Indiana hardrock gold (really?)!!!

[Red_desert]

Before leaving for my Quartzsite trip last Oct/Nov...spent some time making some bronze rods without handles. Besides dowsing in my test garden area, walked around the house. From in the living room kept getting this signal at the edge of the bow window on the right. Never really understood what was causing the rods to cross.

There is a flower bed and a row of rocks off the right side of the window. One day this spring, after reading an article in the annual Alaska addition of GPAA magazine (about Hoosier gold), I realized it could be a rock causing the signal. I flipped a rock over and brushed dirt off a beautiful white quartz stringer running through a black mineral. Got out a gold pan to clean up and photograph.

At first I thought it showed some color, but my eyes aren't that good. Decided to get close ups with my digital SLR camera, using my macro lens. Only today have finally inspected the photos. My eyes didn't play tricks on me...there seems to be some color in the one close up, cropped it down more for a better look. My rods must have picked it up and crossed during the dowsing practice.

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Red_desert….Good find..Gold is where you find it..I went to the Doctors office and found that he was not at the Office yet. He was running late. I went out side and sat on a raised flower bed full of Rocks and a tree….Some thing caught my eye. Three rocks with gold in them…Always keep your eyes open….Art

[An Ri Rua]

Nice work lads. As you say Art, gold is where you find it.

[Ted Groves]

Before leaving for my Quartzsite trip last Oct/Nov...spent some time making some bronze rods without handles. Besides dowsing in my test garden area, walked around the house. From in the living room kept getting this signal at the edge of the bow window on the right. Never really understood what was causing the rods to cross.

There is a flower bed and a row of rocks off the right side of the window. One day this spring, after reading an article in the annual Alaska addition of GPAA magazine (about Hoosier gold), I realized it could be a rock causing the signal. I flipped a rock over and brushed dirt off a beautiful white quartz stringer running through a black mineral. Got out a gold pan to clean up and photograph.

At first I thought it showed some color, but my eyes aren't that good. Decided to get close ups with my digital SLR camera, using my macro lens. Only today have finally inspected the photos. My eyes didn't play tricks on me...there seems to be some color in the one close up, cropped it down more for a better look. My rods must have picked it up and crossed during the dowsing practice.

I've got a much larger piece of quartz with the same exact "rust" colorations on it. It comes from the high iron content of the adjoining soil and rock. There isn't a speck of gold in the quartz. The nearby dolomite may also be contributing to the formation of the stains.

[aarthrj3811]

I've got a much larger piece of quartz with the same exact "rust" colorations on it. It comes from the high iron content of the adjoining soil and rock. There isn't a speck of gold in the quartz. The nearby dolomite may also be contributing to the formation of the stains.

I am sure that Red_desert appreciates your expert “Eyeballing Analyzes” of his find. How much gold can only be found out by destroying a pretty rock. If your Rods tell you there is gold in the rock then there is. When Dowsing at home and you find a new signal it has to be investigated. You have to know where every signal in your practice area is…So Teddy me boy..Is there any gold in your rock and if not please tell us how you determined that there was none

[werleibr]

I am sorry but I am with Ted on this one. That yellow brown color is not gold, however that is not to say that there is no gold in the center of your rock. I am just saying from your pictures there is no gold showing. And yes ART you can "eyeball" this one, but there is no need to hijack Red's post arguing.

Red if you don't believe Ted and I that there is no gold showing, Just go to a local university that has a geology department and ask a professor to analyze the rock. I know from experience on this because I went to school to get my degree in environmental engineering and one of the classes that was mandatory was a geology class and being able to field analyze rocks and determine what they were.

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Red-desert…Sorry for trying to hijack your thread…Art

[Red_desert]

Hey Red-desert…Sorry for trying to hijack your thread…Art

No problem aarthrj3811, have been busy lately...just getting back again.

It doesn't doesn't really matter to me if there is any gold showing or if it contains any gold at at all. What is important to me is that, I found it dowsing and didn't know it was there. One thing had tried the other times before locating the source of the signal...was ask if metal then mineral. When I said metal, the rods spread indicating not metal. Then asking mineral, the rods picked it up again. But when asking about gold, the rods kept the signal. Get the same responses when trying that now.

Whether no gold, microscopic gold, or hidden gold...I don't plan on crushing the rock, stays in the flower bed.

Ok, there is more I could have done to test the rock by dowsing. If this had been, out prospecting in SW desert, my dowsing technique would be to start asking (after a gold response)...first detirmine if the signal is placer deposit or a vein.

Then in the numbered order:
1. Gold dust?
2. Fine gold?
3. Small flakes
4. Pickers
5. Large flakes
6. Nuggets

For some reason it works to start out small, in asking about gold size. I've found in dowsing, to start with nuggets almost the same as setting my Garrett Ace 250 in notch setting to only coins with everything else rejected.

