Prospecting & Detecting
Placers Directly Associated with Lode Deposits
October 2017 by Alex Dolbeare
Placers that are directly associated with lode deposits are sometimes overlooked and may have good potential for those who are willing to search for them.
Detecting: Getting Away From The Heat And Into The Gold
Within a very few minutes, I had my first nice sounding target. It turned out to be a nice earring-size gold piece that was about a half a gram.
A Short But Productive Hunt
The prospects I found are known to carry heavy chunks of gold, sometimes in quartz, ironstone, or many times a rusty-looking type of shale covering.
Gold in Quartz
Because quartz and gold may be deposited together across a considerable range of temperatures, not all quartz veins are the same, and there are several different types of gold-quartz deposits.
Following the Clues
It took me awhile before I finally got a nice mellow signal. My nugget turned out to weigh in about two dwt (pennyweight). Over the next few hours, we all picked up a few more nuggets apiece.
The Perfect Summer
Within the first 3 hours he and I had found pocket after pocket of gold and couldn't wait to tell Levi of our treasure.
Are There Any Good Prospects Left?
This type of thinking will get you discouraged pretty fast, and soon all of your mining equipment will be found gathering dust in your garage.
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