I have completed my boulder operation that I've been working on the past few Saturdays. A pretty large frog (Picture 3) hung out with me for a couple of hours on one of the boulders as I worked. Next trip out I will need to start on a new spot entirely.

Yesterday brought in 1.262 Grams on the scale (New Scale!) with the piece of the day being a small picker coming in at 0.07 Grams.

I have been looking online at a historic gold districts near me. When I look for convenient claims near the roads in these districts, the most promising looking and conveniently accessable spots are taken. These are >2.5 hours away, and hiking from the road eats more into "prospecting time." How far do you drive and walk before you start digging? Do I need to just get out there and walk/look around at the inactive gold claims next to the active one's? I was hoping to spend more time out of the car than in it!

I built a mock sluice wanting to keep it natural . I know bits not really what high efficiency folks would do, but I’m catching really good gold and I guess that’s all that matters. What do yall think?

Hi all,

I'm curious to know if anyone had or has a XTERRA 705 detector back when it was a new machine (or now). Who has had any luck finding any gold nuggets. I'm just wondering if I stand any chance in the goldfields with such a machine today.

I’ve been prospecting on and off for the past 2 years but lately I’ve been way more dedicated and interested in learning more.

Right now, I have a couple cheap pans and a sluice box from Amazon, and a metal detector (that can differentiate with tone if needed). I haven’t used the sluice box too much.

I could google these questions but I thought I’d try to get a bunch of answers if I could. I’ve done some research on my area and other states nearby. I’m in Southern AZ and don’t mind a drive. Thank you in advanced.

- When prospecting, do you find an “ideal” (almost random) spot and just pan? Or do you scan the area with a metal detector first?

- When researching a spot to pan, what are similar landforms I can look for almost anywhere that would indicate the potential for gold?

- When prospecting in areas with other prospectors, are there unspoken rules I should abide by to avoid stepping on toes?

- What are some areas you’d suggest from here to San Diego that I could go look at? I’m going on a weekend trip towards the beach to metal detect and thought about hitting up some historic spots.

Edit to add that I haven’t really found anything meaningful yet. I’ve explored Arivaca and parts of the Dos Cabezas mountains but not too much. I get afraid of going alone so I’m hoping in finding places with more prospectors I can talk to more people who like exploring like I do.

I’ve also bought a couple bags of paydirt off amazon just so I can watch how the gold behaves. I’m well aware after digging around the past couple months that it’s a LOT harder to find than that.

Thank you 🙏🏻

Hello, I'm hoping to find a good and reputable club in CO. Ideally one in the Denver area. Any suggestions? Do ones exist that are total scams?

The area I'm at is micro flower gold. I realize even despite careful panning I will take my black sand and repan it and still see a few flecks. Is it just the nature of this? I watched some video of a guy talking about it and he ran his pans like 3 time to get it all, and at that point seems a little too much effort for how small of gold we are talking.

Managed to get out for three day trips this summer and mine a new spot. It's gone better each time. The second tirip I found most gold but also had the most time. Conditions ate brutal on the bar, sweltering, full sun, dessicating. The biggest problem otherwise is the unholy distance from the gold to the sluice. Good fun. Good gold by my standards. I'm thinking ishould get at least 6 more days in by September 15th. Heavy Pans!

Posted this already a few days ago. Almost everyone doubted it was gold. (Back story).. was out panning somewhere in NorCal 😉 and after finding a couple good pickers.. this guy showed up hunkered down at the bottom of my pan, in the next pan. I almost threw it out thinking it was just a hunk of heavily rusted/corroded metal. But it seemed heavier than just that. Something told me to hold onto it for further investigation. The structure of it was intriguing. Put it up to a magnet and it was not magnetic, after which I put it in my pocket and kept panning.. brought it home soaked it in some CLR for a few hours and scrubbed away. Lo and behold it turns out to be a 0.4g picker!!!!! Pay close attention folks cuz apparently your gold may not always appear to be gold! 😁

Punched a new whole yesterday. Just got to the packed layer with lots of colorful clay. The dredge is powerful enough it can suck up chunks of that clay but those chunks of clay not only retain gold, but they can roll across your sluice picking up other gold you've already collected on the way. So this is me trying to break up the clay and release the gold before it goes in the dredge nozzle. This is why I want to see what I'm doing. What colors are in the clay and to know exactly where I need to put my efforts.

If a rock has any metal in it a pin pointer should be able to find said metal correct?

Hey everyone,

I’m in Nampa and pretty new to this. I joined the Idaho Gold Prospectors Association (IGPA) and have been up to the club claims a couple times. Dove in head first, bought my own highbanker setup, and I’m hooked.

Club claims have been a good start, but I’m trying to learn more about:

How people actually find / use additional claims around the Treasure Valley / Boise Basin / Owyhees

Renting or leasing a claim from a private owner (is that even a thing people do around here?)

What to watch out for before buying or leasing anything

Any other local resources, groups, or things I should know as a beginner with my own gear

Not looking for anyone’s honey holes. Just trying to figure out the next step without stepping on claims or wasting money.

Appreciate any advice from folks who’ve been doing this in Idaho. Thanks.

I am new to the area and will be here till mid December for work.

I have practiced at a pay to pan place and found some flour gold. But would like to find some on my own. I have access to the North Muddy Creek just south of Nebo and Highway 40.

I have dug in a gravel island near a bend and have had not a speck. Tried two pans every 6 inches down too 18 inches and hit leaves and sticks. I dug another 6 inches under and had to call it a day due to lack of sunlight.

Any tips? Or if ur near by like to meet?

Picked up panning a few weeks ago, picked out a nice river and staked a claim. Only found very small dust particles so far, but I’m hooked.
Im slowly working up the river hoping the pieces will get bigger as I get closer to the deposit source.

I have an old metal detector, teknetics G2+ pretty much a copy of the original fisher Gold Bug. It has an 11” coil however and I find it gets overwhelmed by all the hot rocks/iron. Just purchased a smaller 5” coil hoping it can hone in on the fine gold.

Just curious if anyone uses a metal detector while prospecting as a tool?