Looking for a place to live off of gold dredging in va,or nc, can it be done

1bigpopsont

Jr. Member
Jul 12, 2006
24
28
pa.
Detector(s) used
dfx 300
Upvote 0

Minesuxess

Tenderfoot
Oct 18, 2016
6
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I live in Virginia right in the middle of the gold pyrite belt and I do not know nor have heard of anyone living off of gold dredging in the area.

I will say that I have very good luck locating gold bearing private property and going to the owner and asking for permission to prospect on their property. You will have better luck asking in person then over the phone.
There are also a number of public waterways that you can dredge on, no need to ask for permission just access them via public ramps.

I have found some decent deposits at least from what I know of what other people are recovering. The current area I am working is averaging 2 grams a day during the winter with one 7.5 gram pocket in a day. And that is not going to be enough to live off of.

I'm not saying it couldn't be done but as the other guys have said it would be best to start it as a hobby learn as much as you can and locate as many high grade deposits as possible then if those prove rich enough you could possibly live off of it for a period.

Best of luck to you!
But if you getting 2grams a day and a gram is $40 then you getting $80 per day. In a month, that would be $2,480. Don't think that's too bad to live on or am I wrong?
 

Mgumby16

Full Member
Jun 26, 2014
204
326
East Coast
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
You are correct. But I doubt anyone would be able to mine everyday of the month. Between equipment repair and then prospecting when paystreaks run out I would think the most would be about 20 days in a month and that would give you about $1600. Which still might be doable but it would be rough.
 

Golden_Crab

Sr. Member
Mar 28, 2016
253
183
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The east coast has very sizable deposits of fine gold, however most of it is either under private property or built over sadly :(

Central NC would be my first pick.
 

Mgumby16

Full Member
Jun 26, 2014
204
326
East Coast
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Rivers with public access areas such as boat ramps are free game in Virginia for prospecting and dredging and in Virginia seem to be relatively un explored as far as dredging is concerned.

However they take a whole different level of gear to be able to reach remote areas and dredge deep water effectively.
 

1637

Bronze Member
May 26, 2011
1,774
2,419
tujunga ca
Detector(s) used
xlt mxt gmz and now a gmt whites
i think the best my to make money mining,would be the guy that sells the equipment and claims to us.just like in the old days.
brad
 

63bkpkr

Silver Member
Aug 9, 2007
4,069
4,618
Southern California
Detector(s) used
XLT, GMT, 6000D Coinmaster
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
azblackbird,
I purchased a Rokon back in 81 when they had models in ten colors, yellow, yellow, etc. I bought it with the hollow rims and indeed the entire bike would float, even tested that out ONCE! The original Chrysler marine engine was a bit soft on the horsepower though the bike would go places that were hard to walk on IF I could have stayed on the machine. It would indeed climb over a 3' vertical wall and would climb up a power pole till of course the back tire tried to leave the ground. A truly amazing machine and with the 175 CC engine it should really work well. The hint here is to always carry at least two (2 minimum) drive belts with you as when that belt gets cut in half the fun is all over ifn a person does not have a spare!

Interesting thread, as soon as I finish up this job I might just give it a try!....................63bkpkr
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top