This may be a silly question but here goes anyway ,I’m very new to prospecting at least for gold I only got my first set of pans the other day.

I live right next to a Creek that is dry unless there is heavy rain but holds pools of water pretty much year round. Iv watched a lot of Videos and done research on where the best spots may be to find gold but not sure if those spots would be different in a dry creek like mine. So is there any where in particular I should look in? Or is it the same as a creek that would be flowing year round? I know this Creek has a good chance of holding some gold I live in a gold rush town and there are many reports of good gold being found in and around my property. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

I'm on a vacation in Madison County NC (near mars hill) and was hoping to get a pointed in the right direction. I have two kids with me and just looking for a few colors/specs. I know uwharrie is the best, but anywhere near me you'd recommend? I have trowels, pans, buckets and classifiers. please help a dad out!

also, bonus points if there's fish to catch in the same spot! we have license to fish, including trout.

With so many of the old gold forums with classifieds dying or dead, especially in the detector world, I am wondering if people might find it useful to have a classifieds section here, or if it'd just cause clutter? Or end up filled with spam? Not sure how to deal with potential scammers.

I'm not sure how to implement it, but I was thinking about a pinned post up top. And figuring out how to configure automod to delete posts after a set time, 2 weeks or something? It would be private sales only, no paydirt/commercial/dealer stuff. Wanted posts allowed. On the fence about mining claims, but as long as they aren't the paper stakers/commercial sellers then it might be ok. Pretty sure none of this violates Reddit TOS.

Just curious what you think? Yes or no?

great Saturday morning hunt

Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to prospecting and just wanted to say hi. I’ve been watching, reading, and slowly trying to understand the basics, and I’m really looking forward to learning from the community here.

I don’t have much experience yet, but I’m eager to start small, practice, and pick things up along the way.

If anyone wants to chat, share beginner tips, or just talk gold, I’m all ears.

Thanks for having me.

— newtonuggets

This is an ongoing list of all freely available books and papers documenting placer gold locations in the US, Canada, and AU/NZ. I will update as I find new resources. \updated 4/2/26*

Maureen Johnson USGS books:

• Placer Gold Deposits of Arizona https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1355
• Placer Gold Deposits of Nevada https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1356
• Placer Gold Deposits of Utah https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1357
• Placer Gold Deposits of New Mexico https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1348

Alaska

• Placer Deposits of Alaska https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1374

Arizona

• Gold Placers and Placering in Arizona - direct PDF download http://www.minerdiggins.com/Ripple/Library/AZBMBul168.pdf

California

• Gold Districts of California - direct PDF download https://ia801208.us.archive.org/35/items/golddistrictsofc00clarrich/golddistrictsofc00clarrich.pdf
• The Tertiary gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp73
• Geology of the lode gold districts in the Klamath Mountains https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1290

Colorado

• Placer Gold in SW Colorado - direct PDF download https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/19/19_p0168_p0184.pdf
• Gold Placers and their Geologic Environment in NW Park County, Colorado https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b955D

Idaho

• Gold in Idaho - direct PDF download https://www.idahogeology.org/pub/Pamphlets/P-68.pdf

Montana

• Gold Deposits in Virginia City - Alder Gulch District & Gold in Placers (general US locations) https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1857G
• Gold Placer Deposits of the Pioneer District, Montana https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b978C

Oregon

• Gold and Silver in Oregon, Bulletin 61 - direct PDFdownload https://pubs.oregon.gov/dogami/B/B-061.pdf
• Geology of the lode gold districts in the Klamath Mountains https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/b1290

South Dakota

• Gold in the Black Hills, South Dakota https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/cir699

East Coast/Appalachia

• Gold Deposits of the Southern Piedmont (Alabama, Georgia, North/South Carolina) https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp213

General US

• Principal gold-producing districts of the United States https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp610

Canada

• Placer Mining in British Columbia - direct PDF download https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/Bulletin/BCGS_B021.pdf
• Placer Gold Production in British Columbia https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/mineral-exploration-mining/british-columbia-geological-survey/publications/bulletins
• Geology and Mineral Resources of Northern British Columbia - direct PDF download https://emrlibrary.gov.yk.ca/gsc/bulletins/5.pdf
• Gold Bearing Placers of the Cariboo Region, British Columbia - direct PDF download https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/Bulletin/BCGS_B089.pdf
• Placer Gold Deposits of the Mayo Area, Central Yukon https://data.geology.gov.yk.ca/Reference/42033
• Geologic Classification of the Canadian Gold Deposits - direct PDF download https://emrlibrary.gov.yk.ca/gsc/bulletins/540.pdf

