2/29/2024 0 Comments Gold n rod hand dredge![]() Gold found downhill from the immediate outcrop above the nearest watercourse is called an “eluvial placer.” Once it reaches the nearest waterway and is transported by flowing water, the gold now is known as “alluvial placer.” The origin of the dust, flakes and nuggets found by panning and sluicing is usually from a vein up on a nearby mountain.īench placers were originally stream placers. It tends to become concentrated on or near the surface of the lode, forming a “residual placer” close to the original bedrock exposure. Since gold is very dense, it will move downhill much slower than the surrounding sediment. It is simply a concentration of that same gold that has eroded and traveled away from the vein. Placer gold isn’t really any different than lode gold. Placer gold is the gold that most prospectors are more familiar with. Lode mining takes a lot more equipment and generally a lot more expense and is usually undertaken by large commercial operations instead of the average prospector. Since the gold is locked up in rock, and can be mixed with quartz, calcite, pyrite, and other minerals, lode gold usually requires specialized mining techniques to extract. This formation of gold generally starts as a vein in rock and is formed over millions of years. Lode deposits refer to gold that is still locked within its original solid rock formation. The first type is “lode” which is simply everything that is still in the matrix and in the ground, and the other is “placer” -or everything else. There are only two types of gold deposits. Keep in mind that gold is gold, so there isn’t necessarily a better type of gold. When gold is smoother, stop and go back to the coarsest gold and start working upwards until you find the source. If the gold is coarse and chunky, you know you’re getting closer to the source. ![]() ![]() If the gold is flat and pounded, that indicates it’s been in the water a long time. In an area either rumored or known to hold gold, where should you look first? The creek, the surrounding hills, washouts, or just where? The characteristics of the gold in that area will help you to know where to start. ![]()
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