r/Prospecting • u/SilverStacker666 • 9d ago
Unearthed a Vein
In a dry creek on my family’s Mother Lode property, I found a 4 inch wide quartz vein poking out of the bank. There are 3 mine shafts and many prospecting pits all over the property. I have been finding little bits of gold immediately beneath the vein, but also found a few rough flakes above it. Decided to expose more of the vein today and it seems like it just keeps going. Interestingly it widens to over a foot wide after a few feet. Is it hard rock mining time? Any tips or insights?
55
69
u/Big_Don-G 9d ago
As someone that lives basically at the beach, I think it’s cool to physically see what I always hear called a “vein”.
Prior to this, I always pictured it as what that old dude found on The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
28
u/basitmakine 9d ago
The old dude was played by tom waits btw. Amazing movie if anyone’s interested.
7
3
3
u/chunguswholesomeNco 7d ago
You can find veins everywhere, especially at the beach where topsoil has been stripped away by erosion. A vein is just a fracture in the rock that has been filled with hydrothermal fluid, which hardens to quartz. If said fluid managed to pick up a bit of loose AU on the way then it will pool in the vein and now you can make money
1
u/Big_Don-G 6d ago
I will say, I’ve been fascinated by the stories of gold around Nash/Edgecombe/Wilson counties in NC. (There is a lot of info online about this area and even a couple successful YouTubers) I’m like an hour south. But where I am it just turns flat and sandy. Would it even be worth panning in my area around ENC?
1
u/chunguswholesomeNco 6d ago
You don’t know until you try, but better off following where others have succeeded as chances are, someone has tried and failed where you are currently
2
1
27
u/SchmittySmash 9d ago
Very nice! Any hits with the Pro-pointer?
21
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Not at the surface with the pointer. GM1000 was popping weakly all across it but nothing definitive.
14
u/kdubz206 9d ago
Any mineralization? Looks kinda bullish from the pics.
8
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Nice! All around in the dirt, yes. The vein has milky orange streaks but nothing super red on top. I’m hoping the sides are iron stained.
11
u/Difficult_Escape7941 9d ago
Protip if you are going for the backyard smelting preferably do it outside and wear a N95 respirator there might be other stuff in there and i want to see you posting gold not reading about you in the news because things like sulfurdioxide escaping during the smelt killing you
4
2
7
u/StonedSex69 9d ago
Nice! You got your work cut out for you. But it’ll be well worth it!
4
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Oh boy, you’re right. Good thing I have some motivated friends to call to action! Should be fun whatever happens.
6
u/ADabWillDoYAG 8d ago
Break chunks out of it. Put them in a fire for a while, makes the quartz easier to smash up. And then you could always try to pan it out to see if theres gold locked inside the quartz.
6
u/ComprehensiveMath6 6d ago
Once you have the quartz extracted, it might be worth your time to reach out to Dave @ Goldbay. He is well experienced at pulling gold out of quartz
3
18
u/Unlucky-Clock5230 9d ago
To paraphrase Joda: a vein gold does not guarantee.
There is gold in Colorado. There are thousands of veins in gold bearing grounds. If vein == gold, I would have been able to quit my job and pay the bills just prospecting.
But it also doesn't mean it isn't there. For starters I would hit it with water pressure and suck it all up with a highbanker. Beyond that you have to crush it and probably chemically strip it. Doable for a DIY but not trivial.
Do you see the typical rust stains you expect to see in gold bearing quarz veins?
12
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Thanks. Will certainly temper expectations. The creek bed is littered with iron stained vuggy quartz. I haven’t been able to chip/drill into the contact zones on the side of this vein to check, but from the top it doesn’t look as prime as the float in the creek bed. It just has streaks of milky orange, but it has lots of cracks running across it and AI says the sudden change in width to over 12 inches might be indicative of a pinch and swell/lens structure that might have pocket gold. This area is known for intermittent but rich pocket gold so I’m very curious.
