FINDING GOLD III (Gold & Sapphires) How To Find Gold!

[DrSluice]

I like to think of the pink ones as not quite "ripe" Rubies. Great video series, Keep up the awesome work.

[miningx]

Simply wonderful and informative videos.

Each and every one of them...

Thank you.

[eklawok]

Thanks for producing these great videos Matt. I am just getting into propecting and I think I have gained more "book knowledge" from your videos that from anywhere else. I hope you do a "Finding Gold XII". What is the best advice that you could give somebody just getting into propecting? Keep up the the good work!

[flagold]

Start slow, learn to research on the net and in the library before setting foot in the field. Try to find the gold locations before you ever get there and save much time and money from historical accounts and reading the gps server maps (topo maps from google, teraserver and elsewhere). Most important, be patient, and realize there's more gold in the adventure than in the gold itself. Best of luck and thank you for the kind comments.

[ussyless]

so, simply the color can determine a ruby or a sapphire?

also thanks for your videos, alot of the places you went were very beautifull, wish there were some nice gold panning/whatnot sites near me =P

[flagold]

That is the determinate factor between the two. Lush red = ruby, all other colors (including colorless) = sapphire.

[ussyless]

arent sapphires blue?

[flagold]

Sapphires are any color but red (ruby), and both are corundum (scientific name). Corundum is naturally colorless but the impurities of chromium or aluminum will make colored stones (a ruby, or sapphire). The one grey area is a pink (pinkish) sapphire - one person's pink sapphire is another's ruby . . . Rubies glow brilliant red under ultraviolet light, the same for pink sapphires (so the same impurity is present (but not the amount).

[mrcool2414]

@flagold i went mining for gold and sapphire and i found alot i dont tell anyone where i find them

[tannerj67]

holy cows!!!! i went there and found like 20 saphires....

[PeaceChannel711]

I love your videos. Thank you!

[blurocks9]

Where were the finished stones found/filmed?

[flagold]

They were at the Gem Mountain mine, also on the West Fork of Rock Creek, Montana.

[TheRockinCactus]

Yesterday i found a huge place of black sands, and some of the black sand areas has alot of gold flakes, amazing find. By the way i collect black sands, so when ever you or anyone you know close to california whats to sell there sands i will buy it. I learn alot from your videos, keep up the great work. I will have to show u a trick i know if you ever come to california. Have a happy new years

[winterborn82]

have u ever searched any feeder streams of allatoona lake ga i've found large amounts of quartz and iron pyrite but have never heard of gold or gem finds

[flagold]

I was going to check that with a boat, but due to the water being so low, couldn't find a way into it. I have not either (heard of finds) but the Etowah is loaded with it and I was going to check the N end where it feeds in. Bound to have garnets in it, they practically all do in those N. foothills. I did find two small (very) diamonds in Holcombe Creek (W of Buchannan) so they may be around too but are very hard to separate at normal dredge speeds for gold. Good luck - much to find in Ga.

[winterborn82]

thanks for the reply and info

[princessfeb11]

omg thanks man, u lived in montana for 2 years. have you ever done gold hunting in ohio?

[flagold]

Didn't live there, but appreciate your enthusiasm for the state - a beautiful place for sure. Have not tried in Ohio, but if you plug Ohio Placer Gold into your search engine one of the links is to Geofact 09 Gold In Ohio and that gives a map of locations. Good luck!

[princessfeb11]

it is beautaful, u should go back by conrad montana and talk to ppl there

[PeaceChannel711]

Supposedly, there is placer gold in Connecticut, too. But I hear there is more in Vermont.

[brandonsauvageau]

@PeaceChannel711

I will be starting to pan in a river in Windham county very soon i will post a vid if there are any findings

[princessfeb11]

was this taken in montana????

[flagold]

Yes it was, on the W. Fork of Rock Creek near Phillipsburg.

[Preciprex]

how do I know in the field if I have precious stones?

[flagold]

Extremely hard to do in the field. All of us who dredge gold have left behind thousands in gemstones . . . That said: with the book"Gem Identification Made Easy" a 10X triplet loupe, a UV light, and a dichroscope you can probably ID 95% of them. Even England's Crown Jewels had a piece that turned out to be spinel instead of ruby, so you can see -- it's not easy. #1 tip - if something looks "different" "pretty" or has a defined (octagonal, etc) shape -- take it home where you have time to ID.

