Gold Can Be Free if You Know Where to Look

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I have a friend who once told me he would never buy gold. When I asked him why his answer was simple. I can just go out and pick it up off the ground for free. It's a very true statement, gold can be literally found just laying on the ground or very shallowly buried if you happen to know where to look.

Over the years I have gone on many prospecting adventures and they are always very enjoyable. You don't always find gold or treasure, but spending time outdoors or even diving beneath the waves is it's own reward! Of course, when you do find some gold it's a lot more exciting. And if you know where to look more times than not you will walk away with some shiny treasure in your pocket.

No one really understands for certain how gold nuggets and deposits form, but there are many theories. Most have to do with hot ground water dissolving gold and then flowing into cooler rocks or crystals (like quartz) where they deposit the dissolved gold. I included a link in my references to an article that discusses the theories in detail. I found it fascinating, but for the majority of you I'm sure it's might not be. But it's there if you want to learn more.

So where does gold come from?

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This is a typical quartz gold vein that holds deposits and nuggets of the yellow metal. Notice the yellowish tinge in the crystals themselves, a pretty good sign there is gold to be found. While quartz is the most common rock to hold gold concentrations it can happen in other rocks as well, but miners typically look for quartz because it's easy to spot since it's white. Not all quart has gold hidden inside, but when you run into many old gold mine tailings you tend to find a lot of quartz in the piles of discarded rocks.

This gold nugget weighed in at just under 2 grams, a respectable size for any gold find. This I found in Arizona in an old wash that was pretty much right on top of the bedrock using my metal detector. You can see how smooth the edges of the gold are indicating that it has been weathered down over thousands of years. It was initially washed free form a quartz vein in antiquity by an ancient river that no longer exists. However, it did deposit many gold nuggets along the bedrock in it's path. The site it came from has a lot of gold, however, I am sworn to secrecy on it's location by the original finder. He invited me along to the site and it is loaded with gold! Sadly, I haven't been out there in years now as it's a very, very long drive from here!

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Now have a look at this gold nugget found in California, unfortunately, I wasn't the lucky finder! It's the same nugget as seen in the header but you can see it's size better sitting in the palm of a hand. It weighs 4.5 Troy ounces and is an absolute beauty. When you look at this gold it's very sharp looking and rough around the edges. There is a reason for that, it only very recently was washed free of it's vein and hasn't had thousands of years to be eroded and beaten smooth like the one I found.

So what does that mean to a gold prospector like myself (or potentially you?) It means that the gold vein it was washed out of is most likely not too far upstream from where this was found. The first thing I would do after finding this is call it a day and head down to lock it up in secure storage. The very next day I would return to the spot and start heading up the river in an earnest search to find the source. If you are able to find it, it could have more nuggets just like it still waiting to be claimed! Or even a potentially workable gold mine, although that is very unlikely. Most veins aren't huge, but they are out there!

I have found several gold veins over the years all in quartz crystals, but they have all been small. Most to the time they have been eroded down to little remaining. However, where there is one gold bearing vein there are likely others so keep your eyes peeled. You might have found a motherlode!

I'm sure this prospector went back and looked for the vein, but I've never heard anything else about the story since. He still may be looking...

If you are interested in prospecting for gold yourself, one of the best ways to get started is to contact a local prospecting community. You can find them online easily and many locally will meet up from time to time. They are a great resource to help you understand what you will need to start out and the best places to search in your local area. Many you invite you to tag along to some promising areas, although it won't likely be to their secret spots that hold lots of gold. Those secrets are carefully guarded among prospectors for very good reason!

That will wrap up my post for this Monday, I do hope you enjoyed it. It's been awhile since I've done a post on gold prospecting or treasure hunting. Both are both hobbies I love and have enjoyed over the years. There is gold and lost treasures to be found all around the world, all you have to do is be willing to research and go out and look. A little luck never hurt either! Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below, and as always thank you for all of your support. It really is deeply appreciated! Have a great week everyone!

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

https://www.geologyin.com/2015/09/how-do-gold-nugget-form.html

Disclaimer

I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!

Gold prospecting and treasure hunting can be dangerous. Never put yourself in a situation that is risky to life or limb, you can't spend the treasure if you're dead.

All pictures are mine unless otherwise indicated.

Canva.com used to arrange my gold nugget photos