Where does gold come from? with AZ Nugget Bob...

[weaver hillbille]

Ah.... where does water go when it "pours out of oceans?"

Down into the cave in that Arnie Saknussen followed in to the center of the EArth

[homefire]

I ain't got much faith in all these star theories...too many theories, not enough facts...if you want nitty gritty..you have to go all the way back to when the 1st star was born, and I can promise you, that won't ever be found out. All kinds of theories are proven wrong or modified each and every year. The problem with most theories, they're not conclusive, they are just pure speculation as to what might have happened back in time.

Man can not Brake Gold. He can only move it around and float it. We figured out how to Make it but it takes the powers of a Star to make it.. With a few million dollars of energy we can make a few atoms of it. Same with Plutonium, Radium and Osium. As the Myans said, it's Tears from the Sun.

[49goldrushtradingpost]

My gold comes from the ground that I dig up when my detector goes Beep the rest I don't care about. How it got there and who or what made it...really makes no difference as to the amount one will find. But I do enjoy the theories.....

[AzNuggetBob]

The known areas are easy to find, the virgin patches are a little tougher to find. thats were geology comes in handy. AzNuggetBob

[H-2 Charlie]

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22904141

gold study

[Dakota Slim]

Here's a link to an article about the earth's 10 largest known craters from comet, meteorite and asteroid strikes. As you read about them, think about the fact that these are all on land. How many have landed in an ocean? My guess is at least one hit in the Pacific and it (or they) created the ancient channels found in the Mother Lode and elsewhere in the northwest.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11489673/Largest-ever-meteorite-crater-found-in-Australian-outback.html

[homefire]

Ok so Gold was scattered over the Univers by a Super Nova. Gold and Quartz deposited in Fractured Rock making Stingers ,Seams and Veins. They say the Temps of the Carrer waters was like 600F. What Carried the Gold? Only a few acids can strip ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxAHKv7AX8E

[AzNuggetBob]

Dakota Slim

I agee, I mentioned this earlier on this thread. only about 30% of the earth is dry land, at least today. so by sheer odds there must be many more asteroid and meteor craters under the ocean. another thing is the earth has climate weathering that along with subductive tectonic plate movement slowly reclaims itself swallowing old crators under the ocean and eroding old crators rings flat on dry land.

Homefire

The smaller a gold particle gets the dynamics change and the easyer it floats in solution. It takes high strength acids to seperate or break down gold from itself or some other elements, but if the gold is already finely devided into smaller particals it only takes weaker acids with higher temps to seperate it from host rocks into pregnant solutions and be carried and deposited into small cracks,fissures,faults and veins. as the temps fall/cool and the PH changes from acidic to more alkaline as it rises toward the surface it re-deposits.

AzNuggetBob

[weaver hillbille]

Ok so Gold was scattered over the Univers by a Super Nova. Gold and Quartz deposited in Fractured Rock making Stingers ,Seams and Veins. They say the Temps of the Carrer waters was like 600F. What Carried the Gold? Only a few acids can strip !

Don't forget the tremendous pressures that solution is under. Solubility increases greatly under pressure: temperature and acidity aren't as critical as they would be under normal atmospheric pressure.

Edited March 24, 2015 by weaver hillbille

[AzNuggetBob]

Weaver Hillbille

you may be correct in some situations, but if high pressure was always necessary than a cyanide leach mine wouldn't work.

AzNuggetBob

Edited March 24, 2015 by AzNuggetBob

[Steel Pan]

Just saw a show on the history channel.

UC at Irvine has been able to "create" gold using mercury under neutron bombardment for a 24 hour period.

They came up with 1/3 of a penny weight at the nominal cost of $200 per hour or $4,800.

Just think, 1 penny weight would bring in $14,400.00

Gotta love science.

[Au Seeker]

Just saw a show on the history channel.

UC at Irvine has been able to "create" gold using mercury under neutron bombardment for a 24 hour period.

They came up with 1/3 of a penny weight at the nominal cost of $200 per hour or $4,800.

Just think, 1 penny weight would bring in $14,400.00

Gotta love science.

I need to get in touch with them, I will sell them some gold for half that price, save them a lot of work and money!!!

[weaver hillbille]

Weaver Hillbille

you may be correct in some situations, but if high pressure was always necessary than a cyanide leach mine wouldn't work.

AzNuggetBob

Roger Wilco ,10/4. I am a good "assumer".

..... page 15 of "Advanced Prospecting and Detecting for Hardrock Gold" , ( what a great book!)

by Jim Straight states,

..

