What do you look for?

bottlecap · Mar 4, 2014

Hello crazy gold seekers! I am new to finding gold and live in Minnesota so right off the bat I know I'm not really in a great spot geographically, however I have heard there is some really fine gold in this state, and I'm going to find some. What are you looking for structurally when looking for gold? A certain type of soil? Rocky creek beds? Large boulders? One thing we do have in this state is a lot of rivers and streams, maybe that's a start? I want to stress here I am NOT looking for hot spots, just trying to get some general knowledge. Thank you for any replies!

H&F909ORO · Mar 4, 2014

One thing I learned in the little time I have been mining is to look for gravel bars on streams or rivers. You also need to know if you are in a gold bearing area. Do you have your basic tools? Most important thing is to do research, I would suggest looking at some YouTube videos on how to catch the fine gold. Now remember that gold is where you find it and all that glitters is not gold. Look for certain types of rock as well. You might want to learn how to read a river which is also found on YouTube. I definitely did not get everything, but those are some basics I wanted to point out.
Good Luck!

bottlecap · Mar 4, 2014

No I do not have my basic tools. Was looking to start off small by maybe doing some panning but I will get my butt over to you tube and see what I can dig up. As far as gold bearing areas I have been hearing there are areas holding gold that no one knew about until recently, or at least it hasn't come to light until recently. Not a lot of people willing to divulge info on gold locations so it seems to be tough to research, in my online search for gold bearing areas I can really only find a couple spots, and they are pretty far away. I recently heard of an area much closer, and that leads me to believe some other spots I have in mind may have gold, but I'm not holding my breath. If you also have suggestions on good tools for the trade let me know. I am pretty determined and not afraid to fail, so this will be a fun new adventure.

goldenmojo · Mar 4, 2014

Find a gold club that you can join or someone from Treasurenet in your area. They will have knowledge that shortens the learning curve or you can stand in the water looking in your pan wasting valuable time and wondering what does this all mean.... Good Luck and I hope you find alot!!!

dustytrails123 · Mar 4, 2014

Maybe something in here may spark something
http://projects.geothunder.com/2013/02/24/placer-gold-deposits-in-minnesota/

bottlecap · Mar 4, 2014

dustytrails123 said:
Maybe something in here may spark something
http://projects.geothunder.com/2013/02/24/placer-gold-deposits-in-minnesota/

It did spark something! One of the areas listed is my old stomping grounds that I am very familiar with, thanks for the link, super helpful!

H&F909ORO · Mar 4, 2014

You definitely need to know how to pan before you go out. It's very important to practice your panning so you don't have gold falling out of your pan. Go onto ebay and buy some concentrates, there are many different sellers. This will help you with knowing your panning skills. Buy a snuffer bottle as well. You can get one for 3 dollars or so. Make sure you have a safety pan so you can repan your concentrates to make sure you didn't miss any gold. Have fun diggin up that virgin ground! P.s buy buckets as well. You can pick some up at Home Depot for 3 dollars a bucket.

Lookin4goaled · Mar 5, 2014

I would highly suggest that rather than buying concentrates right off the bat, you get some lead shot from a shotgun shell etc, and practice panning dirt with a known amount of BBs in it. If you can keep all the BBs at the end then you will also be keeping the gold in there where you do it for real. Its a really inexpensive and efficient way to build your panning skills. Once you've done that, then go get yourself some material to pan. If you don't have any areas around you that are producing any color, buying concentrates is always a decent option to keep your skills up and get some gold. I would be careful buying concentrates on E-Bay though, I've heard some bad things and seen some pretty piss poor bags that people have purchased.

I live in Cali so I basically live in a large concentrate bag and don't need to buy em, but I'm sure there is some one here that can suggest really reputable people to buy concentrates from. Welcome to the community!

Bluefrontside · Mar 5, 2014

Pan! Pan! Pan! Learn how the gravels and sand stratifi. See how fast and slow you can pan using the bb trick that Lookin4goaled mention. You will be amazed how fast the heavies settle to the bottom. Also get your back muscles ready its a work out! Another trick i have tried was shave of some lead from a fishing sinker and pan for it. Lead is nice and heavy. If you get the lead you will be doing well and will get gold if it is there. Have fun!

bottlecap · Mar 5, 2014

Ok being as I am an avid fisherman and hunter I have a ready supply of small split shot and could easily take apart a shot gun shell, I am almost positive I have some #4 pheasant loads laying around. Is there any way to practice panning in the house? Still pretty cold out and I don't feel like standing in 3 feet of snow. Getting my gold pan ordered today. Someone mentioned they like the Garrett pans? This may sound ridiculous but I actually might have trouble getting any dirt to put my lead shot, or split shots in, we still have full frost here, and like I mentioned full snow cover. Like Lookin4goaled mentioned it probably is a good idea to skip the concentrate and practice with lead first. I will go on you tube today and look at gold panning techniques.

Bluefrontside · Mar 5, 2014

Bag of sand from home depot. Get a horse's grain bucket 2 or 3 gallon with slanted side. Fill with water they are very durable. I will send a picture in a bit.

