I have the fever....but not the location....Im in Minnesota!

[bottlecap]

I have the fever....but not the location....I'm in Minnesota!

Hi guys I have gold fever....bad. I recently went to a gold and treasure show here in Mn and bought a bag of pay dirt, a pan and a couple classifiers, I have panned most of the bag and gotten some great gold out of it, I am hooked for sure. I have been kicking around the idea of diving into this hobby for quite a while and I think it's time to try my hand. After talking to some of the folks at the treasure show I know there's gold in Mn for sure but it seems to be pretty fine gold. Has anyone heard of people finding any flake type gold around here? I would think there has to be a chance that not everything is flour gold but maybe I am just being too optimistic, I am not talking about finding nuggets or anything, just stuff you can see without a microscope.
Doing that first pan and at the end swirling that last bit of dirt and seeing all of that warm colored gold smiling at me in the corner, I can't get enough! The pay dirt I bought was from Alaska so it's really good stuff, I just thought it would be good first time practice and it was.
Also what do you folks recommend for retrieving the really fine gold? I have read a lot of threads on here about it and everyone seems to have a different opinion. I am extremely grateful to any of you that reply and take the time to read this! Thanks!

 

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[Silversurfer79]

Yeah I believe that gold was from by duluth

 

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[Capt Nemo]

There's also a good chance of gold around the iron mines. In the U.P. there's a few old hard rock gold mines just north of the big National Mine at Ishpeming. Should see the same in MN. Most of the creeks emptying into Superior should be good too. Also check for black sand lenses on any sand beach. There's incredible mineralization in and around Lake Superior.

I'd love to have a submarine to mine the bottom of Lake Superior with!

 

[bottlecap]

There's also a good chance of gold around the iron mines. In the U.P. there's a few old hard rock gold mines just north of the big National Mine at Ishpeming. Should see the same in MN. Most of the creeks emptying into Superior should be good too. Also check for black sand lenses on any sand beach. There's incredible mineralization in and around Lake Superior.

I'd love to have a submarine to mine the bottom of Lake Superior with!

I definitely want to take a trip north one of these days, might hit the Superior area this weekend, thing is it's been raining off and on for a few days and I noticed the Mississippi was a rushing torrent when I drove over it on my way home from work, rain is supposed to continue through Saturday, hoping if I drive up there I can get at some material without getting washed away.

 

[kcm]

To the best of my (very limited) knowledge, gold isn't associated with the Iron Range in Minnesota. ...Maybe that's because there is only trace amounts there??

Yes, there was gold found in NE Minnesota on Lake Superior, right on the border with Canada. It "appears" there was a small pocket. A commercial operation tried to get going there some years (and years) ago but nothing ever came of it. I think the excitement ran so high because Minnesota is NOT a small state, yet there is VERY little gold - and all of that so far has been glacial. Imagine what would happen if a modern gold strike were somehow found in MN MAJOR publicity, more tourists, ...basically a whole new world would open up for the entire state!

I've always wondered if there was gold here....LOTS of gold. But in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, who is able to look under all the mud, muck and water to get to where the gold would sit?? Used to sit back trying to figure some way to drill down and test-sample areas. ...But that's me....dreamer!

SilverSurfer79, do you know in what county that pan of gold was found?

 

[Silversurfer79]

Hi, I believe that was from st. Louis county. Not far from Duluth

 

[kcm]

All I know is, there's not enough here for me to wet my whistle with. ...Sure would like to know what sits deeper down, closer to bedrock!

 

[bottlecap]

All I know is, there's not enough here for me to wet my whistle with. ...Sure would like to know what sits deeper down, closer to bedrock!

Do you know this from experience or just what you have heard? This whole deal for me is quite daunting, one minute I am really excited about the chance at finding something, then I read things on forums or other places that are completely discouraging. I know the only thing you can do is try, but with the chances being so good that if I find some it will be really fine(flour gold) I'd like to have the right equipment for the job. Hard to justify the money without knowing what I am getting in to. For instance if I were to recommend a new detector to someone I would try my best to get them to get something like an AT Pro right off the bat, I would want the person to have a fair chance at success, then if they found they liked the hobby they could jump up to a Minelab or something like that. Plus if it turned out they didn't enjoy it they could sell the thing for a marginal loss. I guess my point is I like giving myself a chance with something right away, then if I fail or don't like it I know it's not because I didn't have the right tool for the job. I am probably not making any sense here but maybe someone will get my point! The more I read the more confused I get, some say there isn't anything here(or very little), some say they have had some success, some say there may actually be some flaky gold, some say small nuggets were found 100 years back. Guess I would give just about anything to be in a known gold bearing state! I don't want to travel, I definitely will at some point but I am looking for the sweet G right here in my home state.