"(top of page) Geological studies have indicated that most epithermal veins formed less than a mile below the earth surface, commonly within 1/2 mile. THus they have formed under low pressure and within temperatures estimated to be from 50 to 200 degrees centigrade."....................

and

http://goldinvestingnews.com/13150/an-overview-of-epithermal-gold-deposits.html

."A few characteristics distinguish epithermal deposits. These deposits are found near the surface and mineralization occurs at a maximum depth of 1 km, but rarely deeper than 600 m. Due to their shallow depth, it can also be noted that epithermal gold deposits form under moderate crustal temperatures of 50-300oC, and under medium pressure. These deposits commonly occur in island arcs and continental arcs associated with subduction. However, they can also be found in shallow marine environments and associated with hot springs. Due to their shallow-depth location, epithermal gold deposits are more susceptible to erosion; accordingly, these deposits represent a high-grade, easily mineable source of gold."

....

and http://goldminingandprospecting.blogspot.com/2011/03/epithermal-g

Epithermal deposits occur in three different phases depending upon how much sulfur is present in the epithermal water. Deposits of this nature are classified as high sulfidation, intermediate sulfidation and low sulfidation each of these types of deposits are identified by their alteration mineral assemblages, occurrence, texture and in some cases are even identified by the associated element. Pyrite is the most common of these minerals, but you can also find mercury, antimony, arsenic and tellurium. Included in this suite it is also possible to find the base metals copper, lead and zinc as well as gold and silver. Gold and silver may be alloyed together as the alloy electrum. old-deposits.html"

"

[AzNuggetBob]

What is your point? Weaver Hillbille. I said high pressure is not always necessary? assumer? Ive set up and ran LARGE drip cyanide gold heap leach mines, how about you?
although the temps are critical in the stripping process. AzNuggetBob

Edited April 12, 2015 by AzNuggetBob

[weaver hillbille]

I was agreeing with you and quoted from the 'bible', even.

My quotes and links back up what you were stating.

' I am a good assumer'- not you.

I'm sorry if you thought I was talking about you.

I guess you assumed, too

Or am I assuming you're assuming?

Edited April 12, 2015 by weaver hillbille

[AzNuggetBob]

Dang I guess Im just to tired. sorry. AzNuggetBob

[AzNuggetBob]

Agreed, Jim Straight's books are great books. AzNuggetBob

[weaver hillbille]

YOu assumed ,that I assumed, that you assumed the fact that gold can be formed in low pressure systems. And that I assumed you were wrong.

I assume.

Ok , I assume that's beat to death...

Dang I guess Im just to tired. sorry. AzNuggetBob

[jim straight]

Howdy everyone. it is really a nice day here in Rialto. I really thank all of you

for the nice words about me... I really appreciate it. weaver hill bille's post

#188 really summarizes epithermal hardrock and associated high-grade placers.

I have been interested in them most of my adult life and the more I think I know,

the less I know as there is more technical information being published.

My best to all and keep this great thread 'where did the gold come from' My Best

to all... jim straight

[AzNuggetBob]

Where does gold come from?

I think its time to get into finding the sources of gold here on earth.

there are a lot of different ways to recover it. (detecting my favorite) drywashing, wet washing.Im going to concentrate on detecting, but dont forget about the lode!.

Im going to through out some tips and hunting techniques that have worked for me. once I found a run of nuggets bleeding out of a three foot deep bank.may be a vein up above the wash that had been hit hard with detectors and by the old timers but they missed this.

I noticed all the gravel in the hole with the nugget and the nuggets where very well rounded,looked like beach pebbles. so I dug a trench into the bank/bench and followed the pebbles and found it was a very old or ancient channel andall the nuggets were lined up in a strait line and all on bedrock in a groove and very smooth slugs.

It a was a very old covered over part of the wash like and old bench. most all the nuggets were in the 1 gram-1 oz. range. very little small gold.

If I hadn't noticed the smooth pebbles in with the nugget I probably would have just walked away with that one nugget. the channel only ran for about 20' thru the bank and re-emerged back into the present day wash with some bedrock in between.

In my opinion there are only a few absolutes in nugget hunting but you can sure up your odds of being successful by learning more and you'll leave less gold behind.

Its kinda like black sand. it doesn't always have gold in it, but their often found together.

(indicators) follow the indicators. learn to follow the source. use this to find the patch or and sometimes even more importantly the source of the patch, (Lode). Ive found patches from the dreaded 1 nugget patch to several pounds a day. the one nugget patches suck because they get your hopes up and you end up wasting a lot of time on them.

but you never know unless you hunt them out. I have dug off small washes to get depth advantage but if your going to do that you may as well drywash it.

