I’m always intrigued by stories of Spanish mines, because there are stories of Spanish and Mexican mines stretching from North Georgia to California.  Some of these are obviously more myth than fact, but some, like one in Southern Colorado, apparently existed, but has been completely lost to history.

There is no doubt that the Spanish were able to establish and run successful mines from Columbus on, but nailing down the location of Spanish mines in the United States is always problematic and I am always dubious about these “lost” mines.  For one thing, knowing how much the Spanish conquistadors loved gold, it is hard to imagine that they would not have been able to fight and defeat the native peoples anywhere that they really discovered rich Gold deposits.   Conquistadors didn’t take kindly to lost gold flakes much less lost gold mines.   

However, this classic essay on the early days of the California gold rush by Donald Cutler discusses how little attention the pre-Sutter gold strikes in Mexican California actually generated.   I knew that their had been some significant finds in what is today Los Angeles County, but I never realized how large the strikes actually were. 

 Anyhow, here is the-discovery-of-gold-in-california 

 Strike It Rich!

Charlie

Below is a link to a 64 page document about placer mining from about 1880. I believe it is from the United States Bureau of Mines, but I didn’t see anything that said for sure.

However, it is a great document that every gold miner should read, because it has information on the big and small placer gold mines operating at the time in twelve states and the Dakota Territory. It is important for a modern gold miner to remember that those old timers found only a tiny percentage of the gold in place and recovered even less.

So if there was a paying gold mine in a given area in 1880 that’s a great area for you to prospect, because you know the paydirt is there. It’s just a matter of finding it and with modern gold mining technology it is a lot easier to find than it was when you didn’t have anything but a shovel a pan and burro.

The document also points out where gold miners might encounter diamonds, rubies, and other precious minerals.

Here’s the LINK.

Strike It Rich!

Charlie

Underwater Gold!

Underwater metal detectors like the, Viper Trident are an especially useful tool for modern prospectors, because they allow you to search for gold in areas that were off limits to small-time prospectors until just the last few years. The Viper Trident is a great choice for anyone thinking about an underwater metal detector, because it is only $299.

Streams draining the rich Mother Lode region in Northern California — the Feather, Mokelumne, American, Cosumnes, Calaveras, and Yuba Rivers and the Trinity River have concentrated enormous quantities of gold in gravels, known as placer depsotis, over the millennium. It was discoveries in these rivers that started the great California gold rush in 1849 and literally tens of billions of dollars worth of gold has been extracted from the shallow parts of these streams.

But many stretches of deep water are simply UNTOUCHED by prospectors. Sometimes old time prospectors did build dams or canals to open stretches of deep water to prospectors, but that was a difficult, expensive, and time consuming task. Later they used gold dredges, but these are also expensive and traditional gold dredges were limited mostly to navigable bodies of water. Even today’s modern lightweight suction dredges are difficult to transport into many areas and often hard to use in more than ten feet of water.

So, there are hundreds of miles of California river and lake bottoms that are almost as virgin as they were before the strike at Sutter’s Mill. That means that there are undoubtedly some large gold nuggets simply lying untouched in the dark waters waiting for someone with an underwater metal detector, like this Garrett Sea Hunter.

And using an underwater metal detector doesn’t require you to be a master scuba diver, because any stretch of where a river is too wide to dam or divert that runs more than four feet of water year round is almost certainly virgin or near virgin territory. However, if you are already a scuba diver it allows you to really get into unexplored territory with underwater metal detectors like this Minelab Excalibur II.

Of course, the nice thing about underwater metal detectors is that you can also use them on land for any job you might have and some of the high end underwater metal detectors Fisher CZ-21 Pro , which works down to 250 feet in depth, are real gold detectors too.

This is truly the golden period for prospecting with underwater metal detectors.

Where to Use your Underwater Metal Detector

Streams draining the rich Mother Lode region–the Feather, Mokelumne, American, Cosumnes, Calaveras, and Yuba Rivers–and the Trinity River in northern California have concentrated considerable quantities of gold in gravels and where the water is deeper these are good areas for the use of underwater metal detectors.

