erosion and gold

PA.Hunter

Jr. Member
Dec 5, 2012
54
53
PA
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Hi everyone. I recently decided I wanted to get into gold prospecting and gem mining and would like to ask you all some questions. I cant help but notice on here a lot of you guys say things like "the old timers got all the good gold" and that its unrealistic to think your going to make money gold prospecting. So my question is doesn't erosion play a big role in where and when gold is found? Why cant new deposits be found that were buried before? Creeks don't open up new veins?? Some places that were just out of reach of the miners of the 1800's could very well be accessible today. There is so much unexplored land in places like Colorado it seems pretty dumb to me to assume all the good gold bearing land has already been worked. I say the old timers were just more committed and worked harder and that's why they found more gold. How many people these days just give up everything they know and live in the mountains for months at a time looking for gold? It's just a little discouraging to a new prospector when everyone tells me I wont make money doing it. I know its not easy but its not easy to make money anywhere these days.
 

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hookahman

Full Member
Aug 6, 2013
101
137
Dude, you got a good head on your shoulders. Keep it!! As I tell the people who belittle my metal detecting"if you don't look you will never find it!"
 

Gold Maven

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Jul 4, 2012
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Holmes County Ohio
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Plenty of gold still out there.

I have heard different numbers, but there is way more gold to be found, then what has already been mined.

No matter what you pursue in life, there will always be naysayers trying to rain on your parade, don't listen to them. Good Luck.
 

Peyton Manning

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Dec 19, 2012
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old timers only worked the discovered gold. There is a lot more to be discovered yet.
 

mxer47

Sr. Member
Jul 28, 2013
315
297
They may have worked harder, idk. And no they didn't get all the gold. They just got the gold that had accumulated over eons. Think of it this way, is there more gold in your sluice cleanup if you run it all day or for 15 min. The rivers and creeks ran condensing the gold in them over well, forever. The other thing is rich outcroppings had a tell tail signs leading to them, these signs weren't disturbed. Experienced miners followed these signs to rich vanes that were exposed. These exposed vanes fed the rivers and creeks. Remove some of the source, remove some of the replenishing power. I would like to see just how a pan looked just before the rush. Remember the discovery at stutters was found from just looking down and seeing a nugget.
 

OP
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P

PA.Hunter

Jr. Member
Dec 5, 2012
54
53
PA
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Thanks for all the comments. Mxer47 you make a lot of good points but that just tells me that the old timers mined the most obvious places and from what I understand good gold can often be found in not so obvious locations. What about all the areas where there aren't any creeks or rivers near by. And a lot of those people were not experienced miners and could of easily took the big nuggets from the creek early on without trying to trace where they came from.
 

carnet56

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Jan 28, 2013
47
16
laurens south carolina
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I have often wandered how many un exspencered miners came up a river or creek found a good deposit of placer gold and did not bother to look for the souruis and now there is no trail to find it and its still setting up on a hill side full of good gold is there a spell correct on here I can not spell
 

mxer47

Sr. Member
Jul 28, 2013
315
297
There were claims back then and the easily picked and rich deposited areas were found and claimed, yet more and more came and they had to find places to go. I agree there are still undiscovered spots. I just don't think high producing areas have many huge strikes left. These areas are geologic producers not just happenstance. The gold mining corporations employ geologists to look for large deposited areas worldwide. I'm not saying a small operation can't earn a living or strike it rich I just think with every passing day it gets harder.
 

B H Prospector

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Feb 2, 2010
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Black Hills, South Dakota
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Hi PAHunter,
The reason you here folks on here say the old timers got all the good gold is that they did. It is like what Mixer47 said, what they got is the gold that was deposited oner eons in time. They could litteraly look down and pick nuggets out of the creek in some places. Yes erosion does replentish gold to an extent. You see we don't have the benefit of eons to replentish, we have had less than 200 years since mining started in earnest on this continent. I don't count the Spanish explorers as they didn't truly develop mines here.
Greenhorns are told by folks in here not to realistically expect to make a living at it or do real well, not to discourage them from trying, but to make sure they go into mining with both eyes open and realistic expectations. Mining is a hard way to make a living and can be expensive also. Too many people have gotten into mining since the price of gold jumped over a grand an ounce thinking they are going to get rich. They drop several grand into a claim and equipment only to get little in return. The same thing happened in 1898 in the Klondike. it is estimated 100,000 people started for the rush, estimated 30,000 made it to the gold fields, less than 300 struck it rich. Nothing has change since. There is lots of gold out there yet. Millions are starting to look for it, less than 50% will stick with it for a year, less than 1/2 % will find a significant amount and less than that will get rich.
No one is trying to discourage you from mining, we all encourage it, we just want to make sure you are not wearing rose colored glasses. It is a hard life but is rewarding in many ways.
I own two claims and have not come close to recouping my investment over 6 years. But I am a stuburn SOB and won't give up because I love the thrill of the hunt and the finding of the prize, GOLD!

Good Luck!

