How to read a River for Gold?

[antony]

Hi again from Greece! This summer was not productive, but I've learned a lot of things and tried to sample a big part of the river I'm working on. I have the Bazooka Sniper 36'', but I haven't used it a lot because I want to find the best and most productive area on the river first.

Here is the problem I'm having. I want to find the most productive area of the river, but it's really complicated and I don't know which is the best way to do that. I sampled a lot of areas already.

The river is 50miles long, so on the map I cut the area into 10 smaller pieces. Each one is 5miles long.

I sampled the first part (lower on the river) and I found gold. It's very fine gold though and it's really hard to get it because there are big rocks everywhere and you need to dig really slow. I found gold though, but it's not productive.

I sampled the next part and I found the same gold as well. Very fine, very hard to get.

Now, I sampled the next part, and actually I finished this area today, but I haven't found anything... I've spend 7hours today sampling the area but I haven't found anything. Not even black sand. So here are my questions:

1) Is it possible that this is the only area with gold on the river? I mean between this first and second section?

2) Is there a better way so I can map and "read" the river? Whats the best practise of mapping a river for gold? Some parts on the river have interested geological characteristics like bedrock crossing the river, etc. Is there a quick way of knowing if an area on the river won't be a good spot to sample?

3) Are there any books about this and also about geography? I'm asking about geography because I think it's the next thing I need to learn more about.

Thanks in advance for your replies and here are a few images from my journey today:

 

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[DizzyDigger]

That bedrock is sure to have some nice fractures in it. Have
you worked any of the cracks to see what's at the bottom?

 

[benny]

Hi, Antony.
Your first 3 pics show mostly sand and so I'd expect that the gold wouldn't be much bigger than that. I'd go upstream until I started seeing larger rocks. Perhaps right where the stream widens. On the other hand, I don't find much gold, either.

 

[Goldwasher]

you need to grab your pan and start sampling. Are here gold mines in the area?

 

[goldenmojo]

It seems like you have already identified where there is fine gold. You say you really need to dig slow by the big rocks. Why? Do you mean that it is difficult and slow because of the big rocks? You have a bazooka set it up and start processing the fine gold in the place you found the most. Good luck and send pics of you gold finds.

 

[arizau]

You sampled in three sections of the river and found no gold in the most upstream section. Maybe the source of the gold for the lower two sections comes from a smaller tributary or tributaries that feeds somewhere into the middle section. If sampling the other upstream sections yields the same results of no gold then the source is probably a tributary.

Good luck.

By the way. Sampling around where minor drainages enter the main drainage is a good practice and if there is gold then sample the minor drainage too.

 

[cpomike13]

Try the inside turns, areas where the river slows down (where the gold drops out of the circulation), but I would first start work the cracks of the that bedrock. Sample, sample, and sample! AU to you

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[antony]

That bedrock is sure to have some nice fractures in it. Have
you worked any of the cracks to see what's at the bottom?

Yes I worked the cracks and found nothing.

 

[antony]

you need to grab your pan and start sampling. Are here gold mines in the area?

There are ancient Gold Mines all over the place but they are not accessible. I know there is gold on the river but the river is really long and changes each season. That's why I want to make sure I'm searching on the correct areas.

 

[russau]

You sampled in three sections of the river and found no gold in the most upstream section. Maybe the source of the gold for the lower two sections comes from a smaller tributary or tributaries that feeds somewhere into the middle section. If sampling the other upstream sections yields the same results of no gold then the source is probably a tributary.

Good luck.

By the way. Sampling around where minor drainages enter the main drainage is a good practice and if there is gold then sample the minor drainage too.

Like Arizau said , you may have past up the source of gold ! try looking up each bank to see if the gold is comeing from the hillside , and if so , follow it to the source! over on another site , Dave "Zooka" Bryce had a good thread on "reading a river" that you may want to read. I don't have a link to it . I have a hard copy in my files.

 

[antony]

Like Arizau said , you may have past up the source of gold ! try looking up each bank to see if the gold is comeing from the hillside , and if so , follow it to the source! over on another site , Dave "Zooka" Bryce had a good thread on "reading a river" that you may want to read. I don't have a link to it . I have a hard copy in my files.

I can't find the "reading a river" thread. Can you please send it over?

