Finding Gold Atop of the Ground

[OreCart]

I am not sure how rare this is, but today I came across a stream that had gold you could see without digging. I thought that was kind of cool.

It was small gold, specks and pickers, but at first when I started seeing it in the stream, I thought maybe I had shoveled in that area a few minutes before. I did not remember digging there, and before today, I have only been to this stream once, and test panned at the bottom of the hill; and this was halfway up.

But then under a fallen log I saw a picker, and three specks, and I KNEW I had not dug there. I took some pictures, then headed for home to see if Katie could verify what I was seeing. But going home meant climbing out of the ravine.

Partway up the hill, the ravine turns, and the stream crosses a level area that is real rocky. In the silt just under the water, it glistened just with gold. Mostly specks, but definitely gold.

 

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[dave wiseman]

^^^GET a large coffee can...cut a piece of plexi glass to fit the bottom and glue in.Then go go fanning and sniping.

 

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[OreCart]

well you asked I guess.

Or informed. All I saw was a blurry picture figured it was maybe bigfoot.

never said there was no gold where you live. Just hoping to see some in a pan.

If I read correctly there was a picker even.

The list of people who have posted what they were sure was gold here...when it wasn't ,

Its a long list.

Was just helping with ways to ID.

If you want to assume that I assume it isn't gold thats fine.

I never said it for sure wasn't...

But my burlap windsock.... is moving my thoughts that way.

I think what I saw was gold.

To me it stands to reason; I found gold while panning the stream twice BELOW the point where I saw gold lying on top of the ground, and I found Lode Gold by assay in the drainage area ABOVE the stream, then it would seem to me there is a good chance gold was in the middle.

And if melting snow and rain can bring gold into the rivers and streams every year from up above all over the world, then it seems a Cat scratching all over the ground would do likewise here. In this case it was a couple of Caterpillar 525 Grapple Skidders, but it stands to reason; if bedrock is only down a few inches, then the skidders would have churned the gold up. Two spring freshets would have flushed that loosened gold down into the stream; and it is not like this is flat terrain here.

But I never asked if it was gold or not, I inferred the question; how many people have seen something like this? A few have, and many have not.

Question answered.

 

[OreCart]

As for gold in the pan, I never show pictures of that.

I learned a long time ago that it is impossible to prove a negative.

If I said I bought a new excavator and someone said, “I do not believe you”, there is not much I can do to convince them otherwise. I can show pictures to the end of time, but if they are unconvinced, they are unconvinced. So, I have learned it is silly to stoop to their childish levels and try and debate them.

It is the same with gold in the pan. As Triple D has said, “once you see gold, you will never mistake it again.” Yep, I concur.

I once heard a pastor say, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!”

That is the most stupid statement ever spoken. What does it matter if you believe it or not? If God said it, that settles it; whether I believe it or not is immaterial? And while I appreciate people on here for all the help they have given, considering they were not there, did not see the stream, did not swirl the pan, or know what the light was like at a given point, it does not really matter if people staring at some highly excited electrons from hundreds, or thousands of miles away agree, or disagree with the assessment. No camera in the world can capture the nuances of the moment, like the human eye.

So, I do not even try. Why start a debate that does not need to be started?

It is wrong to make a claim that something is what it is not, which is why I have a second party always confirm that it is gold like my father-in-law or my wife, who have prospected in California, New Hampshire and now Maine. But even then, if people who were not present wish to dispute what I found, what do I really care?

I do not mean to sound callous, but I mean nothing changes.

I still have the deed to the piece of land, its been in the family for nine generations so it is not like I am going to sell it, in the State of Maine landowners automatically own the mineral rights to the center of the earth above their property, and it even if it an area is teeming with pikie dust instead of gold, it is mine either way. It is not like I am trying to sell a claim to someone for profit here. There is absolutely no motivation for fraud...

In this case…I left the gold be because the true value FOR ME, is in showing my wife and four daughters, that our farm has a stream with gold right on top of the ground. I am not going to destroy that for 1200 bucks.

 

[mytimetoshine]

well you asked I guess.

All I saw was a blurry picture figured it was bigfoot

But my burlap windsock.... is moving my thoughts that way.

Something is very familiar about his posts....

 

[Goldwasher]

Something is very familiar about his posts....

I unfortunately have to agree

 

[Goldwasher]

As for gold in the pan, I never show pictures of that.

I learned a long time ago that it is impossible to prove a negative.

