How is Gold Found?

Something that is very important to remember when looking for gold is that in this day and age almost all of the streams and creeks have already produced gold, whether it be a little of a lot and there are probably not a lot of places that have not been searched in. There are still however, big sized nuggets that have been found in different areas so don’t discouraged. Remember that many people these days are into looking for gold and if it were something that did not give anything they would probably stop.

Another thing to keep remember is that almost all the gold quartz veins are not high grade, but this does not mean that you will not find some rich pockets though. Some areas will consent to allowing people use their metal detectors as well, so you can try this way out around the sites of old camps in certain areas (obviously this largely depends on the country you are in). While it is true that not as much gold can be found like it was in the past, there are some people that have gotten lucky and have run into some large sized nuggets.

Something else that is worth remembering is that the miners in the past did not have access to all the specialized equipment and tools we have available to us in this day and age. As a result of this factor, the miners in the past were not as proficient with their prospecting and left certain areas without getting all the gold out of it at times. The only miners that were known to be very proficient and were in point of fact famous for this in the past were the Chinese miners. There were Chinese miners that mined areas that had already been mined and somehow or another they managed to get more gold out then the first miners that worked in the area.

The first hydraulic miners stated they lost near to half of the gold in the gravels and this was in part due to the failure of the cemented gravels not breaking up after a sluice was run on it. Believe it or not there are some geologists that have actually gone as far as saying that they consider that over ninety percent of the gold has still not been discovered.

The gold veins that have been located in placer deposits come from veins because of the weather and disintegration of the ore. Just because there is a rich placer deposit it does not always mean there are rich veins close by as several low grade veins could also lead to a rich placer deposit. Every now and then even richer deposits come from re-concentration of older gravels with gold in them. In most cases nevertheless, the initial source of the gold in the placer is close by to the first place of deposition.

Placer deposits are for the most part produced as a result of the weight of the gold, which is close to seven times that of quartz and due to the fact that it is malleable. If you happen to observe any gravel benches on canyon walls, be sure to test them in different areas around the bed rock. Every time you are going to be prospecting for lode deposits remember the kind of ore that the gold is known to happen in as well as the districts they can be found in. Being aware about this type of information is key since otherwise you could end up wasting a lot of time and sweat. Evidently gold can be found in other places that are not known of but this is something that does not usually happen.

One thing you should aim to search for is float (float is pieces of the vein that has broken off and traveled down a hillside or a stream bed) and tag along with its source. After you have gotten hold of some gold, take as much as you can so that you can assay it or have it assayed. It’s better to assay bigger amounts of gold rather than less important amounts because the reading on its actual value is more accurate when it is in larger amounts.

You will also need to learn how to make out quartz. This can be done by purchasing a few samples at a lapidary store as well as a mineral identification set that can be found in special stores. If you do happen to find outcropping quartz that is stained with iron or has fine grain pyrite you should definitely consider getting it assayed. If you are in a region that has small rounded hills you should test them for mineralization. In addition, if you see brush that is growing on a canyon wall in an area that is barren it can also be an indicator of mineralization and you should pay consideration to these specific areas.