 

[kcm]

"....but I am looking for the sweet G right here in my home state."

Gophers?!?!?



Well, I finally dug my old 2001 GPAA Mining Guide out of mothballs. Haven't looked at it in a lot of years. No, never a member - bought this used. This is what it says about Minnesota:

HISTORY
Recent gold discoveries in Ontario have prompted a renewed interest in gold exploration in the state. Gold was discovered in Minnesota streams in 1865, precipitating a gold (and silver) "rush" to the Vermillion Lake area (which is in NE Minnesota). By 1867, however, it became clear that high-grade ore was not available in large enough quantities to support commercial mining.A stamp mill operated near Rainy Lake, where 500 tons of rock from Little American Island were crushed, with a (then) yield of about $12.50/ton. Numerous attempts were made (without success) to locate this and similar gold-bearing island veins on the mainland.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Gold is usually found where igneous (volcanic-like) activity has occurred. North America's richest gold belt is associated with a huge area meeting these criteria. The southern edge of this "Precambrian Canadian Shield" extends into northern Minnesota.

Placer gold, apparently washed from its parent rock, still may be found in small quantities in the sand and gravels of streams and rivers around the northern mines. (<-- I didn't realize that!) In southeastern Minnesota, numerous streams and rivers have yielded placer gold originating in glacial deposits. Gold has been found in the Zumbro River between Rochester and Mazeppa and along other watercourses in Filmore and Scott counties.

Although large quantities of gold have not been found in Minnesota, this state has yet to receive serious attention from prospectors. There should be some placer gold in all streams that drain glacial deposits. Look for streams with significant water flow where concentration can take place.

...In central MN, gold has been found in Aitkin, Carlton, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties. Northern counties are Koochiching and St. Louis.

Although large quantities of placer gold have not been found in MN, the state is just now receiving serious attention from prospectors due to the public becoming aware of the natural resource deposits here. There currently is activity in the state to open more public land for recreational prospecting.



NOTE: some parts of the above are quoted from the page while the rest is paraphrased.

 

[bottlecap]

No mention of the St. Croix river?? Hmmmmm, heard that was one of the better areas around St. Croix falls, at least there is supposed to be some good gold history there, I haven't actually heard anything from a living breathing human. Closest spot of all of those would still be an hour away but I see a trend there with the counties listed. They are all on the eastern half of the state running north to south in somewhat of a corridor. Technically the Pine, Carlton and St. Louis county finds could have all been in the St. Croix river.

 

[bottlecap]

I am going to try this weekend somewhere for sure, the high water is the only thing I'm worried about.

 

[CaptainMorgan]

You must of been at the show in Forest Lake on 3/5. I was there and joined the GPAA by buying a membership kit. I'm expanding my horizons from coin detecting to Gold Prospecting and have connections to both the Iron Ranges in Northern Minnesota and the UP of Michigan. In fact my great-great grampa was killed in the Champion Mine in 1879. Both sides of my family are miners that did prospecting in their spare time. Let me know if you are interested in a prospecting partner. I'm real close to the St Croix Falls area. I was going to buy some of that pay dirt but ended up spending my budget at the Twin Cities Prospectors table. Jim

 

[Capt Nemo]

The St. Croix is a National Scenic Waterway and is off limits for prospecting! And yes, there's good gold been found there in the dells below the dam!

What good are the resources if you can't use them!

 

[bottlecap]

The St. Croix is a National Scenic Waterway and is off limits for prospecting! And yes, there's good gold been found there in the dells below the dam!

What good are the resources if you can't use them!

What the heck is the water way the whole river? I thought it was just that area around Interstate park??

 

[bottlecap]

I just searched and didn't see anything prohibiting it, probably missed it but if it's one of these read between the lines type of deals.....

 

[Capt Nemo]

It's pretty much the same rule as National Parks, no takey things. And yes, it runs all the way up the river.

 

[motohed]

I was looking at MN , I don't think you can use a sluice , the rule for MN are not very user friendly from what I've read . Do some research , and see whats available for you too use .

 

[bottlecap]

Ya we are pretty restricted here, kinda sucks.

 

[motohed]

You might be able to run a Gold Hog pan , check the site for Gold Hog .

 

[bottlecap]

You might be able to run a Gold Hog pan , check the site for Gold Hog .

Hey thanks I'll check it out!

 

[bottlecap]

Look very very very very very very closely and you can see I was busy yesterday Hey it's my first gold from the wild!