Gold, Google Maps & Rob's Wife Dawn


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The story starts out three to four weeks ago when I poured over the Google Earth Maps of an area my partner and I have been prospecting. Two weeks ago a nice 3/4 ounce nugget made it's way to detector coil, and with that nugget marked on the map and with Google Earth showing a potential inside bend of an ancient channel 400 yards upstream, my partner and I began our search a week ago. We spent a day or so detecting and came up with over a half an ounce of small gold. My excitement was getting the best of me because the gold was confirming what Google Maps was telling me. Then disaster struck, my headphones died and I was in a jam, so I got online Monday to Rob's store and ordered a new pair, along with a carbon fiber shaft. I was worried it wouldn't arrive, but the next day it was waiting at my front door. With renewed excitement I put on the shaft only to find I forgot to order the lower shaft. Well, quick call to Rob's wife Dawn and the next day it was was waiting at my front door. My thanks go out to Rob's Detector Sales and especially Dawn who went out of her way to make sure I had the parts I needed.

So, back to the story and the search for the elusive yellow metal. With the 5000 ready to go and the stress from work piling up, I decided to head out Thursday afternoon so I could begin early Friday before the heat of the Arizona desert took it's toll. Now for the first half of the day I was alone and I can say there is nothing like being out looking for gold in the beauty of the high elevation desert as the sun peaks out over the mountains filling the valley with an array of colors. To see God's handiwork even here in harsh desert is always refreshing.

Remember back to last weekend where we found the half ounce of small nuggets. I decided to start there and move downstream as upstream was all exposed bedrock. The first hour was three or four small nuggets then a 7 pennyweight nugget and one that 6 pennyweight and by noon I had an ounce of nuggets, and what was interesting is the nuggets were getting bigger moving downstream. It was right after lunch my partner showed up and we ended the day with the second ounce of gold. With that we stopped for the night and then the next morning a faint signal my partner heard and he dug and he dug and 30 minutes later I heard him holler like never before. And as I looked into his hand he was holding a very very large nugget, one that would later weigh in at 3 ounces. With renewed interest we dug for a few more hours and nothing! What started out as finding small nuggets and then progressively the gold got larger and then then 3 ounce nugget to nothing. It's hard to figure out this gold and what makes a large nugget like that one to be where it was, but I'm glad it's resting place was finally found. So the weekend ended with over 5 ounces of gold but just as important as the gold is to live in country where we can go out and search, find and keep our gold and be with friends as it happens.

So today it's back to work and later today I have a conference call which is a great time to take an occasional glance at the Google Maps and figure out the path these nuggets took so many years ago. I and think...I know the next spot to check.

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Wow!

Congrats on finding so much gold. :)

I had a similar situation and it is very exciting.

Big nuggets downstream from little ones, nuggets up on the banks and not in the gut of the creek.

Dont give up on that area.

Take a shovel in and dig off the overburden and detect it again.

Bet you will get some more gold.

If we ever get any more big gully washers....go back and check it again.

Tom H.

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Nice job! I have to Agree with, Tom Excavate the whole area i have found similar patches and they yielded much more deep gold, and huge potential for fine gold deposits too, Great Going!

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Hello Afriscot,

Wow .... that is an impressive haul of gold nuggets. Nothing like finding those larger ones. Just goes to show they are still out there. Thanks for sharing your finds and story here on the forum. Wishing you much more success.

Rodd - Not sure, I know that area has a lot of Caliche exposed near the surface and also a lot of light colored volcanics. I will have to take a look at that area again with Google Earth.

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

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There's a significant caliche area that may or may not carry ... The caliche is the former bottom of lakes and seas that evaporated and placer gold washed down from the mountains above ... There's many rumors about which layer carries at LSD, but they are mostly BS ... Gold is every where there, high , low . etc. .... Mainly you just have to hike your butt off and swing your coil low and slow ... I can't tell you how many patches I walked over years ago then recentlly came back to and slayed ounces ... The cool thing about this hobby is that the equipment gets better at about the same rate that a hard working prospector's skills advance ... Makes an exciting combo ... Cheers, Yer Unc in the Dubyah

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Yes, Arizona gold! High elevation desert gold. We have a fire going on here is Az. and I can smell the smoke though it'll never come down here.

In fact, two hundred yards from last weekends find we hit a place where there was gold laying on top of the caliche. In one area we found 40-50 small nuggets and someone very smart told me to dig through the caliche and go to bedrock. So we did and found a lot more small different gold that must have come from an ancient river millenia before the caliche formed. We even even found black nuggets! manganese coated I was told by this guy who said dig deeper. We eventually got the black nuggets tested and sure enough, manganese. The wonders of gold and ancient rivers are fascinating. If only one could go back in time and see the process.

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afriscot, Nice finds, and I agree, great info too. Ive been using land sat Imagry for some time.

I used to sit up on mountain tops in the old days and try to look for old flows, Old river channels. Anciant floods.

Google Earth is great for new ideas on old areas and I think more people should be useing it to scout old areas..

afriscot finding nuggets like those,keep digging your in an old channel. AzNuggetBob

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Here is some photo's to give an example of what can be done with Google Earth.

I have been trying to solve this mystery for years. I was aware of this huge aluvial fan at the south end of Antelope creek, Arizona for many years.