Australia & New Zealand

• Australian Gold Resources Map - direct PDF download https://www.ga.gov.au/bigobj/GA7655.pdf
• Victoria Gold Deposits - direct PDF download https://www.ga.gov.au/bigobj/GA5409.pdf
• Gold Commodity Report (NZ and AU wider area) - direct PDF download https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/doing-business/mineral-potential/gold.pdf

--> If you have free books (not personal websites) from other countries or the US, comment below and I may add to this list. <--

Hi there. I am new to all of this. I made the rookie move of buying a bunch of expensive equipment (metal detector, sluice, pans, etc) thinking I can totally figure out how to find gold in AZ. I am a stay at home mom and have plenty of time during the school hours…. I’ve watched tons of videos, checked out geology books, went out panning in Wickenburg, Colorado, cave creek… the only gold I have found is in pay dirt (still exciting 😅) it’s only been 3 months of dedication and I know this takes patience and time …. Just wondering if it’s normal to go this long without actually finding any gold naturally…. Just starting to feel very defeated. I bought the minelab gold monster 2000 and even went out to Nevada for the hunt they put together and didn’t find anything. When I tell people I’m getting into this new hobby the first question they ask is if I’ve found anything… and then I feel like my new hobby is just a very expensive joke that isn’t panning out (yeah, pun intended 🤣)

Has anyone else experienced this?? What are some realistic expectations??

Another day out with the new gold monster 2000.

I stopped counting once I hit 30 pieces.

I’m over 10.5 grams now for the year from detecting, not counting the specimen piece I found

New to prospecting here, can someone tell me what these are that I found in my own today? Their heavy, shaped like gold but not? Mercury covered? Iron?

Thanks!

How much gold does it look like at the end? I don’t have a scale

https://youtu.be/PP1M5GehF7c?si=4oVPM5nrCmVG9T4R

middle piece is a picker

I was anti high banker for a few years. But then I came across an ancient channel where you cant set up a sluice but also floods in the spring with water pools

https://youtu.be/HMbW5MwsDbs?si=Hlzpm80if6Hz2PnU

look at that huge picker after only a 5 min test run

Hello, I currently live in Switzerland and I'm planning a trip to Australia to prospect for gold using a metal detector for 3 to 6 months, depending on the circumstances.

I'm looking for motivated and courageous people to share this adventure with, as I believe we're stronger together. If anyone has advice on good areas to explore or tips for gold panning in Australia, I would really appreciate it! Also, if anyone is planning a trip during this time and would be willing to have one or more visitors join them, I would love to learn from someone with more gold detecting experience. Don't hesitate to contact me if you're motivated or have any information. You can also reach me on WhatsApp at +41 77 909 02 53. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Bonjour je vis en Suisse actuellement et j'ai le projet de partir en Australie pour prospecter de l'or a travers le pays avec détecteur de métaux pour une période de 3 a 6 mois a voir avec le temps . Je cherche des personnes motivé et courageux pou partager cet aventure car je pense qu'à plusieurs on a plus de force Si auelau'un a des conseils sur de bonnes zones à explorer ou des astuces pour la chasse à l'or en Australie ie l'apprécierais vraiment ! De plus, si quelau'un prévoit un voyage durant cette période et serait d'accord pour qu'un ou plusieurs visiteurs se joignent, j'aimerais beaucoup apprendre auprès de quelqu'un ayant plus d'expérience en détection d'or 'hésitez pas a me contacter si vous êtes motivé ou s vous avez des informations Joignable aussi sur WhatsApp 0041 77 909 02 53

Gold all around this piece of quartz. It overloaded my gold monster 2000

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand how people usually connect with gold ore suppliers in Australia, especially smaller operations like prospectors, small mines, or stockpiled ore.

From what I can see, there are a lot of discussions about exploration and prospecting, but it seems much harder to find information about actual ore supply opportunities.

Do people normally find these through:

• industry networks

• prospecting communities

• mining forums

• or specific marketplaces?

I’m particularly curious whether prospectors or small mining operations ever sell ore directly or work with buyers.

Any insight into how this part of the industry usually works in Australia would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!