Chrisman91 Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 I am wondering if anyone can tell me if this area would be a potentially promising place to nugget hunt. There is an area of about 6 square miles of land on and around a dormant cinder cone that is covered with this exact same type of soil/quartz mixture. The whole area is made up of what I believe to be decomposed granite and schist; plus all the quartz. There are hundreds of granite outcroppings with large veins of this quartz running through them. Is this the type of quartz and rock mixture that could potentially yield gold? What makes these quartz rocks have these black spiderweb-like lines in them? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLundy Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Chris,Every goldfield will have different indicator rocks to look for. Just because the area has plenty of quartz in the area doesn't mean gold is there. I don't know if your in the hills around Barstow with these photo's, but I know there is some gold in that area to be found. I'd visit a known gold producing area around these photo's and find the different rocks types that are found there. Schist is always great to see, maybe some green rock, with a sprinkling of quartz on the ground and iron stones (hotter the better). I'm not a big fan of granite, but I've never turned a nugget away found around the granite and local country rock contact dyke zones away. Good luck and we all know your enjoying your hobby of prospecting as we are.LuckyLundy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Chris,I would say that is very worthy of a day or two of prospecting.Those black lines in the quartz are probably ironstone, (do they sound off on your detector? Remember when you see veined quartz like that, those veins could have just as likely be filled with gold.I have have good luck in close proximity to old dormant volcanoes. They indicate at one time there was enormous ground activity and molten metals moving around.Look for areas where the quartz has decomposed to the size of rock salt, and then start checking the gullies around these areas.Lucky is right when he says look for a "sprinkling" of quartz. I love it when I see contact zones and the green stone tinged granite. Find areas where the dirt is a deeper red than other spots, this indicates your greatest areas of mineralization. Also look for trumpet plants.Trumpet Plants grow in iron rich soil that is similar to where gold will be found. Now I have hunted a lot of places that have trumpet plants and I have never found gold, but in Gold Basin and Barstow, when you find gold look around, and you will see trumpet plants growing nearby.Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutch john Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 I agree with LuckyLundy... and now I know his secrete... More then being "Lucky"he knows his stuff. To add however, there could be freemilling gold veins within the quartz associated with granite county rock... such as is found south of Barstow and in the Lane Mountain Area. And the schist that is shown in the lower left can carry epigenetic gold... the dark colored material which appears to be in a brecca(?) as it is broken up, is just ferromagnesian "black sand" minerals which are common accessory minerals, known a "ironstone" but may not contain associated magnetite... simple check with your magnete... I also agree with DOC as he is also an highly experienced gold detectorist with the gold to show for it and like DOC says give it a day or so. (Howya doing DOC?, ol Jim Straight here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisman91 Posted August 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Chris,Every goldfield will have different indicator rocks to look for. Just because the area has plenty of quartz in the area doesn't mean gold is there. I don't know if your in the hills around Barstow with these photo's, but I know there is some gold in that area to be found. I'd visit a known gold producing area around these photo's and find the different rocks types that are found there. Schist is always great to see, maybe some green rock, with a sprinkling of quartz on the ground and iron stones (hotter the better). I'm not a big fan of granite, but I've never turned a nugget away found around the granite and local country rock contact dyke zones away. Good luck and we all know your enjoying your hobby of prospecting as we are.LuckyLundyHi Lucky,Thanks for responding. These pictures were taken in an area about 60 miles ENE of Barstow. I have been out to the hills around Barstow (Coolgardie Area) several times with no luck. Drywashing there delivers good amounts of gold, but I have yet to get lucky with a detector out there. I don't know for sure if this EXACT location was a gold producing area, but I do know that there are numerous abandoned gold and silver mines all around the place within a couple of miles or so. I am definitely enjoying the hobby. I relate it to being a young child and running down the stairs on Christmas to see a tree chocked full of presents....and every one of them that you open is empty!!! If you open enough empty ones over the years, sooner or later you will find one with the new action figure in it that you have been begging for. Makes it all that much sweeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 There is another 'rule of thumb' the old timers used;Pay attention to green, red, white and black rocks.If you have any combination of the three, look closer...Good luck,Flak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisman91 Posted August 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Chris,I would say that is very worthy of a day or two of prospecting.Those black lines in the quartz are probably ironstone, (do they sound off on your detector? Remember when you see veined quartz like that, those veins could have just as likely be filled with gold.I have have good luck in close proximity to old dormant volcanoes. They indicate at one time there was enormous ground activity and molten metals moving around.Look for areas where the quartz has decomposed to the size of rock salt, and then start checking the gullies around these areas.Lucky is right when he says look for a "sprinkling" of quartz. I love it when I see contact zones and the green stone tinged granite. Find areas where the dirt is a deeper red than other spots, this indicates your greatest areas of mineralization. Also look for trumpet plants.Trumpet Plants grow in iron rich soil that is similar to where gold will be found. Now I have hunted a lot of places that have trumpet plants and I have never found gold, but in Gold Basin and Barstow, when you find gold look around, and you will see trumpet plants growing nearby.DocDoc,As usual, I greatly appreciate your words of wisdom. Now that you mention it, I have not seen a single Eriogonum Inflatum plant out there at all. BUT...when I was walking the area I did notice in just about all of the gullies and cuts from the flash flooding, there was TONS of black sand. Seriously, most of the gullies looked like someone took a black magic marker and colored a thick line down the middle of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hi Jim!Nice to see you on the forums from time to time. Hope you are well my friend!DocI agree with LuckyLundy... and now I know his secrete... More then being "Lucky"he knows his stuff. To add however, there could be freemilling gold veins within the quartz associated with granite county rock... such as is found south of Barstow and in the Lane Mountain Area. And the schist that is shown in the lower left can carry epigenetic gold... the dark colored material which appears to be in a brecca(?) as it is broken up, is just ferromagnesian "black sand" minerals which are common accessory minerals, known a "ironstone" but may not contain associated magnetite... simple check with your magnete... I also agree with DOC as he is also an highly experienced gold detectorist with the gold to show for it and like DOC says give it a day or so. (Howya doing DOC?, ol Jim Straight here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted August 15, 2011 Admin Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hey Chris, About 5 years ago a few partners and I started prospecting some new areas that were not really known for gold, or at least any type of productive that was listed in any bulletin, book or research material. Without a doubt, the more mineralized the area the better potential for gold, silver and copper. That being said, I couldn't count how many spots we found many ounces of gold, some places pounds where the ground was barren looking, minimal amounts of quartz and just traces of black sands. The old saying, Gold is where you find it" is pretty damn true. However, I would go with the odds and search out locations or places near known gold and silver deposits and search for there. P.S. Remember Quartz is the most abundant mineral on the surface of the Earth, so quart alone don't get me too excited. You start getting mineralized quartz, iron stained soil, iron stones, contact zones and some intrusions all in the same area, I'm much more exited to explore! Just my thoughts,Rob Allison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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