BH Prospector
 

mxer47

Sr. Member
Jul 28, 2013
315
297
I also believe there are huge deposits that are undiscovered and discovered that aren't economical to extract. A 10 million dollar strike isn't worth mining if it is going to cost 20 million to get out of the ground.
 

rocme44

Jr. Member
Sep 4, 2013
75
39
AZ, N.CA
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It seems that many newbe's want to convince the old timers that they can make a living mining. Listen to us, learn from our knowledge of experience. It's nice to dream, but it remain a dream. My best day ever (without dredging) was 3 1/2 pennyweight. One in years.
The average day is less than that by a lot.
Gold fever can be nice just for the sake of finding gold.

Good luck, HAVE FUN.
 

Oregon Viking

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Lanny in AB

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Apr 2, 2003
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Well, the old-timers definitely did not get it all. They didn't have metal detectors to "see" in the bedrock where gold was trapped. They couldn't always drain or divert parts of streams--thus the bonanzas (few and far between) some dredgers get as they can work underwater in some of those areas the sourdoughs couldn't divert. The old-timers missed a lot of nuggets and flake gold in the deserts as dry-washing is very inefficient, that's why you still find nuggets in their tailing piles, and that's why nugget shooters are still finding big nuggets and specimens in the desert.

Just remember this: all prospecting is hard work.

As for redeposition of gold, whenever there's a flood or heavy runoff, new gold is washed down into the streams, and that's a fact.

There are spots that are still virgin with good gold. Usually though they're in places where the old-timers couldn't get water to work the deposits.

I love it when people say the sourdoughs got all of the gold; it lets me detect the nuggets that are still there (where the old-timers hit rich dirt) as the unbelievers head off to remote places where they think the gold has a better chance of being.

Those old boys of the old days knew how to find gold, and they knew what to look for, so I follow them around, and it's fun finding what they did not get.

Moreover, to look at a different topic, if you're nugget shooting with a detector, hunting a remote area may indeed provide good results--it has for me. So, there's always that to consider as well.

So, follow the old-timer's footsteps while you're learning--they all left gold behind, and you'll have the advantage of knowing you're working in an area where there's definitely gold--100% proven. Moreover, when you've practiced and you've gotten better at finding gold where the old-timers worked, head off to remote areas, or likely areas, according to geological reports and let the magic happen, or not. That's the one certain thing about gold and chasing the gold: it's either there, or it's not there.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html
 

Peyton Manning

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Dec 19, 2012
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Hi PAHunter,
The reason you here folks on here say the old timers got all the good gold is that they did. It is like what Mixer47 said, what they got is the gold that was deposited oner eons in time. They could litteraly look down and pick nuggets out of the creek in some places. Yes erosion does replentish gold to an extent. You see we don't have the benefit of eons to replentish, we have had less than 200 years since mining started in earnest on this continent. I don't count the Spanish explorers as they didn't truly develop mines here.
Greenhorns are told by folks in here not to realistically expect to make a living at it or do real well, not to discourage them from trying, but to make sure they go into mining with both eyes open and realistic expectations. Mining is a hard way to make a living and can be expensive also. Too many people have gotten into mining since the price of gold jumped over a grand an ounce thinking they are going to get rich. They drop several grand into a claim and equipment only to get little in return. The same thing happened in 1898 in the Klondike. it is estimated 100,000 people started for the rush, estimated 30,000 made it to the gold fields, less than 300 struck it rich. Nothing has change since. There is lots of gold out there yet. Millions are starting to look for it, less than 50% will stick with it for a year, less than 1/2 % will find a significant amount and less than that will get rich.
No one is trying to discourage you from mining, we all encourage it, we just want to make sure you are not wearing rose colored glasses. It is a hard life but is rewarding in many ways.
I own two claims and have not come close to recouping my investment over 6 years. But I am a stuburn SOB and won't give up because I love the thrill of the hunt and the finding of the prize, GOLD!

Good Luck!

BH Prospector

true it is that they got all the easy gold. but for those eons, how much gold was deposited elsewhere and covered up and not yet found?
I know geologists do their job, but no one knows all. I remember the oil shortage of 73 when we were gonna run out of oil (according to experts). Seems to be plenty now.
 

B H Prospector

Hero Member
Feb 2, 2010
856
838
Black Hills, South Dakota
Primary Interest:
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true it is that they got all the easy gold. but for those eons, how much gold was deposited elsewhere and covered up and not yet found?
I know geologists do their job, but no one knows all. I remember the oil shortage of 73 when we were gonna run out of oil (according to experts). Seems to be plenty now.

True as it is Jeff but the point is it isn't easy pickins now. It is still out there. As far as oil goes, better technology, just look at North Dakota and the fracking going on up there to get the oil. Point is mining isn't easy and us with the knowledge need to make sure the newbies don't get in trouble and help them as much as possible. Like your statement at the bottom of your post.
 

Peyton Manning

Gold Member
Dec 19, 2012
14,518
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true, nothing is easy anymore except getting old- I got that covered
 

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