Free-lance prospecting

[Rail Dawg]

OK we spend all of our time detecting in Nevada.

Mainly Rye Patch which continues to be a good place for placer gold.

Recently drove the length of Nevada on 95 and other smaller highways with stops in Tonopah, Beatty, Rhyolite and other mining towns.

There's something that tells us that there's still a lot of gold out there. You can see hundreds if not thousands of places where the old (and new) miners have scratched out an area.

What about free-lance prospecting? Choosing some obscure mountain or valley that is on BLM land and no claims.

Yeah it seems best to metal detect in the areas where gold has been found but certainly there are still areas to be discovered using the latest technology?

Doesn't just getting out there and trying sound like fun in a hard work sort of way?

Our next trip rather than Rye Patch we're thinking of just getting off the paved road and heading up into some remote valley with the detectors.

Maybe there's another major gold strike to be found?

 

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[arizau]

In addition to old and current time prospectors there have been hundreds to thousands of trained private and corporate geologists searching for deposits in more recent times. That said geologists have probably discovered some placer deposits that they have passed on....they are mostly in search of big picture ore deposits. Placers often but not always lead the way to ore deposits. It is conceivable that they found placer but not the source thus did not file on them. Have fun hunting for what they may have taken a pass on or just not found.

Good luck.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Nevada is not known for free milling gold despite being the biggest gold mining state. There are several small placer areas still being worked - Rye Patch being the best known.

Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel why not look around the Rabbit Placers across the freeway from your claims or a certain valley north east of Rye Patch. Ask Dusty at Star Point on the Freeway off ramp. She knows more about where you will find gold in that area of Nevada than anyone else and unlike Peg Leg John the crystal guy she actually shares the info. A good friend of mine got a six ounce nugget her first day of prospecting just by following Dusty's pointy finger.

Heavy Pans

 

[barrelroll]

I was just going to say the same thing Clay did. Isn't most of the gold in Nevada "micro gold"? From my understanding a lot of the early mines weren't actually gold mines but other mineral mines. Eureka County, my old stomping grounds, was known for silver/ lead before it was possible for big commercial outfits to mine for micro gold. When I was there in 2009-2012 new claim posts and drill rigs were everywhere but they were looking for hard rock commercial deposits. There are tons of awesome backroads in Nevada, it was crazy how many dirt miles you could put on and not see a single person. The pony express trail is pretty easy to follow from east of Austin to the Utah border where you hit a no trespassing Indian reservation sign. I don't remember a ton of old mines in most of the valleys but there's some.

If you haven't read about fire creek it sounds like an amazing mine though I'm not sure it's created any placer gold.

 

[Rail Dawg]

Ask Dusty at Star Point on the Freeway off ramp. She knows more about where you will find gold in that area of Nevada than anyone else and unlike Peg Leg John the crystal guy she actually shares the info.

We've gotten to know Dan Myers at the Gold Diggers Inn there at Rye Patch pretty well. He's a 3rd-generation miner in Rye Patch and since we're claim neighbors we kind of look out for each other.

But who is Dusty? Maybe we should know this but the mining locations up there in Section 20 and 30 are called the "Dusty Mines" so now we're curious.

Also haven't heard of the Rabbit Placers so that bears some investigation.

The old-timers around Nevada of course found obvious gold in the benches and while those might be long gone I still wonder if some of that surface gold is still out there in some obscure valley miles off the beaten path.

A century and more of erosion perhaps has brought some nuggets up enough where the Minelab can grab a hold.

We're also looking at Placerites/Scossa off to the NW of Rye Patch. While the Placerites area has few claims and an old river bed 1-50 feet below the surface the Scossa area is claimed tight.

Like many of us if we could spend triple the time looking we would.

Need to find the next big strike so we can retire from our day jobs and prospect 'til we can't anymore lol.

 

[barrelroll]

The old-timers around Nevada of course found obvious gold in the benches and while those might be long gone I still wonder if some of that surface gold is still out there in some obscure valley miles off the beaten path.

A century and more of erosion perhaps has brought some nuggets up enough where the Minelab can grab a hold.

Good luck. The nice part about Northern Nevada is a lot of it is open unless posted closed to motorized travel, if you want to drive up a wash go for it. That makes access a lot easier. That being said it seemed most major valleys had roads through them though the valleys were 20 + miles wide. I'd be doing some research to see which mines had visible gold and starting in those areas.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Just think of all the pounds and pounds of gold metal detectorists miss and walk right over because it's "too small" or the machine misses it. Even good hunters detect right past rich ground and never have a clue. More people need detectors haha.

 

[oneguy]

More people need detectors haha.

Glad this old man got my detector and so is my back....!!!! More gold for less effort and haven't touched a #2 or a sluice this season..... jmo

 

[Rail Dawg]

Just think of all the pounds and pounds of gold metal detectorists miss and walk right over because it's "too small" or the machine misses it. Even good hunters detect right past rich ground and never have a clue. More people need detectors haha.

We don't mind shoveling and sluicing but really enjoy the detecting.

Today's detectors are surprisingly good at finding even small pieces of gold.

We all have our way of going after the gold. The main thing is we're all out there trying.

 

[cactusman]

Another thing to think about, when you're detecting areas not already searched, especially in Nevada are meteorites, as you're probably more likely to find a new strewn field of them than a placer gold deposit. Maybe you'll get lucky and find both.