In the eastern United States, placer deposits have been discovered in streams draining the southern Appalachian region in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, and these often deeper streams and rivers are great areas for the use of underwater metal detectors. Many saprolite (disintegrated somewhat decomposed rock that lies in its original place) deposits in this general region also have been mined by placer methods.

You can’t hear it too often. Gold mining equipment has to be tough and durable, because you are usually too far out to simply run to the store if something breaks or needs replacing.

However, the one piece of basic gold mining equipment that prospectors often over look is education. Gold mining is simply too much work not to be prepared. There’s a lot of good information on line, but we also recommend the book section at Black Cat Mining.

Most basic gold mining equipment, pans, picks, shovels, and other gear for outdoor expeditions changed almost none from the earliest days of the California gold rush until the last decade or so.

However, since about 1980 there have been several advancements in basic mining equipment that are really significant.  Some of this like underwater metal detectors and suction dredges were developed specifically for gold mining, but some of the gear that can really make you more productive and more comfortable is general outdoor equipment.

We recommend Uncle Sam’s Army-Navy Outfitters for general outdoor gear, because they sell high quality, often hard to find outdoor gear at amazing prices, and they offer great customer service. A lot of their gear is made to military specs and that is the sort of toughness that can come in handy for a prospector.

Clothing:

Gold mining, at least in most of the United States, has traditionally been a brutally cold business. Remember, miners often stand in ice cold mountain streams for hours on end. Except for the summer, when going barefoot is more fun, you need a good pair of rubber boots, but if you are trying in the fall and spring a good pair of insulated socks are necessity.

If you are going to try to run your dredge until the stream freezes, you probably should consider a pair of heated sock from Uncle Sams. Heated socks are almost the only way to keep your feet warm all day in a freezing stream, because most rubber boots are not insulated. Thermal underwear are another good idea in the winter, but remember you can’t afford to get dressed so heavily that you can’t move easily.

In the summer clothing is a much simpler proposition. Outside of Canada or Alaska you probably don’t need rubber boots and electric socks, but you might want to buy a good pair of river sandals or water shoes, so you don’t cut your feet on the jagged rocks.

Gold Mining Tools:

Basic mining tools are pretty much the same as basic landscaping tools, but they need to be extremely well built and easy to pack into remote locations. Look for picks and shovels with fiberglass or steel handles. Maybe you never get fired up enough to break the handle of a shovel doing yard work, but we you hit a hot spot with a lot of color it is easy to get carried away.

Camping Gear:

Depending on just where you are going you may not need much camping gear, but in many areas you will need a full range of camping gear. You can probably find everything you need at Uncle Sam’s Army Navy Surplus Storeat prices you just can’t.

Anyone wanting to become a full-time miner should probably head north to Alaska, because there are vast areas of Alaska where prospectors with modern gold mining equipment have never set foot. In fact, one of the biggest advantages that modern Alaskan prospectors have over their Klondike Rush ancestors is that bush planes, four wheelers, and snowmobile make it much easier to transport modern gold mining equipment and other supplies to remote back country locations.  So, you can spend more time looking for gold and less time looking for food.

However, some of the best areas for modern prospectors may be in Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas on the East Coast and in Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada in the Rocky Mountain region, and Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the Pacific Northwest, because all of these areas had significant historic production, but have not been mined as intensely as the California gold country. So, if 90% of the gold has yet to be mined in California, 95% or more has probably not been mined in these states.

Also, there are a handful of states like New Hampshire, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Tennessee which have had very limited commercial production, but have never had a huge strike.

If I was betting that’s where I would bet that the best chance for a huge strike to occur, because there is gold in those states. That’s a fact, but it is probably not as accessible to primitive production as in other states.  These are mostly states with small, well-worn mountain and any large viens are probably buried deeper in the more gentle terrain.  Remember, in the West it was the erosion that made the gold there obvious.  The Appalachains just aren’t steep enough to reveal their riches so easily.

Also, it is just not as much a part of the culture, so people may actually not recognize the signs of gold.  Remember, it was the small contingent of Union soldiers from California that first discovered gold in Maryland, because the were nearly all miners.

So, if prospectors really begin to carefully work those areas with modern equipment, such as gold detectors, there is a chance to really hit something monutmental.