Finding gold in the San Juans Colorado where it was and ideas for finding new spots

[Marmentman]

Finding gold in the San Juan's Colorado where it was and ideas for finding new spots

Wanted to start a new tread for the San Juan mountain range. The history is rich but I have yet to find that elusive gold streak. They have been there in the past and will be there in the future, I have found gold all along the animas and San Juan rivers, but nothing like what others find on TN. Maybe looking in wrong areas, maybe over worked my guess is it's still out there keep finding the little stuff but not a source yet. Hope this thread can become useful to those of us in the four corners area. Good luck and happy hunting.
Here are a few good places to look:
Animas along rivers high mark and public land most spots good with some showing of fine color50 mesh- all the way to where the animas starts to Navajo tribal lands in farmington nm
Same with San Juan river shed

Again good luck and hopefully others will have good leads.
Try them and get back. I will try to up date every so often

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Great idea, hope you get some good info!

 

[Marmentman]

Hey sorry I missed you in denver

 

[KevinInColorado]

Hey sorry I missed you in denver

next time!

 

[Marmentman]

Hey sorry it's been a long time, very busy with new kid and business. Has any tried the east side of the La plata mountains with any luck, I don't think it was mined as heavy since not much water on that side, well except red arrow dome.

 

[bedrock bubba]

My understanding is a lot of the gold in the San Juan's was locked up in Telluride-Calaverite ore, which is recalcitrant ore, not given to "free milling" or forming placers and is strictly in lode formations.

Its a whole new ballgame looking for this stuff, and many pieces will not show visible gold.

 

[UncleMatt]

Durango is my home town. I think you are going to have to get out away from the well traveled places before you are going to find better paydirt.

 

[rodoconnor]

Durango is certainly some beautiful country. Very good elk and deer hunting

 

[lastleg]

bubba is right on target on San Juan gold. But miners figured out how to extract it using
stamp mills and smelting. There was one placer area discovered but it played out pronto.

 

[ikesdad]

I have seen gold bearing tellurides. Black as coal and, of course, heavy. It was roasted overnight in a campfire and after cooling, the blobs of gold were on the surface.

 

[UncleMatt]

got any photos?

 

[ikesdad]

Naw, it was many years back and not mine.
Most of the tellurides I saw over a period of a few years came from the La Platas. It was either from the Bessie G or Neglected or both. I don't recall.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Here's an example from that area http://huntforgems.com/minerals/pictures/j-j.0024.JPG

 

[UncleMatt]

I was up near the Neglected Mine 2 years ago, but it is not know for telluride ores, I must point out. There was new activity at the mine, and while I was eating lunch next to the road leading up to it, new tracked equipment started up the grade to the mine. There is also a treasure tale associated with that mine, about the mine's cook finding a high grade cache and moving it to a new location. Of course, he could never find it again...

 

[ikesdad]

The stuff I saw must have the come from the Bessie G then. A guy that worked at the same place I did would go up there on weekends and high grade.

 

[Marmentman]

I have seen load gold and it's usually in a rusty quartz crystal. Given enough time it would erode out and turn to flour gold, that being said I have also seen specimen gold from these mountains that have some large enough gold to make placer if given long enough to erode. But I would love to find some load gold also, doesn't really matter how I find it as long as I find some!

 

[KevinInColorado]

I have seen load gold and it's usually in a rusty quartz crystal. Given enough time it would erode out and turn to flour gold, that being said I have also seen specimen gold from these mountains that have some large enough gold to make placer if given long enough to erode. But I would love to find some load gold also, doesn't really matter how I find it as long as I find some!

If your search includes google (it should), it may help to spell it correctly as in "lode".

 

[Marmentman]

Sorry got to love autocorrect

 

[bakergeol]

I was up near the Neglected Mine 2 years ago, but it is not know for telluride ores, I must point out. There was new activity at the mine, and while I was eating lunch next to the road leading up to it, new tracked equipment started up the grade to the mine. There is also a treasure tale associated with that mine, about the mine's cook finding a high grade cache and moving it to a new location. Of course, he could never find it again...

Several decades ago detecting out of Durango I found several 8 sided polygon store tokens. There were for 12 1/2 cents each and were from Oro fino. I believe they were associated with the Neglected mine.

A real good book about the San Juan is "Golden Treasures of the San Juan" by Marshall and Cornelius. Actually most of the stories about lost mines in this book are actually true.

Yes on page 221 is the story about the cook "The cache of Gold on Falls Creek" hiding the sylvanite ore is mentioned.

George

 

[UncleMatt]

I spent two summers up at Falls Creek looking for the lost cook's cache. Good luck. I have posted photos of the terrain in other threads here at T-net. Its covered in thick brush, and lays at about a 55 degree angle, and steeper. Not conducive to metal detecting, too much undergrowth and fallen trees. And lots of area to search up there.....