[Antrieb530]

Anyway, a stream (about 3-6 feet wide) runs through her property that comes right out of where this prospector shaded the map of where he thinks the gold was. What makes this story even more interesting is that I asked my mother about the stream and if she ever found anything. She said that when she was a kid she used to find find tiny pieces of what she thought was gold or fools gold in the stream. My question to you is how do I get started in my search of this stream?

[flagold]

If you watch Finding Gold 1-5 you should have plenty to find gold. Finding Gold V has how to work the inexpensive equipment, Finding Gold II and Finding Gold IV will give you a decent primer on reading (this one too).  I would start off light (just a pan, or sluice) and if you find a concentration go from there.

[Antrieb530]

Hi Matt I have a crazy story for you.

I'm a college student and I recently remembered a story my grandmother told me when I was a kid. She told me she found a map on one of her hills where she lives in the Adirondack park (Fulton County) NY. The map was found about 30-40 years ago and must have been dropped by a prospector. The map was of her property and about 10,000 acres of surrounding property (she ownes 150 acres).

[megamonster5]

Did you build your suction tube or buy it somewhere. It's neat and I want one.

[flagold]

You can get those through Alaska Diving & Mining, Keene Engineering, The Lifestyle Store, and many other places. Its use shown again in Finding Gold 5.

[RatkoUSA]

Thanks Matt! Can't wait to try out what I've learned!

[flagold]

Best of luck! There is also a mine (Gem Mountain Mine where you can buy bagged gravel and it's excellent but take it home to work it (with a wheel is best) as you'll lose 50% of your sapphires trying to do it on site (by eyesight) not far from where we filmed this (W. Fork of Rock Creek near Phillipsburg, Montana).

[harryoutdoors]

I've been looking at a few of the mines where you can buy gravel from the gem & gold mines. I'm wanting to get some of this for my daughter and I to check out.

Do these bags and buckets pay off with real gems and gold? Have you ever found more dollarwise than you paid?

[flagold]

The only bag I've ever bought was from Gem Mountain (sapphires). Had I known what I know now, I'd have simply bought material from the mine, rather than dig and dive for two weeks (both Larry and I were physical wrecks afterwards) -- it is that good. I have not bought any material from anywhere else, so can't say about others, but with Gem Mountain, it was very good (40 sapphires in the bag I bought -- separated with the gold wheel when I got back).

[subtle0savage]

Excellant video. I'm up in Canada (Ontario). I've often noticed, while doing northern camping, how many different stones are in the creeks--how do I actually identify what's valuable in all that goo?

[flagold]

We all need a guidebook. Several ideas from my website (hit flagold - then go there). There is no telling what valuable gems I've thrown away while looking for gold (and the gems are worth much more) in the early years. Another way to find out is buy a stream sluice and let it seperate them. The heavies will stay in the sluice and should deserve a hard look.

[subtle0savage]

By 'heavies' I assume you mean all gems and metals. Where I go there is a *lot* of quartz, much of it quite varied in color. Looks like I need to do a lot of reading to know how to filter it all out. Thanks for the tip about your site--I'll check it out today.

[flagold]

Correct. Specific gravity is the key to understanding how things drop and concentrate. A true gemstone (and certainly lead, platinum, gold) will drop right through that quartz and settle in riffles. Generally, with gems you either use a slower water flow or longer sluice to give them time to drop. With the non-motorized shovel stream sluice, you'll get the gems and gold. Good luck out there!

[subtle0savage]

How much of the gold and gems are encrusted with other materials? ie, quartz? Where I go in northern ontario it's impossible to drive to... so all prospecting equip. will be what I can carry. Are there telescoping sleuces? Ones made from foam? Gah! Too many questions! :D Still, asking an expert saves me having to read a hundred books! Love the net for being able to access people who are not only masters of their field, but keen to share it.

