Finding source of gold on claim

[Jachyrah]

I have a claim in North Cali that I have been working recently and am hoping to get help with some gold specimens I found in one of the smaller ravines.
I am curious to follow the eluvial deposits and find the sources of this gold.
This area has an interesting geology with lots of volcanic rock and iron rich red soil. It has first period ancient river gravels as well as second period volcanic gravel channels passing through, as well as many highly mineralized quartz veins. I have found gold that fit all three of these as sources. Flat scales, chunky sponge looking pieces and small flour gold.
The gold I find most of is fairly chunky and spongy looking to the naked eye. It doesn't appear to have travelled far. Under a microscope the pieces have reddish black globs and lighter red mineralized rock mixed in, one has a small bit of quartz.
I'm trying to figure out as I move up the hillsides hunting the source what type of weathered rock outcrop types I might be looking for based off the photos.
Maybe someone who has found similar specimens or knows more by experience can give me a few pointers. At this point it looks like I should be looking for some highly mineralized quartz with some volcanic material mixed in. I'll try to get more specimens and better photos later too.

 

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[arizau]

I have a claim in Placer County CA that I have been working recently and am hoping to get help with some gold specimens I found recently.
In this region the gold is most concentrated in the modern waterways, but I am also curious to follow the eluvial deposits and find the sources of the gold.
This area has an interesting geography with lots of volcanic rock and iron rich red soil. It has first period ancient river gravels as well as second period volcanic gravel channels passing through, as well as many highly mineralized quartz veins. I have found gold that fit all three of these as sources. Flat scales, chunky sponge looking pieces and small flour gold.
The gold I find most of is fairly chunky and spongy looking to the naked eye. It doesn't appear to have travelled far. Under a microscope the pieces have reddish black globs and lighter red mineral rock mixed in.
Example gold specimens are pictured. I found them mostly in a dry ravine on a hillside that is only really workable in winter.
I'm trying to figure out as I move up the hillsides hunting the source what type of weathered rock outcrop types I might be looking for based off the photos.
Maybe someone who has found similar specimens or knows more can give me a few pointers. I'll try to get more specimens and better photos later too.

An intermediate step may help you find a or the source if it still exists. Search, uphill, both sides of the wash to see if you can find pieces of "float"/gold bearing host rock then continue to where you stop finding it. That is usually where the source is or was.

Good luck.

 

[ArfieBoy]

Those are rough little suckers! Source would seem to be somewhere nearby.

 

[Jachyrah]

Those are rough little suckers! Source would seem to be somewhere nearby.

It appears so. At this point I'm just sampling everything that might be the source. Unfortunately near impossible to work this area in the dry season, so getting time in while I can and there is a little water.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

I have a claim in North Cali that I have been working recently and am hoping to get help with some gold specimens I found in one of the smaller ravines.
I am curious to follow the eluvial deposits and find the sources of this gold.
This area has an interesting geography

Shirley you meant geology, right? Even Mineralogy or Petrology would have worked.

with lots of volcanic rock and iron rich red soil. It has first period ancient river gravels as well as second period volcanic gravel channels passing through, as well as many highly mineralized quartz veins. I have found gold that fit all three of these as sources. Flat scales, chunky sponge looking pieces and small flour gold.
The gold I find most of is fairly chunky and spongy looking to the naked eye. It doesn't appear to have travelled far. Under a microscope the pieces have reddish black globs and lighter red mineralized rock mixed in, one has a small bit of quartz.
I'm trying to figure out as I move up the hillsides hunting the source what type of weathered rock outcrop types I might be looking for based off the photos.
Maybe someone who has found similar specimens or knows more by experience can give me a few pointers. At this point it looks like I should be looking for some highly mineralized quartz with some volcanic material mixed in. I'll try to get more specimens and better photos later too.

 

[Jachyrah]

Shirley you meant geology, right? Even Mineralogy or Petrology would have worked.

Yes geology. Here's some quartz sample I found nearby.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

It would really depend on your actual situation, which we will not ever really know.

Areas known for pocket gold can prove more productive if worked with detectors vs chasing four gold, especially considering the effort involved in moving large amounts of material.

Detectable gold adds up much more quickly.

 

[Jachyrah]

It would really depend on your actual situation, which we will not ever really know.

Areas known for pocket gold can prove more productive if worked with detectors vs chasing four gold, especially considering the effort involved in moving large amounts of material.

Detectable gold adds up much more quickly.

Not a lot of large gold found so far, although the detector would pick up some of the larger pieces. The quartz chunk with the red volcanic material under microscope looks like it could be mineral similar to the type on the chunky gold.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Well like I said, you have to know the geology of your area - we don’t.

Many places it’s a complete waste of time to chase detectable gold.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

There have been numerous decades of published mine reports for every gold district in the state. Take a look at those. Google Books. State mineralogist report

 

[Jachyrah]

Well like I said, you have to know the geology of your area - we don’t.

Many places it’s a complete waste of time to chase detectable gold.

