I have the fever....but not the location....Im in Minnesota!

[bottlecap]

I have the fever....but not the location....I'm in Minnesota!

Hi guys I have gold fever....bad. I recently went to a gold and treasure show here in Mn and bought a bag of pay dirt, a pan and a couple classifiers, I have panned most of the bag and gotten some great gold out of it, I am hooked for sure. I have been kicking around the idea of diving into this hobby for quite a while and I think it's time to try my hand. After talking to some of the folks at the treasure show I know there's gold in Mn for sure but it seems to be pretty fine gold. Has anyone heard of people finding any flake type gold around here? I would think there has to be a chance that not everything is flour gold but maybe I am just being too optimistic, I am not talking about finding nuggets or anything, just stuff you can see without a microscope.
Doing that first pan and at the end swirling that last bit of dirt and seeing all of that warm colored gold smiling at me in the corner, I can't get enough! The pay dirt I bought was from Alaska so it's really good stuff, I just thought it would be good first time practice and it was.
Also what do you folks recommend for retrieving the really fine gold? I have read a lot of threads on here about it and everyone seems to have a different opinion. I am extremely grateful to any of you that reply and take the time to read this! Thanks!

 

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[camocreek]

Hey just thought I would jump in here since I'm from MN, I haven't done a lot of prospecting here, mostly travel out to Black Hills and Wyoming but I'm excited to see the pics of what's come out of the Duluth area (that's where I'm at) Looks like I need to get out locally a little more!

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Hey just thought I would jump in here since I'm from MN, I haven't done a lot of prospecting here, mostly travel out to Black Hills and Wyoming but I'm excited to see the pics of what's come out of the Duluth area (that's where I'm at) Looks like I need to get out locally a little more!

Have you tried Lake Superior black beach sands?

 

[Capt Nemo]

Here's what you get from Lake Superior black sand. Lot's O Fines! The big chunks on the right are from Gold Rush paydirt. (playground sand with a little gold) The fines were from about a 1/4 yard processed with my Model 4 recirc fluid bed. Can't wait to get up there with the Model 5!

 

[B&E prospecting]

Very nice Nemo. Always good to see color!

 

[camocreek]

Have you tried Lake Superior black beach sands?

I haven't yet, need to find a good spot I suppose.

 

[Capt Nemo]

I think you could find black sands anywhere there's sand on the beach. I've found sands from Silver City to Whitefish Point in the UP. Look near the waterline for redish purple to black. The red areas are garnet over the black. Don't be afraid to dig down from any dark patch, as you'll find a layer who knows how thick. The gold above came from a layer about 2" thick below about 10-12" of overburden. There may be a thicker layer even deeper, or mixed in with the cobbles. Close to the waterline, the cobbles are exposed, and that might be something to focus on as the waves like to move those around a bit, and drop the gold deeper.

 

[Sagewood]

Figured I'd dig up this topic as there is alot of Minnesota folk. Newbie member here, located in Duluth. Been panning some of the locals streams around town. Havent found much, but my time panning has been limited. I heard someone say Miller creek has gold, I'll probably be check that out this weekend.

 

[Mdts]

I am new here too and live in St. Cloud MN, I have been wanting to gold prospect since I was a teenager. Recently rebit by the bug after a trip to Colorado. I have been thinking of making trips out to black hills or Michigan to do some prospecting. If anyone else would like to maybe join together to make trips I would be up for it. I run my own business so taking a few days off preferably over weekends is easy to do. I have been looking to explore MN too other than superior has anyone found anyone interesting spots. I have been thinking of testing out some of the gravel pits in the area and some of the rivers too.
I am looking into purchasing some equipment soon other than my pan. If anyone is interested in getting together or just chatting let me know.