Gold prospecting in South Carolina

[Cstyle00]

Hey fellow prospectors and treasure hunters. I started this thread to see what people had to say about gold still in South Carolina. I aq'uired a small tract of land in Smyrna, York County. Land has been untouched since the California rush (except the little old lady that lived there since 1912). Basically I'm wondering has anyone ever picked up a nug in SC. I understand that it would be rare and would be quartz, not like a nug found in the west. If anyone knows of the Dixon Mine, Martin Mine, Horn Mine, or Southern Gold Mine which all closed in 1939 I think by Roosevelt because of the war. I'm near there. They were pulling some good size nugs from the myths. So let me know of your stories of gold found in SC.

Using a White's GMT. So far about 20 hrs. prospecting. Digging everything under 85% iron somtimes I dig targets anyway off of fence lines. Slow going lots of nails and .22 cal. bullets in rocky soil. Found a few buttons with no markings and some worn down axe heads about 14" down under large roots. Makes you wonder what happened to make someone be so careless with such a valuable asset of the time. I'm going to search it all of course, consentrating on the tickest areas of the forest first since the leaves are down and try to hit as many ridges and hillsides before summer slows things even worse. I'm detecting the area first then I'll dig some prostpecting pits. What gold have you guys seen in SC?

 

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[sideshowmick]

Oops. That pic is upside down.

 

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[behappyjason]

Nice bro. It's the same over here. I haven't had the chance to get to the stream. Plus the stream not moving much water so it will be hard to get sluice set up to run.
Good job though and the sluice looks big. Lol
I'm glad u got things going for ya keep it up. And dig deep.

 

[Cstyle00]

Wow... I was sitting here and googled finding gold in South Carolina and ran across my own thread I posted almost a year ago. I was almost as excited as if I found a little picker, haha. I never knew anyone replied because I never got an email saying someone replied to the post, I'll have to check on that.

Right after I picked this hobby up my mother passed away so I've just now been getting to where my head is screwed on a little and can get back to prospecting. I'm not looking for sympathy, it's something we will all have to go through if we live long enough. Now back to my new favorite subject, gold.

Thanks to all you great people that posted a reply, no words are said in vain. Where I left it off was in my first post, I was metal detecting for gold. Well I never found any with the metal detector. It really did no good in the creek bed due to all of the black sand, barbed wire fencing, and bird shot. I really only got out with it about 8 times last year and I picked it up about a week ago to get started back up.

I did invest in a panning kit because like Astrobouncer said I may be looking for two large of gold. But that's really what I'm after something that can change our life. I know, like everybody. Well, I can play with the flour gold for now.

Last year I sampled about ten 5 gallon buckets and found about 30 small specs and around 4 or 5 I could pick up with tweezers. My problem is I never bought a sluice box and like everybody my time and money is limited so I kind of been holding off until I can find a better way of getting the gold.

You guys would love to see this old creek bed. It is worn all the way down to bedrock and it looks like a gigantic sluice. When you dig in the crevices the gold just falls off the end of the shovel, I need a suction device as well. You can see mounds of dirt and milky quartz rock all along the stream where the old timers worked before they moved out west for the rush.

 

[davidb]

Sounds interesting you should post some pics of it

 

[southern gent]

Can't wait to see those pics.
As a hobby, prospecting and mining have been awesome. As for profit? Not so much.
I will say that I spent way too much way too soon and that is always a problem.
I should have gotten a good sluice and some classifiers and stuck with that for a few years.
But, it's not too late for you my friend. The good news is there are more local shops than when i started. Inman, Greenville, even in Charlotte. When I first started it was go to Elejay GA. or order from a catalog.
Good luck.

 

[claygold]

Wow... I was sitting here and googled finding gold in South Carolina and ran across my own thread I posted almost a year ago. I was almost as excited as if I found a little picker, haha. I never knew anyone replied because I never got an email saying someone replied to the post, I'll have to check on that.

Right after I picked this hobby up my mother passed away so I've just now been getting to where my head is screwed on a little and can get back to prospecting. I'm not looking for sympathy, it's something we will all have to go through if we live long enough. Now back to my new favorite subject, gold.

Thanks to all you great people that posted a reply, no words are said in vain. Where I left it off was in my first post, I was metal detecting for gold. Well I never found any with the metal detector. It really did no good in the creek bed due to all of the black sand, barbed wire fencing, and bird shot. I really only got out with it about 8 times last year and I picked it up about a week ago to get started back up.

I did invest in a panning kit because like Astrobouncer said I may be looking for two large of gold. But that's really what I'm after something that can change our life. I know, like everybody. Well, I can play with the flour gold for now.

Last year I sampled about ten 5 gallon buckets and found about 30 small specs and around 4 or 5 I could pick up with tweezers. My problem is I never bought a sluice box and like everybody my time and money is limited so I kind of been holding off until I can find a better way of getting the gold.

You guys would love to see this old creek bed. It is worn all the way down to bedrock and it looks like a gigantic sluice. When you dig in the crevices the gold just falls off the end of the shovel, I need a suction device as well. You can see mounds of dirt and milky quartz rock all along the stream where the old timers worked before they moved out west for the rush.

hey im up around char. n.c. everytime i find shot i almost always find gold good luck

 

[southern gent]

hey im up around char. n.c. everytime i find shot i almost always find gold good luck

I once dredged for 6 hrs and found near 2oz of lead. (shot and sinkers) When i cleaned up, just under 3 grams of gold.
If you're finding lead It's working!