This area is right near Yankee Jim's and Foresthill North Fork A. River drainage if that helps. In Placer County CA

 

[Tesorodeoro]

This area is right near Yankee Jim's and Foresthill if that helps. In Placer County CA

Have you read the state reports on the mines immediately above (assuming your claim)?

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Gold can travel for miles with quartz attached. Ive found some on my claim and the source is far away.

 

[Jachyrah]

Have you read the state reports on the mines immediately above (assuming your claim)?

Have you read the state reports on the mines immediately above (assuming your claim)?

I'll look into this

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Gold can travel for miles with quartz attached. Ive found some on my claim and the source is far away.

Depends on the topography and geological history.

Locally I’m withdrawing a micro glacial deposit. Two periods, but the gold is very local.

Conglomerate from the first period. Least that’s my common sense theory. Gold runs in glacial run off “drainages” which are not necessarily controlled by bedrock and current topography.

Very coarse but no quartz attached even though its source is via quartz associated with the deposits.

The quartz can be stripped in just a couple miles. That’s my theory based on cobble sourced from that local bedrock.

Pocket gold can be ground into slivers from rolling around with coarse angular oxidized (soft) bedrock.

 

[Phil]

Learning how to locate the source of gold is like understanding women.............................There is a great punchline to that joke, but no man has figured it out.

Prospecting will drive a person nuts if you don't approach it methodically. First, don't wander around your claim looking for good samples. Break your claim up into grids of 20' X 20'. Collect at least 20 rocks from that grid.

Crush and pan the rocks, and keep a log of EXACTLY where you found the rock, as well as how much gold each rock has by percentage (For example, 51 ounce rock produced .003 grams = .0001 % of gold per ounce of rock tested). Use percentages because it helps avoid the mistake of getting excited from a few samples................(ONE GRAM FROM ONE ROCK OMG I'M RICH versus Bummer......Only .0004% of gold per ounce of rock).

Move to the next grid. Rinse and repeat. If there is real gold on your claim, you will see a major spike in the percentage. When that happens, take a black and white map of your claim and draw lines of your grids on the map. Then use a red marker on all of the major spikes. In time, you will see a line develop on your map. That is where your gold is.

Or, if you are REALLY lucky, you will have the pure joy of seeing a major spike here, a major spike 1000' over there, a major spike 10 miles over there. At that point, alcohol is a good choice. Or you can find a padded room and put a cork on your fork so you don't stab yourself in the eye.

Good news is, you are in the heart of gold country so the odds are better than others. Bad news is, you are in California. Even if you found the motherlode, hell will have to freeze over before you get permits to mine it.

Sorry. But you need to know that now before spending your hard earned money on a money pit that will never give you a penny back.

But you never know. It's cold, so hell might actually freeze over. And if it does...................I'm gonna mine it.

 

[Jachyrah]

Learning how to locate the source of gold is like understanding women.............................There is a great punchline to that joke, but no man has figured it out.

Prospecting will drive a person nuts if you don't approach it methodically. First, don't wander around your claim looking for good samples. Break your claim up into grids of 20' X 20'. Collect at least 20 rocks from that grid.

Crush and pan the rocks, and keep a log of EXACTLY where you found the rock, as well as how much gold each rock has by percentage (For example, 51 ounce rock produced .003 grams = .0001 % of gold per ounce of rock tested). Use percentages because it helps avoid the mistake of getting excited from a few samples................(ONE GRAM FROM ONE ROCK OMG I'M RICH versus Bummer......Only .0004% of gold per ounce of rock).

Move to the next grid. Rinse and repeat. If there is real gold on your claim, you will see a major spike in the percentage. When that happens, take a black and white map of your claim and draw lines of your grids on the map. Then use a red marker on all of the major spikes. In time, you will see a line develop on your map. That is where your gold is.

Or, if you are REALLY lucky, you will have the pure joy of seeing a major spike here, a major spike 1000' over there, a major spike 10 miles over there. At that point, alcohol is a good choice. Or you can find a padded room and put a cork on your fork so you don't stab yourself in the eye.

Good news is, you are in the heart of gold country so the odds are better than others. Bad news is, you are in California. Even if you found the motherlode, hell will have to freeze over before you get permits to mine it.

Sorry. But you need to know that now before spending your hard earned money on a money pit that will never give you a penny back.

But you never know. It's cold, so hell might actually freeze over. And if it does...................I'm gonna mine it.

Thanks, this is good advice.

 

[Quinc]

It might help to look over the area with a lidar map:

The National Map - Advanced Viewer

apps.nationalmap.gov

Find your claim then check one or all of the boxes on the right. Lots of other settings to play with as well:

 

[russau]

Great advice Phil !

 

[Jachyrah]

It might help to look over the area with a lidar map:

The National Map - Advanced Viewer

apps.nationalmap.gov

Find your claim then check one or all of the boxes on the right. Lots of other settings to play with as well:
View attachment 2190860

Great idea thanks