Gold Prospecting Thread

[NHsorter]

Guess there is gold in some NH rivers and streams. Not much really, and no one has been able to make a business out of it, but there are a handful of hobbyists. I already have a vacation booked for a week in the north country this summer. Typically I do a lot of 4-wheeling up there but now that I have done a little research, some of the streams that I 4-wheel near have gold! Well hot damn, I'll be spending a few days in the water I reckon. I already have waders and a shovel. Check. Now I just need everything else!

Gotta start small, gotta start small. I need to keep repeating that. Browsing the web I see all kinds of tempting neat toys. I have a bunch of buckets (for pennies duh!) and even some scrap screen material of different sizes laying around so I will easily craft a sifting bucket or two.

Anyone on here tried small-time prospecting? I am interested in your stories!

So I need to buy a gold pan. What does one look for in a pan? (and don't answer gold, wise guy) I see tons on eBay but I don't want to just get any old pan that ends up breaking on me.

Finally, I want to construct a PVC hand dredge. I see tons of different designs online. Not too many plans yet though. Hoping to find the best way to construct one of these so if anyone has experience to share with this it would be greatly appreciated. I'll update this thread as I get more info together and hopefully this summer I'll post up some pics of wild NH gold!

[Morsecode]

Sounds like a blast. There was a guy in CT teaching how to pan last summer, in some tributaries off the CT River. It's something I always wanted to try .

After you find a nugget or two, I'll come up and help out

I'll bring beans, coffee and firearms. No...?

[NHsorter]

After you find a nugget or two, I'll come up and help out

I'll bring beans, coffee and firearms. No...?

I'll let you know when I strike a vein Sounds like you have the necessities covered. Maybe some deet too.

[baggerman]

I prospect a few times during the summer with a sluice and pan. Back breaking work but a lot of fun and color can always be found. I like Garrett's green pan with the riffles, the green color shows any gold real well. I have a couple of them (different sizes) and have had them for many years with no issue what so ever, somewhere I have a blue one but don't like it as much as it is a little harder to spot small flecks. I also have a PVC hand dredge (don't remember where I found the plans) and you will want to have a couple of crevis tools for getting down into the cracks in the bedrock. I think I might convert my sluice over to a small highbanker if I can find a water pump/motor real cheap. Last year I got into a spot where I was finding small pieces of wire gold but it is hard to get in and out of the spot so I only went in with a shovel and a pan. The creek drys up in the summer so to have water to work with means you're freezing your ass off LOL.

[m83striker]

I have panned several streams up here in Michigan and have actually found flour gold....the really fine stuff. Nothing to really brag about, trust me. I have the buckets, sifting screens and several different pans. I know exactly what you are talking about with looking at all the "goodies" on the internet. I often find myself drooling over a highbanker set-up with the gas water pump or a mini trommel on a 2 wheel cart. I seriously have to keep focused also otherwise I know that I'd catch the "fever" really bad, lol. If I was a little more handy with a welder I would make half the stuff from scratch like they do on the Gold Rush show.

[deacon]

make half the stuff from scratch like they do on the Gold Rush show.

That gold rush show is so fake. They make money on the show itself, and not on mining. They spend more time with fake drama than anything else.

[agmoose]

make half the stuff from scratch like they do on the Gold Rush show.

That gold rush show is so fake. They make money on the show itself, and not on mining. They spend more time with fake drama than anything else.

Amen to that. It is so frustrating to see how incompetent Todd is.........but I do hope Dakota Fred hits it big.

As for NH's prospecting plans, I'm jealous. Nothing here in FL to pan. Hope you have a blast and find some gold - keep us updated!

[Thogey]

I can walk out my back yard across my spare lot cross a road and go into a ditch. I occasionally haul 5 gallon bucket of dirt out and walk them up the hill and use my garden hose to pan it out.

There is color in every pan. But it's a lot of work. There is a park about 2 miles from my house where panning and sluces are allowed. You get gold (some gold) in every shovel full. There are people down there all the time.They are very nice for the most part. It's a very social group activity. People gather together and BS while they dig. A lot of these retired old men have thier medical MJ cards and just love to get high and pan gold.