[flagold]

Yes. Enter: Alaska Mining & Diving Supply click "mining supplies" click "sluice boxes" for many of the types. Keene Eng., LifeStyle Store, and many others sell them. Unfortunately, they can be encrusted, and you'll never see most gems without water. Of course, if it were easy, they'd be worth nothing since we'd find them all and flood the market.

[walshy93]

thx

[toastedfart]

Thanks for the info, long story short he quit his 25 year job because of back issues, but has been selling antiques on ebay for 20 years. He's done a lot of research and hopefully will embark soon, and I'm hoping to give this a try next summer to pick up a bit of money for college. I'll certainly tell him about your site (which I found helpful) and see what he has dug up. Thanks again!

[flagold]

Best of luck to you both with the adventure!

[walshy093]

any pointers for manual panning? much appreciated..!

[flagold]

At the end Finding Gold II there's some panning. The secret to panning is screening everything down. Put some feed-store screens in your 5 gal bucket 1/2 in, 1/4 in, 1/8, and screen off the big stuff (look at it too). Anything big you'll see right away. The smaller materials will be much easier to pan. Good luck!

[toastedfart]

All your videos are very informative, I love watching them. I've been researching this for a while now because my uncle, who just quit his job in Michigan, is going to try this and Antique selling (he's been doing that for 20 years) full time now. I'm located in Maryland and he's in Michigan, I was wondering if we should start in either of our states or check out Georgia first?

[flagold]

Very few do this full-time, because there is a steep learning curve (takes about 3 years to really become proficient (in my opinion), and it is seasonal (you can't do much most places in the winter). That said -- it is an excellent second income and certainly a rewarding and adventurous hobby for many. Georgia has good gold (as does) NE Alabama & N. Carolina. Take a look at some of the Gold & Gem location books - do a lot of research before starting the car . . . Good luck!

[flagold]

That was one I bought from AK Mining (Keene Engineering Label). A lot of people make those (and you can make them yourself of course), a lot of plans on the I-net for them. Glad you're getting some info from the videos. MM

[thundernotes]

Any plans online for the PVC dredge tool I saw you using?

[flagold]

Many. Plug: gold sucker tube into the search and they'll come tumbling out. You can buy them also: Alaska Mining & Diving Supply, Keene Engineering, Proline Mining, The Lifestyle Store, and many others. Some of the books I've got at my website (under the gold/gems link) have them too, but you'd have to wade through them. The #1 most cost effective tool though, is still a simple A52 sluice (Keene makes it) for moving a lot of stuff and a decent shot at gold/gems.

[thundernotes]

Very informative. I may have to pull out my Dad's old panning kit and try my hand at it!

[flagold]

Thanks for the KUDO's. There is very good gold in Vermont and Maine (nuggets) if you're the Thunder I think you are. From what I've seen, they are some of the most pure on earth (more so than a gold coin).

[thundernotes]

Yeah, that's me. My Dad has had some success, but I'm not sure he knows all the techniques.  Funny how finding gold is so similar to aerodynamics.

[flagold]

If I could only figure out who Sarah Jessica Parker was so easy . . .

Usually if a person is good at fishing, they're good at picking gold locations in the streams. The fish look for areas just out of the current and the gold deposits there too. Don't forget those pretty rocks though, each one can be worth $300-many thousands, they're much more valuable than the gold. They collect in the sluice, pan, or dredge too.

[blumtn]

Hey Matt, thanks for sharing another great video! I watch them multiple times because there is always something I missed that is important. I always look forward to new emails from you to, since you are always doing something most of us can only dream of doing. Thanks again, and be careful out there, don't let the bears or mountain lions get you! Hope to see you on a creek bank again some day soon, and share another camp fire... :-)

David (Bluemountain)

[flagold]

Glad you enjoyed it and got something from it. If those big DEF rallies did nothing else, they sure brought a lot of us together for long-time friendships and adventures.

[riverbender]

More fine work Matt! You really cover a great deal of the different aspects of prospecting, and you do it in an entertaining, informative way.

Thanks,

faaus

[flagold]

Appreciate the "attaboy!" Let me add some things since the youtubes are so short (the dvd will cover it all): there are sapphires in all the benches, rivers, and gravels in the Sapphire Mtns. The difference is in the quality of the material. All the gravels below Helena in the Missouri River also contain sapphires.