Real prospecting is a well developed science. It's not a secret either. The problem with the "recreational" prospecting industry is they leave no path from a hobby to actual professional prospecting. This isn't surprising since real prospecting demands a tough education in geology, mineralogy, physics, law, research and analysis as well as traveling miles of rough country sampling, mapping and keeping records. There's not much room in there for profiting off blow moulded plastics, bent aluminum or club claims.
There are several excellent University Masters degree programs available in mining, including prospecting. The United States has some of the best mining schools in the world. Not surprising since we have consistently been in the top three mining countries on earth for well over 150 years. Even today the US is the third largest miner of gold in the world.
Pay the money and do the time and work on learning those skills and you will have the basics to get you started in prospecting. Put in the time and work and be smart enough to listen to those who know more than you and you might just be successful. If you don't have the money or time for school educate yourself. The resources are available. No need to keep thinking prospecting is an arcane art when these schools of mining offer free access to their library and resources to those willing to do the study and research.
School is not the only path for the professional prospector but it's generally the faster path to begin, as I'm sure those who have learned the hard way can tell you. It is just a beginning but a good foundation in mining science will take you further and faster to your first real mineral discovery and give you the skills to define the deposit and know how to mine it. You will also learn that prospecting is an opportunist profession. It isn't all about gold out there, you've probably walked right over other mineable mineral deposits that are worth more than any gold you will ever get with your sluice or dredge.
Back to the hobby prospector... One of the problems with starting out as a hobbyist is that the hobby equipment manufacturers aren't going to tell you that you don't need all that equipment to prospect. Prospecting requires knowledge, strength and stamina. Beyond that your prospecting kit will be under 20 pounds and can for the most part be acquired used on eBay for under $100. Buying a highbanker, drywasher, dredge, blue bowl, spiral wheel and buckets before you find your first speck of gold suits the hobby manufacturers and "prospecting" clubs just fine. They aren't going to tell you that none of that is needed for prospecting and none of it will do you much good when you do finally find a real gold deposit.
Even more hidden is the fact that most hobby equipment just isn't designed to stand up to real mining. If you can't drop a 60 pound rock from six foot on your "mining" equipment and keep mining without a worry you aren't working with real mining equipment. It's a simple fact that mining is a rough business and moving rock is dangerous and destructive work. If your equipment isn't up to the task and well maintained you won't be mining long enough to break even much less make a profit.
I have no problems with hobbyist "miners". I think it's a great hobby that has a lot of potential to educate and enlighten people to the real value of metals and mineral mining. It's good exercise and to my mind much more fun than bowling or watching football or Gold Rush. Prospecting clubs have their place and when well run can contribute quite a bit to the lives of their members. As with any club it's in good part what you put into it.
Honestly it bothers me to see folks find a bit of gold and set about digging for hours or days before defining where the deposit is, what the best way to process it is or what the values are. Digging and processing because there is some gold where you sampled is not prospecting, it's wishful thinking and hopeful dreaming. It's much easier and way more profitable to keep sampling after you find gold and define just where the paystreak is in depth, position and quality. You don't really need to dig a big hole to find out if you are near a good deposit - despite the amateur entertainment provided by the cable TV gold shows.
A lot of times you will discover that small deposits suited perfectly for the small miner are lurking in the middle of ground that others have dug for a gram or two. Find a good deposit before moving material and you will move from the hobbyist to real prospecting. At the end of the day you will have more gold with less work and the satisfaction of knowing that you were successful when so many others weren't. And with each deposit discovered you will gain in precious knowledge and experience.
I think this is what Mad Marshall is trying to convey to you. Small miners in this country have a wealth of opportunity. Small rich deposits abound that are too small for mining companies to bother with but can be hugely profitable for the knowledgeable, hardworking small prospector/miner. Often these are overlooked by other miners too eager to prove that "the more dirt they move the more gold they get". While that theory is true as far as it goes digging in mediocre ground when you might be right next to a rich deposit is a common scenario for the uneducated prospector. Just as common is the practice of digging ground that produces little gold in the hopes of "striking it rich". In my experience digging ground that is unproductive when you could be spending your time and energy looking for a paying deposit is the reason so few hobbyists ever successfully transition to successful full time prospectors. Complaints about club claims being overworked and the rush to dig a claim when someone actually gets a nugget or a good days take are symptoms of the lack of knowledge among hobbyists about the very nature and value of good prospecting.
As you may have noticed this subject is close to my heart. My wife and I hobby mine as well as working with real mining companies - both large and small. We deal with geologists, mining engineers, Schools of Mining and small miners as well as hobbyists and we see that the transitions from one to the other could be almost seamless. Trying to encourage the hobbyist by providing knowledge, good locations and professional quality tools is just a small part of our full time careers but if we could just get this one concept across about the value of good prospecting skills leading to good mining results I would feel a good part of our goals will have been reached.
I hope to soon write a few articles about prospecting methods for the small miner and give you some real world examples. Thats probably going to take awhile. I've got to map a few hundred claims in the next weeks, investigate an old mill site, meet with a couple of forum members to discuss their claim and show them how to define and mine a good deposit, then meet with a Canadian Mining company about mapping their Nevada properties. Some of that actually makes me money and, just like you, I have to make a living. Even so I have put a high priority on sharing some proven prospecting techniques with you - after I earn a paycheck.
I mostly pan as I rarely move allot of dirt rocks being most of my debri. So no real need to set up a sluice just to run a half of bucket of actual dirt. I am confident with the sluice and have used a high banker or two. Anyway I am often seeing threads and vids of how to make the sluice catch smaller gold ect ect.. It seems the SIMPLE and I mean SIMPLE art of sluicing is now a science. I put all my efforts in understanding gold and finding it I spend very little time if any caring about my sluice box and recovering the gold. I am of the thought that the gold dictates the equipment! I am often thankfull that allot of modern prospectors put so much stock in their equipment. More gold for me.... How the waterway's emptied when dredging was outlawed.. dredging seems was the only way some men could find gold!!. I wonder how many men rely on their gold detectors? I wonder how many men would be unable to find gold with out it? My point is if one who really want to be a succseful prospector one must rely on himself! Equipment is the way to recover gold that is it! Now once in a larger scale of mining yes the science will be valuable but for most of us it is worthless and I do mean worthless. Once you start spending your time finding better gold deposits and stop worrying about every piece of fly poop that may be lost I am positive in the long run your gold recovery will go up by leaps and bounds..
lots of good advice on gear and fine tuning