This place is not seeded. It is Lynx creek AZ. It has been worked over for 150 years. There is still gold there. Everytime is rains the gold grows back

[Morsecode]

That works

[Mossy]

Rule of thumb: If thumbs do not freeze off, no gold.

[Copper Catcher]

NHsorter I'm in eastern NC and no gold in here but I've been to the western part of the state and panned, sluiced and highbanked. I have yet to dredge.

Tons of fun but lots of work as you know. Gold is, were you fine it!

I own a Keene sluice box and lots of pans, classifiers and buckets but honestly rarely take the time to go. I've been to a place called Heather Grove but they are closed now and the another spot called Cotton Patch Gold Mine: http://www.cottonpatchgoldmine.com/

The real question about all the places folks can go is that almost all are seeded and honestly you are paying for the entertaiment. Your not going to make money doing this at these type of spots. Also, I have never been to Thermal City http://www.huntforgold.com/ but know that is another popular spot.

These places also have common dig dates were a group does it all and then split the take. Again, I have yet to hear folks say they got more than what they paid.

If you have the itch to pan and don't have a place to go but still want to have some fun you can by gold concentrate from Felix Paydirt: http://www.felixpaydirt.com/ or Alaska Discount Gold: http://www.alaskadiscountgold.com/index.html Both are not cheap!

Some might feel like this is shooting fish in a barrel and you're not going to get dollar for dollar value in either bag but you will get some nice pickers and it can be very addictive! These folks are in business to make money and again you are paying to have a decent amount of color in your pan but they are not going to give you more gold than you pay them for.

[NHsorter]

Thanks CC. I am not going to a commercial place. Just the great outdoors. Don't even think there are places that charge around here. Lots of state land and logging co. owned land. They don't care if you hunt, 4-wheel, swim, whatever. Just don't cut trees or light fires. Great berry picking too.

[rainsonme]

OH, yes, go gold panning. It is just like fishing only no tackle, no bait, and no risk of having to deal with a stupid fish. It takes you out into the country --- I have been to beautiful creeks in Oregon that I would never have been to except the lure of gold. I have found several spots where I got color in every pan for as long as I cared to keep panning. I have some of it in some vials somewhere. Not enough to bother trying to cash in, but still fun, and a wonderful excuse to find remote and beautiful creeks. And the people I met were all very friendly and willing to coach a bit. At night some of the places are heavily partoled with folks exercising 2nd amendment, but there weren't any problems. I highly recommend gold panning. Consider joining the Gold Prospectors Association of America. Seems like it cost about $95 per year; you get access to their panning claims around the country, a magazine with articles on how to find and pan gold, and a thick book with maps to their claims around the country. There are other similar gold panning groups. For anyone with kids, it is even more fun ---- the kids will pan for an hour or less, then spend the rest of the day playing in the creek and enjoying the beauty.

[Rob72830]

As far as I know there is no gold in Arkansas but we do have a diamond mine located in a state park. You pay your admission and can dig all you want and keep what you find. Sorry to be off topic but I couldn't let all you gold prospectors have all the fun.

[RedRockGirl]

My kids want to go to Arkansas just to visit that Diamond Mine Rob. Any excuse to spend time outside is a good reason for me.

[Mossy]

Most gem stones are heavy enough to catch on a high riffle on a sluice box. Make a rocker box if you get tired of panning.

[Rodebaugh]

Almost a full page and no pics of anyone with so mush as a pan in their hands.

Get me gold mining pics.

[NHsorter]

I'll have some pics in July.

[abc]

I go over to Bath, NH in the summer a lot, for some gold panning and sluicing. It does make a nice weekend of camping over there and you do find gold. I think I have gotten a few grams total, but that is from 7+ trips, so you won't get rich but it might pay for your gas.

[NHsorter]

Alright, update! I located a book (more like a barely published booklet) at a library that was written by a locally famous old duffer that was hard-core into NH prospecting. Supposedly lots of great info in here as far as the best locations. I just need to get over to the library. Hopefully it has some great nuggets of information in it.

I was given a sweet gold pan for my birthday. Could not wait to use it so I grabbed some paydirt that I have here in my house and look at the 2 gems that I found!!


So now I just need some tweezers, a tiny glass vial, and I need to construct a small PVC bedrock crack suction device.