Hunting In Undiscovered Areas?

[Andyy]

7 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

Guys, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the following: Old wisdom says that gold can be found where it has been found before by others.

Lot's of the books record the areas of high productivity and low productivity finds.  The low productivity finds were often forgotten or are not as widely explored anymore by the general public.  Also, just because there is a known gold area, it does not mean that everybody and their grandmother has covered every square inch.  Many many of my finds are in known gold areas, just not in the heart of the main work.  Many time there are no "signs of life" anywhere near where I am finding gold.  Maybe they are not noticeable or they just weren't worth the old timer's efforts.  But staying on the claims can be really tough.  I really don't know if you will get skunked more by going off the claims or not, but I can tell you that your chances of the big finds tend to increase 10 fold when you go off on your own and explore.  And when you find a couple gullies that nobody else found (because they were afraid to explore) you will more than pay off all of those skunks.

Well, hopefully :) 

[Desert Dawg]

Our last 4-5 trips to Nevada we been hitting undiscovered areas prospecting, for zero. Have worked 3-5 miles north of Rye Patch prospecting several old closed placer claims for zero including west side of Majuba twice. Have also hit south side of Granite mountain in pretty remote area east of hwy 80 for zero. Also did one trip around Bikini Tree area for zero.   It still is best to work within known gold areas maybe just around the edges and not miles from the discoveries. I guess its just the possibility of hitting an undiscovered patch keeps us prospecting.

[Gold Catcher]

Thanks for the encouragement, Andyy. This is the type of answer I am trying to talk myself into :).

Regarding claims, I still find gold on club claims even if they have been sometimes pounded over decades. It's just alot harder and the gold is usually small. It's just impossible to have every square inch covered even after a long time. That being said, the satisfaction that you get from finding something so many others have missed is just not the same as finding a new gold patch altogether in the wild. Hasn't happened to me yet though, at least not for being able to retire (or anywhere close)

[mn90403]

Retirement gold is out of the question or realm of possibilities.  When you hit it big there is no reason to stop!

Mitchel

[klunker]

23 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

 I am more optimistic in the desert areas down south.

 OK CG. Now that I better understand what you are looking for here is a good plan (and bad idea). Get yourself a stout, mindless, obedient little burrow, make him pack all your food and water and head deep into an unexplored desert. When you get several days away from civilization you will find that no burrow is mindless nor obedient. It is inevitable that the further from civilization you get the greater the likelihood of his escape from his cruel servitude. While you are chasing the recalcitrant beast (your very life depends on catching it) you will find a fantastically rich undiscovered load - - - and the bones of the last prospector that followed my plan.

 I'll stick to my forested  mountains.

[Norvic]

OZ has vast desert areas, particularly in the middle. Whilst prospecting in such an area many years back, came across a few steel 44 drums, some still had water in them. Later I had the honour of spending some time detecting with a fellow who had placed some of those drums. (a few did so) He had those 44s/other supplies, coptered in so as he could prospect/detect for long periods without having to return to civilization for water or fuel.

One of those drums was only a few ks from "Lasseter`s Cave" as per JWs link. Perhaps Lasseter`s Reef has been found in our electronic gold rush, (purely speculation on my part.) GC with the equipment/vehicles/communication etc we have access to these days, properly prepared anywhere`s the go. 

[fredmason]

Doug Stone took me there on our way to the N.T.

 I cannot imagine how a surveyor could get lost or lose a gold mine...but, he did.

Fred

[Norvic]

Same here Fred, twas heading for a Doug Stone NT trip across the central "hwy" from WA, the wife I first run across the Cave.(signposted and just off the road) A month or so later through a mutual mate the wife and I spent a few weeks detecting with mate and one of the men that placed those 44`s. Very memorable weeks they were in a magic Central OZ winter.

[MannyScoot]

Well if a gold miner from Arizona in 1865 is travelling back home to New York loaded with gold nuggets after the civil war and had a hole in his nugget sack, he could have dropped nuggets all the way there.

So finding gold nuggets across the United States can be a possibility.