Finding Gold Atop of the Ground

[OreCart]

I am not sure how rare this is, but today I came across a stream that had gold you could see without digging. I thought that was kind of cool.

It was small gold, specks and pickers, but at first when I started seeing it in the stream, I thought maybe I had shoveled in that area a few minutes before. I did not remember digging there, and before today, I have only been to this stream once, and test panned at the bottom of the hill; and this was halfway up.

But then under a fallen log I saw a picker, and three specks, and I KNEW I had not dug there. I took some pictures, then headed for home to see if Katie could verify what I was seeing. But going home meant climbing out of the ravine.

Partway up the hill, the ravine turns, and the stream crosses a level area that is real rocky. In the silt just under the water, it glistened just with gold. Mostly specks, but definitely gold.

 

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[OreCart]

This is how small the stream is. It is pretty teeny...

 

[OreCart]

This is the picker I found under the fallen log (but spanning the stream like a microbridge). The picture looks out of focus, but I think it is the water rushing over the gold picker.

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

This is how small the stream is. It is pretty teeny...

View attachment 1707440

May I ask what county of Maine you are in? I don't want to ask you the specifics of this stream. I am originally from Maine and get up there a bit to see my mom. I tend to do prospecting in Kennebec County. My gal and I are making the push to move back to Maine next year and I. CANNOT. WAIT.

8 years in Massachusetts is 9 years too long here.

 

[OreCart]

This is the flat, silty area. It looks like an oil sheen, but I think it is just the camera penetrating the water in the center, and not on the outer edge. The water does move here, but very, very slowly.

 

[Underburden]

oreCart, You really have to make yourself a viewing box. It takes the curse off the water surface and will improve your photos and vision of the creek bottom. Here's a few examples of photos taken through one of my viewing boxes. You can pick up the clear "storm door/window" plastic at your local hardware store. I place an eye hook low and centered on one end and use a 3' cord and an old trailer ball as an anchor. try it...you'll like it.
Bob

 

[OreCart]

oreCart, You really have to make yourself a viewing box. It takes the curse off the water surface and will improve your photos and vision of the creek bottom. Here's a few examples of photos taken through one of my viewing boxes. You can pick up the clear "storm door/window" plastic at your local hardware store. I place an eye hook low and centered on one end and use a 3' cord and an old trailer ball as an anchor. try it...you'll like it.
Bob

I will have to build one. I see ProspectingBC on youtube did a nice 20 minute video on youtube on how to build two of them out of ABS Pipe. It would be another thing to haul around with me in my backpack, but it would make underwater photos a lot better.

As a side note, in my excitement of finding that particular stream littered with gold atop of the ground, I should have known that as poor as Maine is with gold quantities, this happens all the time in places like California, Nevada and Alaska, so it is no big deal.

That is one of my biggest problems, all I know is THIS area, so when I find something unique like this, or PGM's, I get excited.

I do apologize to everyone for my gold-giddiness! I had just never seen gold glittering on the ground like that before.

 

[delnorter]

Finding a lot of gold on top of loose streambed material hasn’t ever happened to me in quite a few years of prospecting here in California OreCart.

In you’re case the depths of the streambed may hold even more gold for you. Do you have a picture of a cleanup of the gold from the surface layer?

Mike

 

[Goldfinger450]

That spot would be easy to work with a Big Sucker tube, a hand dredge.

 

[et1955]

I have to agree with Delnorter , gold on top unless it is on bedrock does not happen, pics of the gold in your pan would prove it happened. Mica always fool people and even on bedrock there is material that will cover the gold, gold sinks.

 

[OreCart]

I have to agree with Delnorter , gold on top unless it is on bedrock does not happen, pics of the gold in your pan would prove it happened. Mica always fool people and even on bedrock there is material that will cover the gold, gold sinks.

It could possibly be mica, as I certainly am not so assured of myself to think that I could not be fooled by "fools gold", but I do not think so in this case. It is right on top of bedrock; the gravels being maybe 2 inches deep.

This is what I think happened though, but I would be interested in what you guys (and gals) think if this could actually be the reason.

I logged this area 16 months ago, (January 2018) and as I did, I pulled out wood with my skidder fairly close to the stream. As I clawed my way up out of the steep ravine, the stream changed direction, and I crossed the stream before going up a really steep embankment. Being really steep, and hauling big twitches because it is so far away from the log landing, I did a lot of spinning with the skidder. I think in doing so, I churned up a lot of dirt, not to mention cords and cords of wood being dragged along the ground churning up the forest floor even more.

Since that was 16 months ago, that would mean this would be the second spring freshet that stream has endured. Water rushing down off the steep embankment probably had gold in it, which would have been dislodged and put into the stream. Now, with two freshets passing over it, the light soils have been washed away leaving the gold which has not had a lot of time to settle in.