 

[Cstyle00]

Thanks that's good to know, makes sense now that I think about it most of the gold I found in the pans did have alot of bird shot. I assumed that just meant I was panning correctly now that you guys mentioned it, why wouldn't the gold be in the same place as the lead in the creek too? Most of the shots and flakes I found were trapped in the alluvial soils, I pulled several buckets from deep cracks and crevices in the bed rock but really didn't find as much as I thought I would. This is what brings me to believe the gold is falling off the end of the shovel and I can't really get to the bottom of the crevice so I assume the gold has worked its way down to the very bottom once it was trapped. I need a suction device but I don't want to spend a fortune before I know it's worth it. Maybe I should rent a small dredge. Does anyone know where to rent one nearby? I thought about running a generator with a 5.5 horsepower shop vac but the idea of getting electrocuted isn't that exciting. Plus I'm taking my generator to the shop next week, plus I'm not sure that would work anyway but the only way I will know is try.

I do have a 6hp Subaru gas engine with a 5/8 inch shaft w/ 3/16 keyway. I wonder if there is a pump I can hook up to this motor?

I'll try to remember to get some pics this weekend and have them posted by next week.

 

[claygold]

Thanks that's good to know, makes sense now that I think about it most of the gold I found in the pans did have alot of bird shot. I assumed that just meant I was panning correctly now that you guys mentioned it, why wouldn't the gold be in the same place as the lead in the creek too? Most of the shots and flakes I found were trapped in the alluvial soils, I pulled several buckets from deep cracks and crevices in the bed rock but really didn't find as much as I thought I would. This is what brings me to believe the gold is falling off the end of the shovel and I can't really get to the bottom of the crevice so I assume the gold has worked its way down to the very bottom once it was trapped. I need a suction device but I don't want to spend a fortune before I know it's worth it. Maybe I should rent a small dredge. Does anyone know where to rent one nearby? I thought about running a generator with a 5.5 horsepower shop vac but the idea of getting electrocuted isn't that exciting. Plus I'm taking my generator to the shop next week, plus I'm not sure that would work anyway but the only way I will know is try.

I do have a 6hp Subaru gas engine with a 5/8 inch shaft w/ 3/16 keyway. I wonder if there is a pump I can hook up to this motor?

I'll try to remember to get some pics this weekend and have them posted by next week.

on this site there is plans to make hand suction devices check them out

 

[southern gent]

That is a wise idea claygold. A bunch of folks have found good gold with a simple hand sucker. Beats the heck outta going broke for nothin.

 

[sideshowmick]

Another piece of pottery.

 

[sideshowmick]

And after 2 more buckets of dirt through my homemade sluice box I found 20+ micro flakes. Im trying to get a good pic but it is proving to be a bit difficult.

 

[southern gent]

Hey sideshow, what county are you in?

 

[sideshowmick]

Im in richland county. Couple hundred yards from Fairfield county.

 

[behappyjason]

And after 2 more buckets of dirt through my homemade sluice box I found 20+ micro flakes. Im trying to get a good pic but it is proving to be a bit difficult.

Hey bro are u digging in the creek or on the bank. I'm finding about the same in both but a bit bigger from the bank. But it's a lot of work to get to bedrock right above bedrock in the coarser clay and sand is where it's at. Good luck and good job bro.

 

[Cstyle00]

As promised here are a few photos from the creek I am prospecting. I didn't get a chance to get to the best places because I was on a hunting trip and did not bring my knee high boots for prospecting. I'll get photos of some great places in the bedrock where you can put your arm down into the bed rock all the way up to your elbow. In these photos you can see how the Creek has worn all the way to bedrock, you can also see in the one photo where it bends and the alluvial soils that have built up. I did pull one 5 gallon bucket of quarter inch classified material from these alluvial soils I have not checked yet.


During our mid day hunting break my son and I did do some metal detecting. We found what seems to be a musket ball that has been shot, I think it from the Revolutionary War but I'm not sure I may post it in another forum tomorrow, I'll post a pic here as well if anyone would like to see it.

 

[sideshowmick]

Hey bro are u digging in the creek or on the bank. I'm finding about the same in both but a bit bigger from the bank. But it's a lot of work to get to bedrock right above bedrock in the coarser clay and sand is where it's at. Good luck and good job bro.

Im digging in the middle of the creek. In the natural rock riffles.

 

[sideshowmick]

 

[sideshowmick]

Im digging in the middle of the creek. In the natural rock riffles.

When you say bigger, does that mean you get some pickers? Im amazed that im finding it this small with the homemade sluice I have. It leaks and everything!! lol.i cant seem to dig to bedrick before my hole backfills. Its all sand and rocks. The banks are clay. I have a gully that comes down hill to the creek,directly from "their" sonic drilling site. I used a backhoe to dig a hole in the middle of said gully. A small one. I found all red clay and a light weight sand below that but I ran out of backhoe. I haven't been back to that hole yet but the mrs reminds me of it everyday.lol. oops there she is now

 

[behappyjason]

Lol. By what I see in ur pan is the size I'm talking about. Wish I had a backhoe. But my little tractor does ok. And I get the same about my hole in the front yard. We should meet up sometime and double team ur creek or at least run my little sluice to see if ur missing anything. If u want we can meet at my place first so I can show u what the mine geologist told me. I'll send u a pm