If I said I bought a new excavator and someone said, “I do not believe you”, there is not much I can do to convince them otherwise. I can show pictures to the end of time, but if they are unconvinced, they are unconvinced. So, I have learned it is silly to stoop to their childish levels and try and debate them.

It is the same with gold in the pan. As Triple D has said, “once you see gold, you will never mistake it again.” Yep, I concur.

I once heard a pastor say, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!”

That is the most stupid statement ever spoken. What does it matter if you believe it or not? If God said it, that settles it; whether I believe it or not is immaterial? And while I appreciate people on here for all the help they have given, considering they were not there, did not see the stream, did not swirl the pan, or know what the light was like at a given point, it does not really matter if people staring at some highly excited electrons from hundreds, or thousands of miles away agree, or disagree with the assessment. No camera in the world can capture the nuances of the moment, like the human eye.

So, I do not even try. Why start a debate that does not need to be started?

It is wrong to make a claim that something is what it is not, which is why I have a second party always confirm that it is gold like my father-in-law or my wife, who have prospected in California, New Hampshire and now Maine. But even then, if people who were not present wish to dispute what I found, what do I really care?

I do not mean to sound callous, but I mean nothing changes.

I still have the deed to the piece of land, its been in the family for nine generations so it is not like I am going to sell it, in the State of Maine landowners automatically own the mineral rights to the center of the earth above their property, and it even if it an area is teeming with pikie dust instead of gold, it is mine either way. It is not like I am trying to sell a claim to someone for profit here. There is absolutely no motivation for fraud...

In this case…I left the gold be because the true value FOR ME, is in showing my wife and four daughters, that our farm has a stream with gold right on top of the ground. I am not going to destroy that for 1200 bucks.

" It could possibly be mica, as I certainly am not so assured of myself to think that I could not be fooled by "fools gold", but I do not think so in this case. It is right on top of bedrock; the gravels being maybe 2 inches deep. "

your own quote..

you yourself admitted you aren't sure.

No need to get all defensive.

Your rebuttle on proving a negative, not showing gold in a pan because you know better? Whatever you were trying to get at..

It's silly man. If you found gold showing like that you disturbed a concentration... pickers are pickers... someone who knows would not be "fooled"

Whats wrong with showing good pictures of your take? It is literally the reason for the sub- forum your on.

The vast majority of "is this gold" posts... die ..why ? because it isn't gold.

You are right you don't have to prove anything.

Me deciding to now make the statement.

" your pictures don't look like gold" is not me calling you a liar..

It is what it is.

Makes me wonder what the point of posting it in the first place even is

 

[Goldwasher]

Even with craptastic lighting gold is gold

 

[OreCart]

Makes me wonder what the point of posting it in the first place even is

For the same reason I have said from the very beginning; the thrill of the hunt.

It has been a really interesting last four years, finding an old mine nearby, and noting the changes in the bedrock, and from that seed of an idea that gold may be present in an area of this state that is not currently known for it, only to determine there is not just gold present, but fairly abundantly. All that has all been really fun.

As stated before, there are many kinds of prospectors, and many motivations that drive them, and while I have nothing against those that out to collect it, for me it is finding where it is at, and where it is not, that is the most fun. For many on here who cannot get out, I figured they would like to tag along and join in the hunt.

I am not going to let naysayers ruin that by constantly trying to defend my credibility. I see that sadly enough on here when people post pictures of their assay's. There is seldom words of encouragement like, "Good for you", or "Oh wow", it tends to be negative in nature such as, "well how much free gold is there", or "you will not get much money mining that." The person was not asking any of that; they were just excited they found gold; something so many people wish for, and so few do. Good for them, but how hard is it to say just that..."Good for you! I am excited for you!"

Of course it is jealousy, but that takes on many forms and for many reasons.

Perhaps it is from a person that has been looking for gold and never found any yet. Or perhaps a person is upset that they cannot get out to their own claim nearly as much as they want to. Or perhaps the person's claim is lackluster. I do not know, but I have dealt with jealousy all my life and am used to it.

Me; I have had too many hardships to care. There will always be people that are worse off than me, and certainly many that are better off than me. If they are the former, "what can I do to help", and if they are the latter, then good for them. "You made it, let me shake your hand. You have done well".

Whether Gold or Pickie Dust, good health or bad; God has given me what he has, and I will be thankful. His grace is sufficient for me.