Bedrock is right on top of the ground, but I am not sure that has so much to do with it. Due to the steepness of the ravine, and because I was really sick with cancer, I never logged much where the stream is, but did cut a lot above the stream. (It was a 40 acre clear cut).

If this is indeed the reason, then I have a significant lode source somewhere nearby which is good to know, but finding it is going to be tough because the of all the logging activity. Between the feller-buncher and skidders, I churned up a lot of soil.

 

[OreCart]

Here is a satellite photo of the area. I drew the stream in blue, with an arrow where I found the gold. You can see the forty acre clearcut (which will eventually be another field). The stream makes a pretty sharp turn as soon as it enters the wood, which is why the clearcut stops; it gets pretty steep and drops down into a ravine.

 

[Nitric]

Orecart...Either way....It sounds like a fun thing to explore!!! My land doesn't have any Gold....But if I ever even found one speck? I'd turn into a gofer and have the whole place dug up. My wife found one little fossil and we spent hours and hours of wasted energy looking for more!!! Gold? We would both go insane and dig with rock tools and sticks if we had to. haha


Added...Also, if you didn't want to build a box, something simple,cheap,light, is a snorkle mask, or diving mask. Even if it's out of the kids section of walmart. you can hold it in your hand and look right down or take pics through it. Generic, but will work.

 

[OreCart]

Orecart...Either way....It sounds like a fun thing to explore!!! My land doesn't have any Gold....But if I ever even found one speck? I'd turn into a gofer and have the whole place dug up. My wife found one little fossil and we spent hours and hours of wasted energy looking for more!!! Gold? We would both go insane and dig with rock tools and sticks if we had to. haha


Added...Also, if you didn't want to build a box, something simple,cheap,light, is a snorkle mask, or diving mask. Even if it's out of the kids section of walmart. you can hold it in your hand and look right down or take pics through it. Generic, but will work.

I have a pretty good plan I think for this farm.

I have done some extensive test panning in the area and have found gold in 75% of the places I have checked. I never make a sample location claim that there is gold unless it is confirmed by a second person. And of course I have been getting assays done on potential lode gold, so I know gold/silver/pgm's are here.

These sample locations are all put into a computer based on Lode, Placer or Eluvial, then graded for a host of different aspects, and then placed into a computerized chart that scores each location, and lists them highest to lowest.

I still have more places to check, and am waiting for 4 assays to come back on lode locations right now, but also plan to do a 1/4 mile trench this summer to see just what I have for quartz veining running across one of my fields. I have already made arrangements for geologists to be here when that occurs.

At some point, just like I did with my forests where I had a team of foresters draw up a Forest Management Plan, or a team of Agronomists to draw up my Grazing Plan, I will have to bring in consulting geologists for a mining plan. It is a significant investment, but I am excited too because unlike a Forest Management Plan, or Grazing Plan, that changes every ten years/five years, a mining plan is more long term. Even if I do not act upon it in my lifetime, it will be information for next generations to build off from.

For me, mining is like hunting. The fun part is the hunt; it is all hard work once you pull the trigger.

 

[Goldwasher]

If your not sure... it most likely isn't gold.

Again a pic in the pan will help.

In the field do the light test.

Gold does not glitter. Cast a shadow over it and it will still have luster. If the light plays with it and it gets dull in the shadow it isn't gold.

 

[mytimetoshine]

50 posts a day... still no gold...

 

[OreCart]

If your not sure... it most likely isn't gold.

Again a pic in the pan will help.

In the field do the light test.

Gold does not glitter. Cast a shadow over it and it will still have luster. If the light plays with it and it gets dull in the shadow it isn't gold.

Yeah you are probably right, it was not gold. In fact I am going to go with that, no gold where I live. Nope, nothing to see here, keep right on moving along!

 

[et1955]

OreCart, we are here yo help you.

 

[Goldwasher]

Yeah you are probably right, it was not gold. In fact I am going to go with that, no gold where I live. Nope, nothing to see here, keep right on moving along!

well you asked I guess.

Or informed. All I saw was a blurry picture figured it was maybe bigfoot.

never said there was no gold where you live. Just hoping to see some in a pan.

If I read correctly there was a picker even.

The list of people who have posted what they were sure was gold here...when it wasn't ,

Its a long list.

Was just helping with ways to ID.

If you want to assume that I assume it isn't gold thats fine.

I never said it for sure wasn't...

But my burlap windsock.... is moving my thoughts that way.

 

[CDCGoldProspecting]

Interesting... seeing gold on the surface like that. I have seen gold on rocks and stuff. I probably need to make a good viewer thing too for underwater viewing.