New Prospector

[roadrunner]

First time posting on a forum so forgive any typo's ahead of time.I am a new owner of a gold bug II handed down from another family member who had to give up due to health problems.Was curious as to if anyone has heard of or had any luck finding color east of the Death Valley area of northern Nye County/Southern Esmeralda County Nev. I know that most of the gold in this area is fine alot of hard rock mining, but has anyone ever heard of any nuggets? I'm aware of northern Nev. " Rye Patch " area and some between but this far south I'm not sure, alot of alluvial not alot of bedrock.There where alot of rich ore's found and mined Ryolite Nv, Goldfield Nv, Tonopah Nv back in the day late 1800's up to present in Round Mtn. further north,but have never read about any finds in this area nugget wise.Hoping mabey Grandad was right " Gold is where you find it "

[FlakMagnet]

PViper...

You might try this forum link. It's a Nevada prospecting forum that has some of the information

you're looking for.

http://nevadanuggethunters.myfreeforum.org...de4c1809b9ab5c7

good luck,

[eodseal2000]

Hey Pit Viper, gold is where you find it!

Gold is almost anywhere and a lot of erosion has taken place since the old timers first scratched the surface with their picks.

Alot of times when driving down a road I see a nice quartz vein in the cutbank and ask myself.."I wonder if the old timers would have mined that quartz if they knew about it"

ALan

[dave wiseman]

If all you have is hardrock mines there should be some tailings and waste dumps left from those mines and your machine is supposed to be real good on quartz species that may be hiding in those dumps.Believe that 29prospector who posts here has had some success with his gb11 on dumps...Alan,why not take a quartz sample once in a while instead of wondering and never knowing what you've passed up?....Dave

[29prospector]

Pit Viper,

29 Prospector here. I have a GB2, and use it to check mine dumbs, my placer diggins and the tailings from my drywasher. The areas you ask about I'm not familiar with but when hunting mine dumps most rules apply to all. Always check the hillside below the mines also. The biggest problem your going to run into is the hot rock problem or for that matter any rock that sits off the detector.

The first thing I do is clear an area about 3'x3' and make sure that its clean, by that I mean the detector does not see anything. Ground balance your unit there. As you find pieces put them in a bag and when your done with the dump go back to your clear area. Test each rock, if it beeps sit it aside. Do this til all rocks are tested. Next do a visual check and if neccessary use your loop. If nothing is found yet the signal from you detector is strong keep it so that you can crush it later and pan the material. Seems time comsuming, but the reward is worth it.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[rexb]

PitViper,

Where you're talking about around Round Mtn. there is a placer just south of it called the Manhattan Placers. Here are a couple links that discuss nugget hunting in that area:

http://nevadanuggethunters.myfreeforum.org/ftopic120.php

http://nevadanuggethunters.myfreeforum.org/ftopic65.php

Rex

[whats4supper]

You might try getting a map with Sylvania Canyon and Palmetto on it. Palmetto was a pocket gold district, and many miners were able to scoop up free gold from rock cavities. word up it's being drilled by Golden Valley Gold, a branch of Placerdome. They've found some pretty rich areas. get there before they set up shop. great for detector hunting and crevassers. some of the gold is like the texture of steel wool and really valuable (and rare!), the rest is like regular rough placer in eroded vugs(cavities), openings of which can be found on the surface that extend downward. However, most of the gold in such cavities will have a crystaline texture (triangular-like) that puts its value much higher as specimen gold, than average placer gold nuggets and the like.

There are areas farther south, but the Death Valley Rangers will pick you apart. Bill Mann of Barstow fame, has a book about the mysteries of Saline Canyon, hotsprings, and gold placer hot spots. The area is remote, and no services for at least 100+ mile radius. The regular entry to Saline Springs/ canyon is via a dirt road just east of Lone Pine. The southern terminus comes out near Darwin. No gas, no stores, no cellphone service, make sure that what you ride in is dependable and take along a few parts, first aid kit, and most certainly, a buddy!

Palmetto is north of the Lida Road, and encompasses the area northward to Silver Peak. Pigeon Springs, (look for the old stone base of the stamp mill south of the highway) is slate, and there is gold there. But follow it south for 10 miles, and it will open up into Tule Canyon, which was a monstrous placer mine. there are old rockpiles near the head of the wash, and some drift mines up on the hillsides which may be worth checking out. I wouldn't waste time and gas following the road much farther south than the old shop foundation on the flat, before you have to dogleg back down into the canyon, but the upper sides along parts of the cleaned out area do produce some nice flat gold, sort of brassy looking.

I found about 30 or so pieces about 3/8" - 5/8" in diameter, but the area is rugged and a lot of climbing around up on the hillsides (it sure would be nice to have a drive-thru, and skip all that exercise). I did find one quartzy rock in the boulder pile at the head of the wash, sort of 1/2 mile before you reach the clean zone that has visible gold streaks (veinlets), but the damn thing weighed nearly 110 pounds, and wasn't all that easy to get back to and into the truck. Of course, I wasn't about to just leave it there neither.

If you gas wasters decide you want to go father south (hey I know what I am- curiosity got the goat), you'll still be in the tule canyon wash 20 miles down, and pass the old gold mine town of roosevelt. Has an old windmill, and the mines on are a ridge to the west. May be a good place during the fall. Stay on the road south until you get to an old cat dozer (the wash gets to be really loose gravel and sandy) at the base of an old mine/prospect. Take the road up the hill, just south and east of the dozer, and hang a right at the first fork, then follow it south and east for about 15 miles. You'll then be in a wash (desolation I tell you, and probably 150 miles from the nearest cow or rancher) where there are no recent tire tracks. Follow that (do you have a choice? NO) until you come to about the 3rd intersection. Cutting back to the left will put you at the Stateline Mine, or follow the road NE to put you into Gold Point. 1 telephone, 1 bar with cold beer and food, auto parts for any 1920's rig, and maybe some gas (buy from the locals).

Speaking of gas stations, there is one in Dyer, and one in Goldfield, and two in Beatty, and more in Lone Pine. I don't know if Silverpeak has a gas station. So take some cans with your own and plan well. Gold Point is about 45 miles from Goldfield, and 145 from Lone Pine. Palmetto puts you about 50 miles from Dyer, and 75 miles from Goldfield. Roosevelt puts you about 100 miles from Dyer and 120 from Goldfield. As far as I know, only Goldfield and Dyer has Cellphone coverage.

There are people that live around out in these areas, but most are leery from being jacked around by outsiders. A lot will answer the door with the rifle barrel aimed at your head. The customary method of knocking is to stay in your car, roll the window down, but not so far down that the guard dog can jump in and bite you, and honk your horn 2-3 times in short honks. wait about 5 minutes, and honk again. If no one comes out, leave while you can. If someone comes out, stay in your car and wait for them to invite you out before you get out. Don't get out if you're not invited out. A lot of these people are friendly, but out of jack arounds, have to follow protocol to be safe®. Don't go on with small talk- GET TO THE POINT and ask what you need to know.

Hope this edit helps you a bit more. The last paragraph is about etiquette Nevada-wide, and in some isolated areas in Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and possibly elsewhere.

Of course, if you want souvenir bullet holes (not the decal types) in your truck or torso, feel free to follow your own rules and test the waters....

[whats4supper]

I added a few words for the benefit of anyone who read the previous post and wanted more information. sorry for the inconvenience