this is a rule that can usually be followed along with. However when you are talking about very large areas this rule can be questioned. Remember that geologists talk about periods in time that are made up of millions of years and a big sized boulder can be moved a very good distance in this time period.

One other common rule that can usually be relied on is that when the angles of the float are shaper it means they are closer to the source. This is often times said to show how far placer gold is from its actual or original source. When grains have a rounded shape to them it usually indicates they have traveled a long distance, whereas the sharper ones indicate they have traveled less. Obviously there are a lot of different variables that can indicate that this rule is not true as there are variables that indicate that this rule is true.