Gold Prospecting
Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold and gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although usually a commercial endeavor, in some developed countries placer gold prospecting (most commonly from alluvial deposits) has also become a popular outdoor recreation.
The best areas to find gold nuggets, simply enough, are those which are known to have produce gold previously.
Some people like to pan for gold at public rights of way where bridges cross gold-bearing streams. Treasure hunters use their metal detectors out in the wild, while others hunt for gold coins and jewelry at rural churches and schools and old sections of town.
The simplest approach to extract gold from placer ore (sand or gravel in the bed of a river or lake) is panning. In panning, some mined ore is placed in a large metal or plastic pan, combined with a good amount of water, and gently rocked back and forth so that the gold flakes and particles being of higher density than the other material, settle to the bottom of the pan. The lighter material such as sand, mud and gravel are then washed over the side of the pan, leaving the gold behind. Once a placer deposit is located by gold panning, the miner usually shifts to equipment that can process volumes of sand and gravel more quickly and effectively.
The panning principle may be used on a larger scale by building a short sluice box, with ridges along the bottom called riffles to trap the heavier gold particles as water washes them and the other material down the box.
The process of using a metal detector for gold nuggets is also known to as “Nuggethunting” or “Nuggetshooting,” where the prospector searches for gold nuggets & deposits near the surface. With recent technological advances in metal detectors and skyrocketing prices of gold, electronic gold prospecting has become very popular. Back in the day, in the arid desert regions of the Southwest, if the old-timers couldn’t see the gold on the surface, they used methods such as dry washing and screening to speed up the process. Sadly, their rate of recovery was low due to poor equipment. Therefore, today many of these areas have been left untouched and are excellent localities for today’s electronic gold prospector.
Prospecting for gold, encased in rock, rather than fragments in loose sediment, is referred to as “hard rock†or “lode†gold mining and can use many tools. It is done at the simplest level by surface examination of rock outcrops, looking for exposed mineral veins, hydrothermal alteration, or rock types, like quartz, known to hold gold deposits. Field tools may be nothing more than a rock hammer and hand lens.
As per a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no permit is needed for recreational gold panning and gold prospecting in the general national forest areas, provided no machinery is used.