Now if I went back and did that with the rock in the flower bed, if a no gold dust or larger gold responses, then the original gold/mineral signal might indicate the rock is from a gold vein, but doesn't actually contain any gold.

If it makes everyone happy, I can check again, the right way...maybe got excited by the photos and never checked the way I normally would when gold prospecting.

Better yet, get out my pendulum and hold it over the rock...that should work real good.

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Red-desert….My wife is the rock collector…..i have one part of my yard that is dedicated to rocks I get readings on….Gold-Silver and iron-nickel (Meteorites) or just plain hot rocks. Heck..now that I no long process micro-gold I dump it in this area. Mix in a few Cactus and you have a pretty nice looking area. As long as I know where the signals are coming from I will ignore them…..Art

[Red_desert]

You might be surprised what we do have here...it is all because of the glaciers. I've tried using a gold detector to see if there be nuggets...plenty of those red hot rocks like in Arizona, black and red mixed. I see plenty of pure white milk quartz stones, but never found any gold in them. I did send a sample of one mineral once to an assayer in Ridgecrest, CA. The assay report came back Glaucophane, which is common in certain US western costal ranges and Japan often, found in association with Jadeite.

I get some other mineral signals sometimes in the yard and never dig them.

[Ted Groves]

"...Ok, there is more I could have done to test the rock by dowsing..."

If you are really concerned about the possible content of the rock, perhaps employing more credible analysis methods would be the prudent route to take.

[Saturna]

"...Ok, there is more I could have done to test the rock by dowsing..."

If you are really concerned about the possible content of the rock, perhaps employing more credible analysis methods would be the prudent route to take.

Trouble is, that may not show it as gold. Dowsing always shows it as gold.

[fenixdigger]

Hi Red;

We seem to get a lot of these on hunts. The last one I saw was a layer of this between other rock about 1 inch thick. Pulled a signal 1/4 mi. The dirt around it seem to have some amount of the same material in it. Didn't sweat it, just went to the next one.

Good post

[Red_desert]

Hi Red;

We seem to get a lot of these on hunts. The last one I saw was a layer of this between other rock about 1 inch thick. Pulled a signal 1/4 mi. The dirt around it seem to have some amount of the same material in it. Didn't sweat it, just went to the next one.

Good post

Yes, if you could get a hold of a copy of GPAA magazine 2010 Alaska edition...page 66 is an article by the title of "Hoosier Nuggets, Myth or Reality?" and first page bottom right corner shows a large boulder looks just like my rock.

Now these prospectors won't tell where their gold locations are in Indiana. But in places you can find bedrock, some are dredging bedrock with home made dredges...1/3 oz sometimes in only 4 hours (pickers, small nuggets) from wading streams using 2.5" suction dredge. A few nuggets shown come very close to the size of a dime. The gold is about 22K, much more pure than western US nuggets.

Problem is that Central Indiana, is how far I'd have to drive to find bedrock. Logansport has a limestone reef of bedrock, runs through the area. Somebody has recovered gold there, but still a 2 hour drive and is mostly private land.

[dowser]

Nice Gold rock find. If you think there might be a substantual amount of gold in it, just assay it with your rods. Set your rock and pure gold apart, use swivel rods, or your most sensative rods, and dowse right across in front of each object. You can tell the amount of the element in the rock by the amount the rods cross in front of it, compared to the amount your rods cross in front of your signal gold..

[fenixdigger]

We found this around Evansville over to Cave-In -Rock. Dam strong signals. Seems to show up To map dowsers, LRLs, and dowsing rods. I haven't had the desire to have it examined, but it must contain some amount of gold.

[Red_desert]

We found this around Evansville over to Cave-In -Rock. Dam strong signals. Seems to show up To map dowsers, LRLs, and dowsing rods. I haven't had the desire to have it examined, but it must contain some amount of gold.

You're down where some of the better Indiana gold prospecting sites are found. Two of the southern counties especially, have gold in paying quantities.

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Red_desert….When you make your Quartzsite trip this year you may want to plan a side trip to Rye Patch Nevada….There is still gold to be found there…Art

[Red_desert]

Hey Red_desert….When you make your Quartzsite trip this year you may want to plan a side trip to Rye Patch Nevada….There is still gold to be found there…Art

Thanks Art, except don't think I'll be taking a trip west this year, unless I can find someone to go with. Really was too long of a drive for one person alone to take. Thinking some nice beach sand, like S Padre Island or Florida treasure coast would make a fun dowsing/detecting vacation. But, I'm still not up to driving it alone again...so, no plans yet.

[werleibr]

currious if you did anyother testing of your rock other than dowsing?