 

[ivan salis]

first things first --where is the "source" the gold comes from ? --there must be a starting point at which it enters the river at --the farther you get from it the less gold you will find most likely --remember gold is heavy and likes to settle down in weak current spots were the current is not strong enough to "move it along" -- inside area of bends (where the waters flat and slowed down / behind large rocks that break up the river currents flow ...

 

[ivan salis]

if you sampled 3 spots --top middle bottom -- and top has no gold but middle and bottom do --then likely the "source" spot is between the no gold top area --and the middle area location ..unless you just got a "dud top spot " which can occur ...recheck around the top spot if no gold then you know the source spot is for sure between the top spot and the mid spot then just squeeze that area until you zero in on the "river entry"..source area ..that's where the best gold amounts should come from--often fine flour type gold comes from gold running off a gold vien into the river from a hill side location..

 

[Goldwasher]

By sampling I mean cracks...different color layers...different sides of the waterway. behind various obstructions...you should be noting the material you are finding when you do find more gold.. Black sand? other heavies? Some times these give initial visual indictors once you know your area better. In the river here and others theres a rusty layer that pays. its an old flood layer that was laid down and exposed to air and then covered with a later layer. In places it can be exposed in the bars and banks by more recent erosion. Its very obvious once you find it. Rivers and gold are pretty similar the world over. Look for layers.
People get hung up on "finding the source" that's not a bad idea if you are in an area that has a lot of veins and mines visible from the waterway or known up on the hillside Just because you find rough chunky gold or gold with host rock still attached...doesn't necessarily mean you are close to a/the source.
Sampling small waterways in rich areas can be difficult small waterways with gold that is from an eluvial deposit can be spotty. You might find fine flood color on the surface...nothing in between...and you might miss the 2dwt nugget that's wedged in a crack twelve inches down....you can't really sample for nuggets...you can put the odds in your favor...that's a lot of what "reading a river" is.
I'm not saying any of this to counter the above helpful comments...just don't get locked into one theory...your success will increase will increase when you the skills that you gain and apply them specifically to different areas as you get more in your pan information...I would never belive there was no gold upstream from a location in a gold bearing area..without solid geological and historical evidence lack of gold found over a couple trips doesn't prove that.
Just some thoughts, keep doing what your doing and try to find out what and where and how the old timers before you were doing...they can tell you a lot if you can learn about their success !

 

[antony]

By sampling I mean cracks...different color layers...different sides of the waterway. behind various obstructions...you should be noting the material you are finding when you do find more gold.. Black sand? other heavies? Some times these give initial visual indictors once you know your area better. In the river here and others theres a rusty layer that pays. its an old flood layer that was laid down and exposed to air and then covered with a later layer. In places it can be exposed in the bars and banks by more recent erosion. Its very obvious once you find it. Rivers and gold are pretty similar the world over. Look for layers.
People get hung up on "finding the source" that's not a bad idea if you are in an area that has a lot of veins and mines visible from the waterway or known up on the hillside Just because you find rough chunky gold or gold with host rock still attached...doesn't necessarily mean you are close to a/the source.
Sampling small waterways in rich areas can be difficult small waterways with gold that is from an eluvial deposit can be spotty. You might find fine flood color on the surface...nothing in between...and you might miss the 2dwt nugget that's wedged in a crack twelve inches down....you can't really sample for nuggets...you can put the odds in your favor...that's a lot of what "reading a river" is.
I'm not saying any of this to counter the above helpful comments...just don't get locked into one theory...your success will increase will increase when you the skills that you gain and apply them specifically to different areas as you get more in your pan information...I would never belive there was no gold upstream from a location in a gold bearing area..without solid geological and historical evidence lack of gold found over a couple trips doesn't prove that.
Just some thoughts, keep doing what your doing and try to find out what and where and how the old timers before you were doing...they can tell you a lot if you can learn about their success !

Thank you for all your suggestions Goldwasher!

 

[benny]

Is this the reading a river link you were looking for?

How To Read A Stream Or River

 

[Jeff95531]

That waterfall info is spot on from my experiences.

 

[russau]

Is this the reading a river link you were looking for?

How To Read A Stream Or River

Benny thnkyou for posting this and correcting my mistake on the author!

 

[indianbullet]

Tagged for great info in that link..

 

[benny]

That link got me to buy the book.