Finding the lost cave of gold

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Ranger Paul

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This is my first post here and from what I see, there are some very knowledgeable people here.
I've recently purchased a Minelab X-Terra 70 (not my first detector), and have decided to do some nugget hunting. I live in Southern Oregon, near many gold claims and areas where fairly sizeable nuggets have been found. (I'm still looking for my first nugget.)
While talking with my brother in law, he told me of a story his grandfather told him years ago. While hunting one day he came across a small cave which he swears was full of quartz and visable gold. He intended to return to the area, but could not find it again, and died before he was able to do so. This area is near gold hill, and inbetween areas known for producing nuggets.
My brother and I decided to search out the area as best we could with the information provided. We drove up a logging road a few miles to where he had been hunting. Along the way I was searching for traces of quarts, and found a sizeable rock that had rolled off the mountain near the road. I went uphill a couple hundred yards, and found pieces of quartz all along the way. In 6 miles of road, I didn't see any other noticeable quartz. Some of the quartz rocks had hollow pockets and looked very interesting.
On this day, it started raining hard and my brother and I returned home. I plan on going back and hiking further up the hill. Unfortunately the weather has been bad and there is some snow on the ground as I write this. I am searching for advice on how I should proceed. I'm thinking of leaving my detector in the car since the hike is steep and long.
I would appreciate any advice on how I might best find this cave of quartz and gold. Any help is appreciated.
 

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snakejim

Jr. Member
Dec 18, 2005
55
40
New Mexico
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug 2, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer, White's GM3, GMT, GM24K, White's Pulse scan TDI, Sierra Pulse Pro
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hi Paul!
I hope you got the 10" elliptical DD 18.75khz coil for your X-T70. It's the best for nugget hunting in highly mineralized ground.
Like ole grubstake said, a little research will help you get an idea of the mines in the area, their production, type of gold found, etc. A topo map has a lot of info also.
A small cave with quartz with visible gold is probably an old mine and not a cave at all.
The way the old timers found the veins to mine is as follows. The old timers followed the gold up to its source by a process called loaming for gold. Every drainage, gulley, gulch, creek, etc. in the area would be tested by digging to bedrock and panning the gravels. If the gold was rough and angular and not worn smooth, they would atempt to find the source (vein). They continued up the creek until the gold stopped. Then they would back up to where they last found the gold. They would then sample each side of the creek to determine from which side the gold was coming into the creek. By digging test holes every few feet on the hillside parallel to the creek they would be able to pinpoint exactly where the gold came out of the hill.
You can use your detector to follow the float (quartz with gold) also, but it would not be as effective if the soil is deep.
Good luck!
snakejim
 

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Ranger Paul

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Thanks Grubstake and Snakejim. I appreciate the replies.
I did buy the DD coil, and plan to test it out tomorrow, if the snow melts! As far as I know, there has been no mining claims in this particular area, which is about 2 square miles. There have been some mines on either side of this particular mountain though. The area was mostly an old logging area, where some old growth had been cut long ago. My first plan is to hike up as far as the visable quartz goes. There is a minor drainage on this slope and I will do some digging and work my way up from there. I will definitely let you know the outcome, but it may not be for a few more days as the elevation is a bit higher than it is where I live, and the snow may take a bit longer to melt.
 

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Ranger Paul

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I did buy that book and it was very helpful. Now if this snow would just melt! We got about 8 inches last night.
 

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