Gold Nuggets In Utah?

[concrete man]

I’ve detecting for several years here in Utah in gold mining districts and have yet to find a nugget. Has anyone else had better luck in this state? I've used tdi big box, gmt tm 808 and V3i. Sluices highbanker shaker table pans dredges, picks shovels and own a claim in a good area. Sure need some encouragement. 

[Valens Legacy]

The are that you are in  does have gold bearing ground, with that said, you have to be patient when looking for it.

I am in an area that is not suppose to have any amount of gold, but each year my girlfriend and I can find a couple of ounces of gold.

I would be rechecking your own tailings for flour gold or some small flakes the got past your sluice.

Nuggets are going to be very small in a worked area, so think small. A detector can also help find the best areas to be looking in should you find a layer of gold bearing ground.

I know that you will be able to find what you are looking for as long as you don't give up.

Good luck and stay safe out there.

[YubaJ]

              That's really a shame that you haven't found a nugget yet. I've never prospected in Utah, but have this book called "Some Dreams Die" --Utah's Ghost Towns & Lost Treasures by George Thompson. A great book that tells of gold-bearing areas outside of the mainstream prospecting literature. It might take a while to decide where to go because there are so many places to check out, many of which are "impossible". Enjoyable reading which might lead to some finds.

[abenson]

I live in Utah but usually just drive to neighboring states to gold nugget hunt. Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho all have better chances of finding big enough gold to detect. I do have a friend that detects somewhere on the Drum mountains and has found gold up to 1.5 grams on a private claim.

[Gold Dozer]

I have found these two nuggets in Utah.  These were from a private claim I had permission to work.  Whole lot of hunting in many areas and these two little guys were all I've found with a detector in the state.  Ironically these two were found about 10 feet apart from each other, but that's how it works.  Whole bunch of trash everywhere else I've tried.  It is indeed challenging to find detectable gold in Utah.  The longer I do it the more I look outside the of the state. 

There are a few places in Utah that I still want to check out but expectations are pretty low.  If you'd like to hook up and go on an outing let me know and we can figure something out.  You can send me a message and we can compare notes if you'd like?  I have tools for sluicing as well.  Maybe we could plan an outing.  

[MSC]

Concrete Man,

I have found a lot of places in Utah that have lots of quarts and detected many places but no detectable gold. Have panned, sluced, high banked many creaks and found small gold. For nuggets, I too go to other states. Good luck out there. 

[Steve Herschbach]

• Placer Gold Deposits of Utah 1973 USGS Bulletin 1357 by Maureen G. Johnson - A catalog of location, geology, and production with lists of annotated references pertaining to the placer districts.

[MSC]

Thanks Steve, there is also a very good guide by Alan Chenworth called, Gold Panning in Utah, that mentions several methods of finding gold except metal detecting. 

[concrete man]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Very much appreciated.

[Gerry in Idaho]

As for nugget hunting with a metal detector (my specialty), I think the choice of detectors and their lack of capabilities for small gold nuggets, is part of your results. Of the 4 machines mentioned, tdi big box, gmt, tm 808 and V3i, only the GMT is a dedicated high frequency VLF detector suited for small gold.  If you know what your doing and running a small 6" Ellip coil on the V3i, you could get lucky and find small gold near surface.  The TDI is capable usually a 1 gram size and above, but Iron ID on small iron has issues when compared to your GMT and V3i, TM 808 won't respond to a small nugget.

Take the others info and use that as well.