Gold Prospecting In Quartzite Arizona
The SPMA has a large claim just north west of quartzite. Some years back I found a nice 1/4oz gold/quartz nugget just a few inches under light sand. This weekend, using a Minelab 4500, I found a nice (but tiny).02 gram picker. Also found this other grayish metal object. It does not look like bullet lead and not sure if it’s just trash. Any opinions?
Arizona gold nugget prospecting
gold prospecting
Gold Prospecting Mother Lode California
gold prospecting
Gold prospecting story was send in by Rick, one of our subscribers:
A good friend of mine discovered a creek that apparently was overlooked by the 49′ers. I call it Nugget Creek. The creek is about 20 feet wide in an isolated canyon in the Mother lode. He literally goes sniping in the 1-2 foot deep water with a homemade PVC sight tube and some tweezers and finds an oz a day of 3-7dwt nuggets that are found only in the center of the creek (the paystreak is only in the center of the creek).
75 Onces of Gold Nuggets Found
Gold Nuggets
With the spot gold price hovering around $950 an once, the popularity of weekend gold nugget detecting is increasing. Keep in mind, just purchasing any Big 5 metal detector does not guarantee your success. There is a tremendous difference from a basic metal detector and a White’s TDI or Minelab 4500. The Minelab costs around $4,500! Sound expensive? You bet! But, here is a 5.36 oz Nevada gold nugget found recently with a Minelab metal detector.
As most gold is mined as fine gold dust, like diamonds, the nuggets are worth a premium over the spot price, and the larger the nugget, usually the higher the premium. Most nuggets found are usually a gram or less. However, if you have the right equipment, know how to use the detector and are in the right area at the right time, you could be as lucky as the fellow who found a 32.2 oz Alaskan gold nugget.
If you think of it as your hobby and get out to the right areas, those nuggets can really add up. The photo above is 75 ounces of gold nuggets accumulated over three to four years by a retired Arizona resident with a Minelab gold metal detector. These nuggets were found in AZ, Mexico, CA , Montana and Nevada.
Yes, gold detecting is a hobby that can make you serious money.
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California Gold Nugget Prospecting Equipment
Gold nugget prospecting mostly in very remote areas, so, it really pays to be prepared. We show some of the basic items one needs when heading out to prospect for gold nuggets.
