Quartz bearing gold in small stream

[northern_sierras]

I started prospecting about 2-3 weeks ago and found a 10'x4' area containing a steady amount of flood gold on an inside bend of a small creek. I've been getting a lot of small pieces of quarts with gold stuck to it. This particular creek starts from a spring about 4 miles upstream from where im getting gold and has one other very small tributary. Im wondering, if you find a lot of quartz with gold, does this mean there is a gold bearing quartz vein somewhere upstream? Any advice on how to find the vein? I attached a pic of the quartz gold and my total gold count from this spot

 

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[firemac]

Very nice

 

[Alex Burke]

It could have been eroded by water into the creek (most likely), or just eroded naturally and gravity brought it down to your creek. If you have heavy ground cover you could use a long thin steel rod to test the ground above good sample areas for any formations under leaves and dirt.

 

[Hoser John]

Sample sample and then sample some more. Every 20' or so do a pan both sides of the creek till it disappears-back up to last good pan and then pan every 10' in every direction and follow. Detectors sure make it easier but your golds small and diseminated so might not help?? tons a au 2 u2 -John

 

[golden ray]

Hoser John is correct. The old timers tracked down all their gold bearing sources this way.
Keep sampling BOTH sides of the creek. The easies way for me has been to take a rough
count of the gold specks in the pan, and narrow down the search area till I think I have
the best spot; then dig,dig,dig.

 

[northern_sierras]

So chances are this gold quartz eroded away from a vein on the side of a hill along the creek, made its way into the creek, and by panning every 20ft im hoping to hit the spot where the eroded vein is making its way into the stream? When i sample, is it best to sample the bank or an area with in the stream itself or both? Thanks for the help

 

[Alex Burke]

Sample sample and then sample some more. Every 20' or so do a pan both sides of the creek till it disappears-back up to last good pan and then pan every 10' in every direction and follow. Detectors sure make it easier but your golds small and diseminated so might not help?? tons a au 2 u2 -John

I think John answered best sample every ten feet till you find the heaviest concentration and start looking for formation. Detectors help finding magnetite and good ones can pick up the kind of gold you displayed

 

[63bkpkr]

northern_sierras,
Depends! The gold has eroded away from something. The creek could be crossing a vein causing the erosion or a vein somewhere above the creek could be weathering and dropping the gold slowly down hill to the creek. Or there could be an old placer deposit that is leaking this material out either by gravity or by water action. Either way follow HJ's instructions, when you no longer get gold, back up till you find the gold again by checking both sides of the creek for 'color'. If it is only in the creek then do the same type of testing HJ has suggested. As has been stated this is how the "old timers" located the main deposit be it vein or placer. It is a work related time consuming practice but it gets the job done. Depending on the mineralization of the ground in that area a VLF Detector could be of help.

IF you can, a couple of pictures would be appreciated by ALL here BUT do not take them with a cell phone or a camera with a GPS system unless the GPS system is for sure turned off!! Even then I would send them to yourself and confirm that the pictures do not carry any GPS trace that allows anyone to locate your spot...........................63bkpkr

 

[northern_sierras]

No problem i'll make sure i take my camera out tomorrow and take some pics. Finally got my jobe highbanker tested and working today and taking it out tomorrow. Going to be a lot easier than puting dirt through the stream sluice, cant wait.