 

[CASPER-2]

thats awesome - i always wonder if you got in the right spot with a mask and snorkel if you could find specks - they certainly would stand out i would think if
they were in the water but atop of the sand and gravel

 

[dave wiseman]

@Casper2,it's called fanning.you have your half or full wetsuit..mask and snorkel.and prybar and crevicing tools and face upstream after finding obvious bedock.You pry off the the rock and fan the gravel away..scratch out the crevices..and pick out the gold..if any is there.Did that for five years in the California motherlode gold country...in the late 1970's to early eighties before my 25 year hard rock mining career.

 

[mofugly13]

Sounds like someone is upset that the thread took a turn away from their original topic. Well, welcome to 100% of the threads on the internet. It's easy to bring it back onto your topic. Every thread detours a bit. Bring it back. No need to whine, which is what it seems like I'm hearing.

 

[xaos]

This is the flat, silty area. It looks like an oil sheen, but I think it is just the camera penetrating the water in the center, and not on the outer edge. The water does move here, but very, very slowly.

View attachment 1707443

Sorry, but that does not look like gold, that looks like Mica. As others have said, it just does not glitter like that, and would not be on top of brown sand.
Gold just will not be on top of that background material.

How far are you from Mount Mica?

 

[Goldwasher]

For the same reason I have said from the very beginning; the thrill of the hunt.

It has been a really interesting last four years, finding an old mine nearby, and noting the changes in the bedrock, and from that seed of an idea that gold may be present in an area of this state that is not currently known for it, only to determine there is not just gold present, but fairly abundantly. All that has all been really fun.

As stated before, there are many kinds of prospectors, and many motivations that drive them, and while I have nothing against those that out to collect it, for me it is finding where it is at, and where it is not, that is the most fun. For many on here who cannot get out, I figured they would like to tag along and join in the hunt.

I am not going to let naysayers ruin that by constantly trying to defend my credibility. I see that sadly enough on here when people post pictures of their assay's. There is seldom words of encouragement like, "Good for you", or "Oh wow", it tends to be negative in nature such as, "well how much free gold is there", or "you will not get much money mining that." The person was not asking any of that; they were just excited they found gold; something so many people wish for, and so few do. Good for them, but how hard is it to say just that..."Good for you! I am excited for you!"

Of course it is jealousy, but that takes on many forms and for many reasons.

Perhaps it is from a person that has been looking for gold and never found any yet. Or perhaps a person is upset that they cannot get out to their own claim nearly as much as they want to. Or perhaps the person's claim is lackluster. I do not know, but I have dealt with jealousy all my life and am used to it.

Me; I have had too many hardships to care. There will always be people that are worse off than me, and certainly many that are better off than me. If they are the former, "what can I do to help", and if they are the latter, then good for them. "You made it, let me shake your hand. You have done well".

Whether Gold or Pickie Dust, good health or bad; God has given me what he has, and I will be thankful. His grace is sufficient for me.

Cause yea there is thread after thread of people posting Assays and being shot down by naysayers... lol cool party wish I had gone.

Why even be on a forum that is so populated by naysayers why endure the mocking

Funny cause I'm one of the few people on this forum that shares pictures of some of the gold I find.. just SOME.

And it tends to be more often than most others.

There are less than six of us here that do so consistently.

Not for bragging rights. Not to look cooler than others.

Simply because it is nice to share and encourage newbies. Showing that with relatively minimal effort what can be found.

I tend to do it when the forum has been dry of good pictures and sharing of finds.

Funny thing about the thrill of the hunt...

You have to have actually found what you are looking for.. or all related points..are poinless.

Whats the thrill of a Turkey hunt if you miss any your arrow is stick in a tree?

A picture of the bark, does not feathers make.

Not a bit of jealousy behind my comments.

Sorry you feel the way you do. Own your attitude. Don't put negativity on the observer. We have the right to comment based on what we see.

From my twenty plus years of experience doing this. I still do not see gold in any pictures posted.

To answer the original question yes gold can be found on top sometimes. On bedrock, top layer skim deposits etc.

However if it isn't on bedrock any disturbance or flow of water and it won't stay there very long.

Would be nice in a thread like this to confirm, inform and discuss.

Been trying to do that. Yet the person with the original relevant info who started the whole thread. Thinks questions are needless "debate"

Because of "naysayers" and " jealousy"

Like I said Silly.

 

[enamel7]

You won't show gold in a pan, but you'll show a satellite view of the property? Come on!

 

[mytimetoshine]

You won't show gold in a pan, but you'll show a satellite view of the property? Come on!

He found pickers on the ground but just left them there. It's enough for him just knowing it's there.....said nobody ever.