Specimen Gold In Petrified Wood?

[Wild Bill]

Several years ago while researching another gold prospector/miner of the past, I came across this interesting and extremely rare Nevada discovery.  
W.A. Tucker had been a successful prospector in the early years of Goldfield and married a younger woman and had a son.  When the banking panic of 1907 occurred, the couple had lost all of their savings.  The wife headed to California with their son to seek employment as a teacher while Mr. Tucker headed north to prospect for new diggings.  He located a gold placer where Churchill, Mineral and Nye counties meet.  Tucker also sank a shallow well (Tucker’s Well) and charged a modest fee to water freight wagon stock and horses along the trail.  He worked diligently to discover the source of the course gold he was panning and finally located a quartz ledge.  His wife and son came to visit him after many years and Tucker was advancing in age and was unable to continue the hard difficult work and his friend Bill Bruner took him to an old-folks home in Fallon where he died shortly thereafter.  Tucker willed his claims to an Indian friend and in May of 1923 the Indian made an important gold strike on the property and took in some partners and milled the ore but it’s not known what was produced.  About ten years later in the area, another strange and important discovery was made.  Charred-blackened petrified logs scattered about and full of microscopic crystalline gold right near Tuckers well.  The petrified logs were between 1 1/2’ to 4’ in diameter.  Particles of gold measured 0.4 mm and these rare specimens have been sought after through the years as examples of a unique and highly unusual gold occurrence.  Most of the petrified logs were buried under 15’ of ash-flow tuff and many had quartz running through it with gold crystals.  It’s not to difficult to understand how this could occur.  The logs were charred and reduced to carbon.  In natures own way, the carbon was precipitating the gold out of hydrothermal solutions that flowed into the ash flow tuff much like today’s carbon in pulp (CIP) mining recovery process.  
Here’s an example of gold in petrified wood from Alaska.

https://www.mindat.org/mesg-195409.html
Source:  Gabbs Valley Nevada, It’s History and Legend.  By Ruth Fenstermaker Danner 414 pages. 
Pages 113-114.  W.A Tucker.

[Wild Bill]

Although this is under minerals-rocks-gems. There are known gold placers and a free mill hard rock history in that area.  It might be a good idea to check it out just for detecting.  I had wondered is the sensitive VLF like Gold Bug 2 would detect the gold in the petrified wood?  Since the gold is visible, then more than likely it would.  I’m sure some have seen these detectors give a signal on samples that later when crushed and paned show gold when sometimes it wasn’t visible.  That’s if any of this petrified wood can be found.  But the placers and quartz float might be a good target.  

[YubaJ]

Wild Bill

                Yes, the Gold Bug 2 will pick up tiny specimen gold like you're talking about. I found a very thin vein of  small specimen gold and no-see-um gold in the rock with my Gold Monster and will try Reese's 'hydro-fracking' to free the gold from the host rock. I've tried the GB2 there, but prefer the Monster's clearer response. Not a place to get rich, but fun & good exercise to get there.

            I know where Tucker's area is and hope to get over near there this season. Bill Bruner managed a couple paying gold mines nearby that were found by a prospector named Penelas. One of the mines was called Phonolite because the rocks would ring when hit with a hammer. I think Tucker's area is pretty desolate. but wooded mountains not far away.

            

[Wild Bill]

Hi YubaJ, I have a Nokta Gold Kruzer and I really like it.  Very sensitive at 61 Kh.  Two friends have the GB2 and all three seem similar in sensitivity with small coils.  Another friend has the GM 1000 but I’ve never compared it to the Kruzer.  I’ve detected mineralized quartz that you can’t see anything with a loupe but after milling it gives up fine gold.  Over the last couple years I’ve been doing that.  Not actually nugget hunting but high grading.  Nothing sexy found, only as described above but I’ll keep at it.  Also mentioned on this forum is the MD-20 with its hand held probe at 300 Kh would work very well, I’ve just never tried one.  Little over $300 is a bargain.  The other old prospector you mentioned “Silverino Penelas” that the camp or District is named for.  People who knew him presumed he was poor because he would buy used clothing and lived so modestly.  After he died it was discovered he had quite a stash.  Later his mine was developed in Phonolite.  His mining methods were very crude in running drifts but not hauling muck out.  He’d just pile it up in the drift leaving small crawl spaces.  According to historical accounts, it would freak people out like investors or any that ventured underground with him.  If you do get over there, please give us a report on the adventure!  Keep an eye out for any golden logs.  🤪 

[Roo]

I once read about petrified trees found in the rich drifts in Ballarat Australia which had gold crystals growing on them. 

[Gold Ryder]

One of the patches we are hunting in right now has alot of pwood in it.  Ill have to pick some up today and take a look. 

[EastForkGold]

I have dino bone with pyrite, not gold. I can't see why gold would not be possible in fossils.

[Wild Bill]

2 hours ago, EastForkGold said:

I have dino bone with pyrite, not gold. I can't see why gold would not be possible in fossils.

It does seem possible although I’m not aware of an example.  
 

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/permineralization-and-replacement.htm

[Sgtfda]

When I first started detecting many years ago I had a Garrett coin detector. A friend bought a old state mental farm hospital for development. He gave me permission to detect. 20 huge 1800s buildings. Thought I hit the jackpot. This property was never detected. My first target was at a base of a old tree. Loud signal! I dug and dug around the roots. Ended up with a huge hole. No target. The tree roots absorbed iron from the soil and that was my target. My first detecting lesson. My second lesson was mental patients of that time period had no coins to loose. They were lucky to have a pair of pants. Not one coin.