I could see it from the top of Rich Hill but just could not explain the source?

I have personly explored it, as have many companies over the years trying to figure out the source of this aluvial fan. you can see it in lower left of photo's.

It is miles wide and long, and is different from the local rock types which are granite, schist or gneiss.

The fan consists of randomly scattered types and sizes of alluvial gravels. It is primarily rounded cobles of volcanic cemented ash.

Not layered or classified and tends to convince me that it was formed by a single catastrophic event.

When I discovered Google Earth I could see the old channels that created the fan.(on map #1 and #2 in yellow) that were more than likely the source of the fan. probably early glacial flooding.

If you look at the maps you can see the original channel is an old part of the Hassayampa River (on map in Red) and Rich Hill circled in (light green)

Can we solve the mystery of Potato Patch on top of the mountain? I think so.

Take care all AzNuggetBob

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Hey Bob,

My partner and I had a great time shooting the shit with you last weekend. Sorry we kept you up so late, but you know how exciting it is to talk about gold placers.

The Secret Map you made for me is awesome! Thanks a million my good friend.

When it cools off, lets get 3-4 guys together and go scratch some gold out somewhere new.

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

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Rob

You have always been a great friend.

I consider you one of the best nugget hunters out there and I think it's because

you are always willing to listen and learn and that my friend will pay off in the end.

You and your hunting buddy are always welcome at my house and

I have to say, I have a blast shooting the breeze with you guys and learning some new stuff too.

I look forward to hunting some new areas together as soon as it cools off a bit.

Take care Rob and good luck on your next adventure. AzNuggetBob

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Aznuggetbob,

Rob had told me in the past that he had some of the gold he was finding in that area tested by the guy who wrote the book on Rich Hill. I don't remember his name but tests (spectrograph) I think showed that some of the really ancient gold might have come from the Vulture mine area. Which I find hard to believe as it's maybe 15-18 miles away and the flow is the wrong way. But, we can't imagine what it looked like before the "flood' and or many other events that took place eons ago. Maybe Rob can chime in and fill in the blanks but it is a great question and one we never have all the answers for.

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Afriscot

If you look at page 96 of Eric Melchiorre's book "Gold Atlas of Rich Hill Arizona" you'll find that

the tested gold from pototo Patch is exceptionly high in mercury unlike any other gold found around Rich Hill, excluding some of the nuggets tested from local creeks that has been polluted by the old time miners using mercury in their sluice boxes.

This is key to the black nuggets and nuggets with high mercury in Arizona that have been in

place for an extended period of time (since the early floods) is they seem to attract magneseium like an amalgum.

In time the magnesium/mercury coating oxydises into a maganese coating.(Black)

Black nuggets have been found in several areas of Arizona and probably were deposited around the same time period..

Now as far as the Potato Patch gold coming from the Vulture placers I find that doubtful as I can find no proof that the flooding ever moved from that direction..

AzNuggetBob

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Afriscot

​Here is some evidence that I think will help disprove the Vulture theory. If you ever get a chance to see Potato Patch take a look at the leading edges of the creek bedrock, it has more wear on the north sides indicating the major flow came from the north originally heading south. even though it now flows to the north and west, this is a result of uplift of the mountain as can be seen in the layering of the mountain bedrock. AzNuggetBob

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Hey Guys,

Dr. Erik Melchiorre is a great friend and the author of Rich Hill Gold Atlas, Octave Gold Mine and the original Rich Hill book (co-authors included).

Dr. Melchiorre was at my home about 2-3 months ago discussing some other projects around Quartzsite. We talked more extensively about the "Black Gold" and some new theories on where some of the Rich Hill placer gold came from. There is a theory that a huge River, not even sure of the age, ran South to North. There is another professor that is a "Guru" for gold deposits that is behind this theory. I wish I could remember all the details, but the next time Dr. Melchiorre and I talk, I will ask him again.

I think many of the guys that have spent the time around Rich Hill, like AZNuggetBob and I know there are hundreds of local sources of gold, ranging from small stringers to larger vein structures. I personally have found crystalline gold below some of these sources, so I know this gold is local.

The studies on the Black Gold are believed to be some type of Bacteria growing. I can't say much more than that right now, until the official reports are out.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

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I agree Rob I know of at least three distinct veins running through Rich Hill and countless offshoots and

gold producing stringers coming off these main veins.

As a matter of fact the Johnson mine vein in Weaver canyon can easly be traced back up to Potato Patch.

Same vein.

The Octave,Joker and Beehive mines are all along another vein in the same area. The interesting thing is the karat,color and composition of the gold changes slightly from different outcrops around the mountain as shown by the testing in Eric's Book.

It's just the nature of gold veins.

Gold could be traced back to a distinct outcrop because of these changes. Great Book. AzNuggetBob

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nugget Bob, sorry I didn't reply earlier but have been in Hawaii on vacation. No gold there except maybe rings on the beach. Thanks for the info you posted as I love to read whatever you write as you are legend in the Rich Hill area and beyond.

Rob, I had text you earlier about this weekend and hope to see you up north. When you do come, I would like to show you an area and get your opinion on it as I confident there are still many large nuggets to find.

I know I sure miss the winter months as it's not as fun detecting and digging when it's 110 degrees.

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