Where Do You Find Your Gold?

[Peteren]

Some tens of years ago a prospector gave me two gems of knowledge that have guided my prospecting to this day, they are.

 

Gold is where you find it, and

 

The further you are from your last nugget, the closer you are to your next.

 

When I'm struggling to find anything more on a patch I recall this advice and move on

[DDancer]

No doubt about it, Gold is Where you find it.  However knowing your limits is another part to the equation.  It takes a fair amount of walking and deduction as well.  Basic knowledge of geology and geography are a must and some knowledge of botany as well especially in Australia.  In Vic it was looking for the Iron Wood and finding/following the faults.  In WA its looking at how the plants set and the colors/composition of the hills and flats to point out directions to go.

Bush walking will take you into old scrapes, potholes and various other spots *some flogged some not* that hold potential but always be on the look out for 9v and AA batteries *usually conviently put inside hollow tree's or goanna holes* that can lead you to VLF patches long since forgotten about.

Lots of things.  Thing is Use your Head First and Detector second.  That's where the gold is.

[klunker]

  I become a bit weary of "Gold is where you find it" because there is more gold where you haven't found it. Few detectorists take the time to look in the local museums an libraries. I also hack into Golbricks research when he isn't looking. Being naturally lazy, I like to find my gold sitting in a comfortable chair first and then go pick it up with my detector. DISCLAIMER. It doesn't always work that way because gold is where you find it.

[Steve Herschbach]

It really boils down to a time thing. If I have limited time and I want to find gold, I go where it has already been found. Old patch or old mine workings. But to make the big score you need time and patience to hunt for that undiscovered patch. The JP method is hunt old patches just enough to cover expenses, and spend all other time hunting new ground. That is the method I plan on using going forward now that I have more time. In the past my time was more limited so I stuck to proven locations.

 

The only basic requirement is that the geology needs to be favorable.

[goldbrick]

Klunker, I built me a tin foil hat so the Vulcan mind probe is no longer a viable research option!

[klunker]

AAAARRRRGGGGGG!!! Foiled again.

[Steve Houston]

I spend a lot of my down time researching new areas. Local historical books, libraries and newspaper archives. Of course I put myself in areas where gold has been found in the past. I look for "New Gold Discovery" or "Gold Found at" etc. This guides me to new areas. Check with the BLM on the status of the areas you wish to "research" further. If it is open visit the spot. If there are large disturbed areas, possibly a Minelab went through there and it maybe ripe for a VLF such as the GMT. If it has not been disturbed, bonus. Now this only works if the area you research has detectable gold. So it comes down to "gold can be found again where gold was once found 100 yrs ago". They did not have detectors then and did miss gold so become intimate with yours. This research process takes a little of your time but may be well worth it and has served me well. So remember "research, research, research" "practice, practice, practice" and last but not least "patience, patience, patience".

[Norvic]

I went through the research stage it works, now I just go into new fringe country using GPS and moving map software combined with digital geo maps, follow the known faults and work the creeks. Once a creek proves up electronically loam the slopes. Sometimes a new line is found that doesn`t follow a known fault. I guess the challenge of finding new gold country drives this. This has proven to me, two old sayings 1. that gold is probably the most distributed metal and 2. Tis where tis.

Have found gold associated with country that "it shouldn`t" be eg coal and limestone country, with no obvious quartz.

Of course in lean times resort to going back to old spots. But I have the luxury of age and the fortune ( not luck) to have done moderately well. Is a lot of footwork but that is in itself a joy but it is a lonely quest and probably why as we age gold leads us to being lone eccentric wolves. Philosophical stuff I know, but is where I`m at.

[Featherdfishead]

My dad and grandfather always said " Your always one foot from a million dollars or a million feet from a dollar" when referring to the ways of gold. I keep this in mind anytime i mine. I split my time from places i've found gold to new places 50/50. I work places that i've found gold to get color when i need the fix or to prove to myself i haven't missed anything nice with the hope i did. Secondly I scout areas and prospect by pan as well as detect in search of new paying grounds. Ive been using a GB Pro but have purchased an SDC  I have a few spots that i haven't been to that i'm thinking that SDC will be perfect for. The'll be 2-3 days so i'll be practicing the machine awhile before heading out but i'm very hopeful.  Which along with patience and a decent detector are the keys to successful treasure hunting of any kind. If i have any wavier of hope when researching a new place or an old place i pass for the time being and return latter if need be. I'm only afew years in the detector game though so i'm running allot of new ground and loving it. 

just discussed this topic with my wife the other day - popular topic this time of year 

AjR

[rumblefish]

Seems to me that phrase should be: "Gold is where everyone else finds it".