GOLD PROSPECTING STARTS AT THE OFFICE

Serious gold has been found in about 3 out of every 5 states in the US.  While there is still untold amounts of gold to be found, however, it’s not as easy as it was in the 1800′s to find open land to prospect.  You can jump right in and start fishing through streams for a cache, but it can also be a risky and disappointing way to go about any serious prospecting.  There are a few things to consider before loading up the mule and heading off to the mountains that will greatly increase your odds of success – and decrease your odds of ending up in court.

.Just because a mine or claim is no longer worked does not mean that the gold is gone.  That particular property, however, might still be off limits to hunters.  Public lands are not always a free for all gold prospecting areas, either.  Some public land contains claims and other areas are off limits to hunting at all.  Some areas are restricted hunting, meaning you can use a pan, but not a dredge or sluice, or other equipment.   If you are thinking that you can just slip into off-limits areas and slip out without notice, you are taking one healthy risk to your wallet or freedom.   By getting some research under your belt before diving into the creeks with your prospecting gear, you can avoid not only fines, arrests, or being shot for claim jumping, you can also get a pretty good idea where your best bet is to find a good productive placer.  The search for records can be time consuming, but it is a “must” do for anyone serious about gold prospecting.

While you will want to know the ownership status of the land you wish to hunt, it’s not going to do you much good to hunt if there isn’t a decent amount of gold to be found in the area.  While you may have heard that gold can be found just about anywhere, a few flakes dropped by glaciers aren’t really going to make a hunt worthwhile.  You should start your search by studying mining records to find areas from which good amounts of gold have already been found. State Bureau of Mines offices will have information about mining in the areas you are researching.  Remember, thousands of people already have searched the country for gold.  You aren’t likely to make much headway in new and untouched territory.  Your best bet is to stick with known territories. While some people believe that areas that contain mines are tapped out, this is rarely the case. Gold in these areas still works its way down into streams and forms placers downhill from the sources.

The city office in the area you are researching will have records of current mining claims as well as records of claims that are now abandoned.  Once you study these and are content with pursuing prospecting in an area, you will want to do another bit of study.  The BLM offices have maps containing land status plats that show the ownership of public lands. Their offices also have mining and mineralogy maps. These offices are where you find out where you are free to prospect.
Claims  become abandoned for many reasons.  Some might be abandoned because the area had been worked until the claim quit producing.  Others may just have never been fruitful in the first place.  Others could be abandoned due to other difficulties that the owner encountered, such as inability to get to and from the claim, illness or death, and a myriad other reasons.  If a claim is abandoned and the land is open to prospecting, you might be able to pick up the claim for a low price and continue work on it. If it has been a considerable amount of time since a claim has been worked, it may contain fresh gold which continues to wash down into placer areas over time.

Local assay offices are sometimes willing to provide information about their own records of gold assays from local area claims, although sometimes you will be charged for records searches.  If the claim produced gold recently enough, someone in the office might just even remember that it produced well.

A bit of geological study about gold is always a good idea for those who are extremely serious about prospecting, too.  What you learn may just help you identify “new” localities near the older, known ones.

While these studies can be time consuming, most areas have several months a year (in some places most of the year) which are not suitable for hunting in the field so these are excellent months to do your “indoor” prospecting.

Once you have the information you need about open land and available claims, you are then ready to go out into the field and try your luck in the 2011 Gold Rush.

Written By: HeySal on January 20, 2011

Eureka! Best vacations for treasure hunters

Making money while on a vacation isn't a common occurrence, unless you get lucky on the slots. But if Vegas isn't your style, don't worry — you can still come home from a trip with your purse a little fatter. 

 There are legends of pirates' buried treasure that was never found, gold that has still been seen in California rivers and caves in the Midwest that abound with jewels and gems of all kinds. Although treasure-hunting vacations may not make you millions, there is a good possibility of finding diamonds or gold — and even if you don't, looking is half the fun.

Chances are you won't be disappointed at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, an extremely rare diamond site where you get to keep what you find. Most diamonds found are less then one carat and not big enough to be cut, but many visitors take their winnings home as souvenirs or have them made into jewelry. There is the occasional large find: In 1975 a whopping 16.37-carat rock was found. Finding bling of this size is rare, but it depends on how hard and deep you look.

Besides mining for diamonds, lots of other gems, including emeralds, aquamarines, garnets, rubies, amethysts and sapphires, are still buried deep in the mountains. At Gem Mountain in North Carolina, gems of all shapes and sizes have been found, some large enough to be cut and set in jewelry. Visitors can dig through real gemstone flumes with the help of mining experts, while comparing their findings with friends and family to see who has the biggest and best.

Kay Buchanan, owner of Gem Mountain, says, "People love the idea of treasure-hunting because it's like gambling. You're always hoping for the 'big' find. It's something that everyone can do, young or old." A real, operational aquamarine mine is also open for tours, and guests can watch miners search through the rocks for precious gems.

With the price of gold skyrocketing these days, panning for gold like the 49ers did during the California Gold Rush may be best way to strike it rich. Gold mining trips available through the California Gold Co. take willing participants to Woods Creek, one of the richest creeks in California, which still yields a good amount of gold.

Although the heyday of gold mining is behind us, gold can still be found in Woods Creek, one of the richest creeks in California. Day-long gold mining trips take participants into the beautiful woods surrounding the creek, where adventurous miners can dig, sluice and pan for gold.

 

 

The chances of finding gold are very likely here, and you can even keep what you find (up to a half-ounce). Rob Goreham, founder of the California Gold Co., thinks the reason people like mining so much is the thrill of finding gold. He says, "It doesn't matter the size of what is found, people are just excited to be out there searching." Expert gold miners lead the trips to help with the digging, sluicing and panning for gold.

The areas surrounding California Gold Country offer all different aspects of a gold miner's life, like real working mines that are open for tours and gold and silver mining towns that can be explored. And after a long day in the mines or at the river, you can cap it all off at a saloon with a sarsaparilla.

Speaking of gold, you might be able to find a lost buried treasure among some old pirate islands. One in particular — Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada — has many legends surrounding what's buried deep

Speaking of gold, you might be able to find a lost buried treasure among some old pirate islands. One in particular — Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada — has many legends surrounding what's buried deep in its caves. The mysterious Treasure Pit (also known as the Money Pit), reportedly houses booty from the 18th century. No one knows for sure where it may have come from, but a few theories have been suggested.

Even though this treasure hunt has been going on for more than 300 years without a single cent being recovered, excavations are conducted by determined groups who hold a Treasure Trove License in hopes of recovering an unforeseen amount of money.

And while tourists can't explore its treasure sites by themselves on any given day, each year a festival, Explore Oak Island Days, is held where everyone can join in on the fun and legend of the Oak Island treasure.

So whether you love the legends or the jewels, a treasure hunt is the type of "working" vacation even homebodies can get behind.