Jeff95531 · Mar 5, 2014

bottlecap said:
Ok being as I am an avid fisherman and hunter I have a ready supply of small split shot and could easily take apart a shot gun shell, I am almost positive I have some #4 pheasant loads laying around. Is there any way to practice panning in the house? Still pretty cold out and I don't feel like standing in 3 feet of snow. Getting my gold pan ordered today. Someone mentioned they like the Garrett pans? This may sound ridiculous but I actually might have trouble getting any dirt to put my lead shot, or split shots in, we still have full frost here, and like I mentioned full snow cover. Like Lookin4goaled mentioned it probably is a good idea to skip the concentrate and practice with lead first. I will go on you tube today and look at gold panning techniques.

If you're single you can do it anywhere inside :laughing7:

JK YES! All you need is a pan, folding chair and the bathtub!
This is the set I got started on
Garrett Deluxe Gold Panning Kit For Sale - Kellyco Metal Detectors

If you're dirt is frozen, may as well get these as you will need also.
SE 8399-RH-ROCK 11-Inch Rock Pick Hammer - Amazon.com

and this
Amazon.com: Fiskars 7074 Big Grip Transplanter: Patio, Lawn & Garden
Good Luck!

LRC253 · Mar 5, 2014

bottlecap said:
Hello crazy gold seekers! I am new to finding gold and live in Minnesota so right off the bat I know I'm not really in a great spot geographically, however I have heard there is some really fine gold in this state, and I'm going to find some. What are you looking for structurally when looking for gold? A certain type of soil? Rocky creek beds? Large boulders? One thing we do have in this state is a lot of rivers and streams, maybe that's a start? I want to stress here I am NOT looking for hot spots, just trying to get some general knowledge. Thank you for any replies!

I have only 1 season under my belt and haven't found much however I have received the same advice from many guys on here. I spent some time to learn how to use the LR2000/GeoCommunicator reports and maps. This showed me ALL the active and closed claims in my state. This will give you a great idea where people are finding gold and what rivers/creeks are gold bearing. Obviously don't pan on their claim but I would start above or below it.

bottlecap · Mar 5, 2014

Jeff95531 said:
If you're single you can do it anywhere inside JK YES! All you need is a pan, folding chair and the bathtub!
This is the set I got started on
Garrett Deluxe Gold Panning Kit For Sale - Kellyco Metal Detectors

If you're dirt is frozen, may as well get these as you will need also.
SE 8399-RH-ROCK 11-Inch Rock Pick Hammer - Amazon.com

and this
Amazon.com: Fiskars 7074 Big Grip Transplanter: Patio, Lawn & Garden
Good Luck!

Hey Jeff how about I just give you my credit card number and you can just load up whatever you think I'll need :laughing7:

Good advice man.

bottlecap · Mar 5, 2014

LRC253 said:
I have only 1 season under my belt and haven't found much however I have received the same advice from many guys on here. I spent some time to learn how to use the LR2000/GeoCommunicator reports and maps. This showed me ALL the active and closed claims in my state. This will give you a great idea where people are finding gold and what rivers/creeks are gold bearing. Obviously don't pan on their claim but I would start above or below it.

I checked out that mapping site and I guess I'm not really sure if I need to switch layers or what? Looked like they have a typical road map, topo map, and some other stuff but I'm not sure what it was.

Jeff95531 · Mar 5, 2014

I quess I failed to mention...you would want a plastic tote in the tub to catch the dirt you pan out. Less than $5.

goldenmojo · Mar 5, 2014

Bottlecap. The lr2000 can be a little difficult to use at first. It is used to look up claim ownership. What you need is paper map like a blm map that lists township and sections. Then you must know the meridian name of where you are searching. Here in CA it is 21 Mount Diablo. Here we enter that plus township numbers like 9 north, 15 east and then all claims in the township will be displayed. Not Always Accurate! Beware!

GM

Tonto · Mar 5, 2014

bottlecap said:
Hello crazy gold seekers! I am new to finding gold and live in Minnesota so right off the bat I know I'm not really in a great spot geographically, however I have heard there is some really fine gold in this state, and I'm going to find some. What are you looking for structurally when looking for gold? A certain type of soil? Rocky creek beds? Large boulders? One thing we do have in this state is a lot of rivers and streams, maybe that's a start? I want to stress here I am NOT looking for hot spots, just trying to get some general knowledge. Thank you for any replies!

From what I learned in geology class 30 years ago, MN was once covered by a glacier, and that is why there were 10,000 lakes left behind when the glacier receded. Because of the scouring of the earth by the glacier, the gold was ground into powder, and is very fine. If you do some research on where gold has been found before, it will help you find a place to start. (There are two types of glaciation: Alpine and Shield. Alpine takes place on steep mountain slopes, while the shield glacier is flat, and can be hundreds of miles wide. MN was beneath a shield glacier, as was most of the rest of that neck of the woods. It's what caused the Great Lakes as well.)