I generally I hunt for patches with a gold bug, less fatiguing and I'll hunt longer and cover more ground or the patch is shallow picking up the easy ones.

deep gold or ground to hot or if I suspect theirs gold there but to deep for the gold bug I'll come back with the minelab when necessary,.

most of the small patches are the result of eroded small stringers of quartz with gold.

the large patches are erosion of larger veins or vein pockets. most of the large patches Ive found were on medium to almost flat ground.

small 3-10 small nugget patches are the most common.again these 3-10 nugget patches if their small nuggets they are usually from stingers or the just outside the fringe of a mineralized zone.you also need to determine whether the gold is from

primary or secondary precipitation based on host rock of the gold if still present in the nugget or the area host rock to help find the source.

On an almost flat patch when I find the first nugget,

I slow down and hunt in a ever widening circle and after hitting a few nuggets a pattern will begin to form and can give

me a general direction to hunt,and size and scope of the patch.at that point I like to stop take a look around me and get a lay of the land so to speak and consider all the variables.

the shape of the ground can also influence the direction but Ive also found patches that don't line up with present day topography.

is there very smooth gravel present with the gold? is the gold coarse or smooth.

Are the nuggets coming out of a bank/bench,wash or down the hillside.

On the larger patches I map them on a topo or even hand made map.I mark the general location and size of my nugget finds by larger or smaller size dots.

this will really come in handy later. it makes a great reference tool and often points the direction of the source later.

Some of the deeper patches I've been hunting for years. In old patches sometimes the nuggets are large and deep. sometimes smaller and just under a bush

or in a rain rut. that little extra depth edge is all it takes. sometimes coil shape or size will give some advantage. maximum depth use a big round coils,

brushy/rocky use an elliptical or smaller coil. too many hot rocks or super hot ground in your patch get out the Minelab pulse detector and/or use a DD coil.

I just thought Id throw this out there to get things started.

take care out there, AzNuggetBob

[Mike Furness]

Bob ... Your advice is spot on. I'm not much of a wash hunter per say as I feel everyone has been in the flat of the wash but I do pay great attention to the 'high water' line in the banks(sides of the wash) and hunt those as well as the bench(generally flat area not eroded by the wash) just above the bank especially if that bench area has just flattened out after a slope.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Mike F

[AzNuggetBob]

Mike, some are often focused on washes as this is were gold ends up concentrated, but the old timers knew this as well.

Ive found placers that were so old and haven't moved for so long even the black sand had oxidized and leached/washed away leaving nothing behind but packed decomposed cobbles and gold.

Going into a new area I like to pursue the gold that hasn't made it to the nearest wash yet. most gold in the washes is not eroded out in veins crossing washes,by sheer surface area its coming down a ridge from exsposed veins in up lifted hills and mountains on its way to the nearest wash/creek, river. it can get stuck on flat spots spending a great deal of time there.

the old timers often knew were the source was coming from by sampling, but because the gold

was so scattered out in terms digging by hand they just left it. that's where the metal detector shines as you don't have to dig up the whole hillside. often it was some of the

largest nuggets because on flatter ground they move slower than the smaller gold and hang back creating a patch. Ive found veins that have eroded out in place. the quartz or hematite, erodes away leaving course nuggets laying there.

often times creating sun bakers.

AzNuggetBob

Edited April 29, 2015 by AzNuggetBob

[Rimshot]

AZNBob,

Well the long winded post is my second framer. Your post and Trinityraymills post is all any nugget shooter needs to know to find gold. There have been many good post about finding gold here, but those top the list fer sure IMO. Sure wish I was there, but my health hasn't been so good lately. But my dreamer ain't broke...

Rim

[AzNuggetBob]

Rim,

Trinity Ray Mills is very well spoken and a very knowledgeable guy on prospecting. he is very detailed and I always enjoy reading his writings.

That's the nice thing about detecting verses drywashing, wet washing. Other than the Minelab GPZ 7000, it normally doesn't require as much labor to recover a nugget for some of us old farts.

There is a little more than just a few simple rules on finding gold nuggets. I have to say the more I learned the more gold I found.

I'll tell ya I'd go back to old areas, learned a little more and was shocked how much gold I'd missed. walked right past patches, etc.

Thats's when I started paying more attention to and learning more about geology. specifically rock types commonly associated with (detectable) nugget size gold.

I'm not just talking about how to hygrade old timers diggins, Im also talking about finding Virgin undiscovered,unworked placer and hard rock deposits.

AzNuggetBob

[Rimshot]

"Thats's when I started paying more attention to and learning more about geology. specifically rock types commonly associated with (detectable) nugget size gold."

That is the hardest part to learn. They have many faces. I can google a specific rock and they don't all look alike. Google images is worthless in that respect. But I have went to other geology sites and seen the same.

I wish someone with a good camera would show what these rocks really look like. If there is more looks to a rock, then show it. Are if there is a website that is specific to this subject, that would be great too.

I don't think minedat shows all of the different rocks either.