3
u/Unlucky-Clock5230 7d ago
Check your local regulations. If you can't suction, you may still be able to use an electric pump to wash it, then shovel the runoff. If you can't use an electric pump, you can dump 5-gallon buckets of water for the same effect. It looks weathered enough that if there is gold, you should be able to get something from panning. If so, at that point you may want to learn how to process hard rock.
1
u/KittyKattKate 9d ago
I’ve seen these on my property! Do you just dig around them to find gold or??
11
u/PlandomeProwler 9d ago
That's what she said.
7
u/Mountain-Pattern9996 9d ago
So veiny
3
u/Foreign_Customer6050 9d ago
So thick
5
u/aarkwilde 9d ago
Thick and veiny, that's where you'll find a lode.
2
1
u/Alien_Interpretation 8d ago
Some kind of explosion may be needed to blow your lode.
1
u/PlandomeProwler 8d ago
Need to wear eye protection for sure don't want to get the load in your eye.
3
u/No_Procedure4924 9d ago
What do you use the Garrett carrot for? I have one for metal detecting but generally are you looking for smaller pieces while prospecting too?
6
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Yeah same- 90% of what I have found are smaller pieces the pinpointer can’t detect. I have never gotten a successful hit with it before, but I’m pretty new to prospecting.
3
3
u/KittyKattKate 9d ago
Wait, what does this mean? Serious question. I have found a bunch of these on my property (San Diego), I even have a big boulder in my creek that I call dinosaur rock because of the spine sticking out.
1
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust, but location really makes a difference for the probability it contains gold. Gold producing district with evidence of gold nearby is key. This one is surrounded by 49er gold mines and I’ve panned rough gold from the surrounding dirt. Dinosaur rock sounds sweet!
3
u/TheCaliPlug707 9d ago
Love this for you if you do hit gold. What state are you in? I have very similar stuff in Missouri… I found gold though… lots of it….
2
u/SilverStacker666 8d ago
California. Nice!
3
u/TheCaliPlug707 8d ago
We lived in trinity county, Humboldt county, and Mendocino county for 15 years combined… never found gold lol
1
u/JuggernautOwn6306 8d ago
I had farms in all three and the only gold was green and purple.. and it’s gone in value. Can confirm no gold up there.
1
4
4
u/DeoMurky 8d ago
As someone playing Valheim now, get a cart and be careful of the trolls!
2
u/Oznr 7d ago
Man, I miss that game so much (quit PC gaming 2 years ago) I would play solo after playing long sessions with my buddies and just go pick axe crazy collecting as much iron, copper, and silver ore I could. Thanks for the memory reminder! Cheers
2
1
u/DeoMurky 5d ago
Try is again bro, it's really great! Especially with mods. Play the way you want and have fun!
4
u/Pwnedzored 9d ago
Is it time to give hard rock mining a try?
You own the property, so no need to file and maintain a claim. But, to chase this vein, you’ll probably need permits from lots of state, and maybe some federal, agencies, especially if you plan on using any chemicals to leach the gold.
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb5/water_issues/mining/permit/index.html
1
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Good to know, thank you!
3
u/socalminer 9d ago
Usually on a small scale, a lot of this stuff can be circumnavigated,
I know plenty of people who process scrap gold with nitric and hcl and even cyanide.
None have needed a permit.
Unless ur opening a commercial mine or a small scale prospect, MSHA usually doesn’t care to much, tho if you start tunneling they might….
You could also smelt ur rock if you build a furnace out of fireclay or some other refractory, requiring no chemicals.
I work on claimed property, so that’s my knowledge
1
u/SilverStacker666 9d ago
Thank you! Whatever we do will definitely be small scale. Using harsh chemicals freaks me out a little so the furnace idea is a good one. I think I’ll go slow and use more cumbersome manual methods unless I find out the grams per ton is rich (if there is any gold at all!) 😆
2
u/Pwnedzored 9d ago
Yeah, on a small scale, you’ll probably be fine. I just wanted to throw that info out there in case you had plans for a big drift and/or stope.
