The Gold Hunter's Guide to Tracing Hidden Treasures
Chris Ralph, Professional Prospector 26:28
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Prospectors have long known of the existence of residual placers, and methods to find them were practiced during the California gold rush. The old timers knew that when the gold was sharp, coarse and angular that they were probably close to the source. They figured out how to trace the gold to it source using just their gold pans, and a little ingenuity. The method they developed is called tracing or pocket hunting (the equivalent Australian term is loaming).
The methods for pocket hunting are based on the fact that, under ideal conditions, the pieces of gold will form a fan shaped, triangular distribution pattern as they move downhill from the original source. Taking samples from various spots down slope can tell the prospector if he is within the spread of gold particles moving down from its source, or if he has gone too far. The prospector moves uphill, sampling to stay within spread of the gold below the source, continuing upward until eventually the source is located. The downhill dispersion pattern would form a nice fan shaped triangle on a smooth, gentle slope - but real life hills don’t work that way. The steeper the hill, the narrower the triangle of the dispersion pattern will be. The number of nuggets will also tend to be more concentrated near the source - as the gold pieces move down the hill they are dispersed and spread out. The number of nuggets in the dispersion trace will also tend to be the greatest along the center line of the triangle.
For those who want to learn more about Prospecting and finding gold check out my book, Fists full of Gold. It’s an encyclopedia of everything on the topic of prospecting. It’s available on from High Plains Prospectors. (Affiliate) You can find it at:
https://highplainsprospectors.com/products/fists-full-of-gold-book?_fid=ed89c217c&_pos=11&_ss=c&ref=CHRISRALPH
For even more information on prospecting, minerals, gems and other related information you can also check out my website at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/chris_prospect.htm
The Prospecting and Mining Journal magazine can be found at:
http://www.icmj.com
The methods for pocket hunting are based on the fact that, under ideal conditions, the pieces of gold will form a fan shaped, triangular distribution pattern as they move downhill from the original source. Taking samples from various spots down slope can tell the prospector if he is within the spread of gold particles moving down from its source, or if he has gone too far. The prospector moves uphill, sampling to stay within spread of the gold below the source, continuing upward until eventually the source is located. The downhill dispersion pattern would form a nice fan shaped triangle on a smooth, gentle slope - but real life hills don’t work that way. The steeper the hill, the narrower the triangle of the dispersion pattern will be. The number of nuggets will also tend to be more concentrated near the source - as the gold pieces move down the hill they are dispersed and spread out. The number of nuggets in the dispersion trace will also tend to be the greatest along the center line of the triangle.
For those who want to learn more about Prospecting and finding gold check out my book, Fists full of Gold. It’s an encyclopedia of everything on the topic of prospecting. It’s available on from High Plains Prospectors. (Affiliate) You can find it at:
https://highplainsprospectors.com/products/fists-full-of-gold-book?_fid=ed89c217c&_pos=11&_ss=c&ref=CHRISRALPH
For even more information on prospecting, minerals, gems and other related information you can also check out my website at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/chris_prospect.htm
The Prospecting and Mining Journal magazine can be found at:
http://www.icmj.com
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