Gold Basin Strategy?

[Chris Ben]

I have a plan to give myself the best chance at finding a larger nugget. Being in Vegas I figure the 'best' closest place is Gold basin (Meadview). Heard of a couple of larger nuggets coming out in last few weeks.

Plan:

1. Put the Deepseeker coil on my ATX

2. Cover as much ground as possible  (slow and low)

3. Hit the hills and benches as opposed to gullies. 

Any added advice, or change to my strategy would be appreciated 

Thanks Chris 

[fredmason]

I would not discount the gullies, especially away from trashy camp areas...but, where there is still trash there MAY be treasure.

good luck

fred

[Au4Gold2]

Sounds like a plan....but dang ....that lump could be anywhere. Always comes when you least expect it, good luck.

 

[jasong]

There are guys who've gone 2 or more years without finding a nugget out there. I met a guy who detects Meadview who hasn't found a nugget since 2012! It's easy to find dinks there with a GMT/GB2/etc , but 1/2 oz + not so much anymore.

Give it a try but don't get obsessed with finding one of the extremely few big ones remaining out there, it's 100% luck now these days. Time better spent exploring!

[Clay Diggins]

Meadview is in Lost Basin, Gold Basin is to the south and west of Lost Basin. They both have gold but different geology.

In Gold Basin look for the older fanglomerate underneath the newer gravels. That old fanglomerate is poorly consolidated. The old gravels have gold, the new ones don't. The gold distribution in Gold Basin can seem pretty confusing if you don't know that fact.

The areas where these older gravels are exposed and then concentrated through erosion are where you will find the nuggets. The bigger washes are mostly filled with new gravels but the older gravels are exposed in some of the smaller side washes. Follow the old gravels. White Elephant Wash has several areas with exposed gold bearing gravel but there are other areas scattered throughout the upper basin.

Taking a good look at the geology before you prospect there will give you a leg up. Combine flood modelling with the geology and you have a good chance of walking right to your first find.

There is good information available on the Gold Basin deposits in USGS Professional Paper 1361. You can download a searchable copy of that paper at this Land Matters LINK. 74 Mb PDF

A similar situation with placer gravels is going on in Lost Basin but the gravels are entirely different from the gold bearing gravels in Gold Basin.

[Chris Ben]

4 hours ago, jasong said:

There are guys who've gone 2 or more years without finding a nugget out there. I met a guy who detects Meadview who hasn't found a nugget since 2012! It's easy to find dinks there with a GMT/GB2/etc , but 1/2 oz + not so much anymore.

Give it a try but don't get obsessed with finding one of the extremely few big ones remaining out there, it's 100% luck now these days. Time better spent exploring!

Thanks for the advice, I know it's tough out there. I heard about a guy that found a 2oz nugget at 2ft, then a week later got a 3/4 Oz, supposedly with a 4500. That's what got me fired up lol

[Chris Ben]

4 hours ago, Clay Diggins said:

Meadview is in Lost Basin, Gold Basin is to the south and west of Lost Basin. They both have gold but different geology.

In Gold Basin look for the older fanglomerate underneath the newer gravels. That old fanglomerate is poorly consolidated. The old gravels have gold, the new ones don't. The gold distribution in Gold Basin can seem pretty confusing if you don't know that fact.

The areas where these older gravels are exposed and then concentrated through erosion are where you will find the nuggets. The bigger washes are mostly filled with new gravels but the older gravels are exposed in some of the smaller side washes. Follow the old gravels. White Elephant Wash has several areas with exposed gold bearing gravel but there are other areas scattered throughout the upper basin.

Taking a good look at the geology before you prospect there will give you a leg up. Combine flood modelling with the geology and you have a good chance of walking right to your first find.

There is good information available on the Gold Basin deposits in USGS Professional Paper 1361. You can download a searchable copy of that paper at this Land Matters LINK. 74 Mb PDF

A similar situation with placer gravels is going on in Lost Basin but the gravels are entirely different from the gold bearing gravels in Gold Basin.

Thank you Clay, 

I appreciate the detail. I will definitely look up those links. How do you tell the difference between the older and newer gravely?

Chris

[DolanDave]

Chris Ben, I also live in Vegas, and have been hunting Gold Basin since 2002. Your best bet, is to get away from any dirt roads, and do some hiking way out. Like Vegas odds, you will have a higher chance of finding something on the less traveled path. Easy to get to places have been hunted over 1000 times. Also I have had more luck finding nuggets on bedrock, than benches in Gold Basin. 

Dave