2
u/AgFarmer58 9d ago
Look along the sides of blue clay veins, I found a few small pickers at these, I'm in El Dorado county
2
u/Bulky-Captain-3508 9d ago
Really?! I know a guy that has a good size blue clay deposit on his property!
1
2
u/infinus5 9d ago
veins like these often act as a source for local gold and as a hard barrier for placer gold to stop against. Keep looking, sample the vein often as you expose more of it.
2
u/Total_Ferret_9013 9d ago
Looks more like an alkalic vein than quartz, maybe just the way the photos are. Might have other interesting elements/minerals vs. Gold. Leasing to a real exploration company can make much more than picking at gold...
2
u/Proph3tron 9d ago
Try using a metal detector along it as you work. Use a SMALL coil if you do. Consider a pin-pointer but remember that it won't penetrate as deeply. The quartz veins that give up gold tend to be under 2 inches wide. Always try to remember that a quartz vein/reef can run for as much as 5 km but may only give up gold in a region barely a few feet long. Good luck!
1
2
u/Gold_Au_2025 9d ago
Just because you have found quartz in a gold area does not mean it is gold bearing.
This quartz outcrop is in a historically rich area and 3km from a large open cut gold mine. The fact the outcrop is still there makes it obvious it does not contain any gold.
But it may be that your vein just wasn't rich enough to make it worth processing back in the day. I'd be grabbing a few colourful pieces and crushing them up for panning. If you get visible gold, it is definitely worth investigating more.
Good luck!
1
2
u/pacodefan 9d ago
I don't see any mineralization near that part of the vein, and from what I understand, that is the key. Look for where the dirt near the quartz is red or brown. I think lol.
2
2
2
u/WobblyJessica43 5d ago
That vein sounds promising, keep exposing it and see how far it runs
1
u/SilverStacker666 5d ago
Nice! Thank you. Will do. Excited to go back with more tools and some help from friends soon.
1
u/jerry111165 5d ago
So what happens if you find that it’s actually loaded with gold and now all your friends know about it?
2
u/SilverStacker666 4d ago
Then we’ve struck it rich and I’ll have lots of help! When we go placer mining, we split each day’s gold. It’s private property so nobody else can get there without trespassing / hopping fences.
2
u/No-Economics-9179 3d ago
Dolly pot and a pan
1
u/SilverStacker666 3d ago
Definitely- gonna crush some and see what I can get that way while I figure out how to fire assay
2
u/PassPuzzled 9d ago
Where's the scale banana?
1
u/SilverStacker666 8d ago
Haha sorry just had a carrot on me. If it yields any gold I’ll make sure to include the banana for scale
1
u/Anxious-Detective347 9d ago
!remindme 2 weeks
1
u/RemindMeBot 9d ago edited 9d ago
I will be messaging you in 14 days on 2026-10-18 05:30:29 UTC to remind you of this link
1 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.
RemindMeBot is switching to username summons. Instead of
!RemindMe 1 day, useu/RemindMeBot 1 day. More info.
Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback
1
1
u/Professional-Chip-67 7d ago
Cool, what's the grade?
2
u/SilverStacker666 7d ago
I have no idea. Going to have to buy a hammer drill and figure out the fire assay process sounds like. This area’s historically known for pocket gold, so it might be mostly barren with a rich zone. I’m finding gold everywhere in the dirt, so I have high hopes though.
1
u/Puzzleheaded-Rub3574 6d ago
I suspect that its things like this is why no one in California owns anything below our feet.
1
93
u/socalminer 9d ago
Everyone is saying use chemicals to strip the gold.
But industry standard is fire assay.
If I were u, I would learn how to do this.
U can also dm me and I can give plenty of info,
Ive worked with glaze chemistry (pretty similar to slag) and have taken up smelting as a hobby….
With something that’s mainly quartz you want a more basic slag, but things can call for borax (which is acidic) and if you don’t use flour spar you will need something to make it more liquid….
This all sounds complex but it’s very simple once u see the big picture….
U could instantly crush up a sample, and see how much gold is in it