JOHNM Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 (edited) used my sluice yesterday to clean up dirt from queen creek. found one pin head sized bright yellow speck. lots of black sand in sluice but the spot i dug in really didn't look too promising. last ditch effort at sundown. i really don't know a thing about queen creek except there are lots of claims upstream and two rock plants nearby. the closest rock plant near me was working 24/7 when it was raining last winter. read on this website that rock plants process for gold. true or false? did the speck really come from queen creek or was it stuck in my bucket from lynx creek? i always check and rinse my tools and carpet well after each use. noticed boulder dash's gold (145 and 65 nugs. nice haul boulder) looks really brassy. are boulders nugs from a dry creek bed ? or was it just plain dumb newbie luck? Edited September 19, 2017 by JOHNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Wade has a nose for gold and it is likely from somewhere from a dry wash yes.... Lots of water has moved this year and going to be some purty nuggets being shown and more not..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHNM Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 that speck must have been newbie luck from lynx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Gold will also look different when viewed in the sun as opposed to under fluorescent lights..... Not sure where BD took those pics. Any chance you can go upstream from those claims, upstream? If they are placer gold claims, they are there for a reason. Good luck out there. Luke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHNM Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 LukeJ, one of the rock plants is approx. a quarter mile upstream and then it's in the town of queen valley. Turns into state land east of queen valley. thats a good idea to go upstream farther. also found some tailings and a hole on top of a hill near the creek. was 6ft. x 3 ft. and 7ft. deep. gold in the area? thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Here`s 2 publications for locations of gold in Arizona http://www.azgs.az.gov/Mineral Scans/gold_bull168_ocr.pdf OR https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertpilot Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 On 9/19/2017 at 1:17 PM, JOHNM said: read on this website that rock plants process for gold. true or false? Hey John, You may have read my post with Luke and I talking about a gravel plant. The plant we were discussing is up in the Prescott area in a known placer deposit. Not every plant will have gold worth recovering. Adam hooked you up with some really good links and are a good go by for finding areas to with gold. Since you live near Queen Creek check out pages 62-64 of AZGS Bulletin 168. Those pages cover the Globe, Kearny and Winkelman areas. Ive found color in the Dripping Spring mountains and Tortilla Mountains just do your research and find some open ground. I've done good dry washing in the Tortilla Mountains. For a suggestion get to know the following web pages they are awesome tools for researching new areas to prospect. http://repository.azgs.az.gov/ (AZGS Placer bulletins) http://minedata.azgs.az.gov/ (Records of mines in Arizona, many contain geological survey data) http://www.mylandmatters.org/ (Loads of info on Regs, land use, and a awesome mapping tool to research claim status.) Also pick up Chris Ralphs "Fists full of gold" Its a excellent read for someone starting out. It covers everything you need to know to get started in the goldfields. Check with Bill he may have a copy to sell ya. Hope this helps getting you started in the right direction. DP 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHNM Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 Adam, DP, thanks a bunch. I can use all the help I can get. i'm leery of jumping other claims so sometimes i go where there are no claims at all. i sure a claim owner would let me know if i was on their claim. also if i could find an area that hasn't been picked over as much ? most comments are go where gold has already been found and you have better chances. I will do that also and just see where it has not been picked over recently or go just after creeks have been flowing. . thanks again JOHNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertpilot Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) Hey John, I wouldn't sweat running into someone in the desert. I very rarely run into anyone mining and when I do its usually someone off the forums. Last time I was ever ran off by people in the desert was when I was a kid in the early 80's in the rich hill area. Most people I have ran across recently have been pretty cool to talk with once they learn your into prospecting. To find some areas to prospect just use the landmatters maps to find the areas claimed and crosscheck it with the county recorder (some counties have records online) and you can plot the claimed areas. Once you plot the claimed areas you can find unclaimed open ground that would be legal to prospect. Starting out I was like you and randomly searched areas in the middle of nowhere not wanting to accidently work a claim but I never found anything until I learned how to find open ground in areas that had a history of gold being found. Once I figured that out I became more successful in finding gold. You should come out to the nuggetshooter camp out coming up, it would be a good experience to talk with people who have been prospecting for awhile. Even better join the roadrunners or gpaa and go to some group digs on club claims. DP Edited September 23, 2017 by Desertpilot 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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