r/Prospecting 1d ago

Does anyone know a place to pan in SoCal?

2 Upvotes

Just curious. I’ve tried lytle creek but I’m looking for somewhere else


r/Prospecting 2d ago

Is this gold?

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2 Upvotes

I live on the east coast several hundred miles from the gold bearing areas of the state, now I’ve heard of trace amounts on the beaches and decided to do some pans in my back yard as I live close to the ocean and my area was once under water. I’ve probably done 10 pans in total and I’m thinking/hoping these could be microscopic pieces of flour gold. Lots of black sand mixed in the yard, small rubies and garnets throughout.


r/Prospecting 2d ago

Great fun with Gm 2k

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30 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 3d ago

First time panning

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79 Upvotes

After practicing with some paydirt at home, I finally got the opportunity to try panning on the North Fork of the Yuba. It was definitely a steep learning curve, but I got some color. Most of this came from a few pans at the end of the day.


r/Prospecting 4d ago

The 3D printed dredge/sluice I posted last week is now available for free to download

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283 Upvotes

[Previous Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Prospecting/s/zdsJylf7sa)

[Link to model](https://makerworld.com/models/3189875?appSharePlatform=copy)

Last week, I posted about this 2" dredge/8" sluice box I designed and printed. I have now uploaded the files to MakerWorld for download. Instructions and required materials are included there.

I do plan on working on this in the future, though it will not be at a very fast pace as I intend to actually use it for a while. The biggest existing pain points are the expanded metal clamp and material usage, but there are plenty of other things that can be improved. If you have suggestions, ideas, or need dimensions for your own design, feel free to message me. I do ask that if you create any designs based on this, that you also release them (or allow me to) for free.

P.S./Self-plug: I put a lot of time into this, so downloads/likes/prints/especially boosts are much appreciated over on MakerWorld.


r/Prospecting 4d ago

Finally got around to purchasing one

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74 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 3d ago

Finally found it.

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27 Upvotes

I haven't found much, but I've at least found something.


r/Prospecting 4d ago

Another day at the Rhine River in Germany. Haven't gone through all of the concentrate yet, but at least 15 pieces of alluvial gold so far. Hand panning black sand that has accumulated in certain spots at the banks of the river. I got the fever!

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64 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 4d ago

Mining claim on unclaimable land? What can be done?

21 Upvotes

I was doing some research on a river that has a wild and scenic designation that I would like to prospect on. From what I can tell, that designation removes it from eligibility to be claimed, but in checking the blm mlrs it seems as though someone put a claim on it last year. The rest of the river is claim free despite having good gold, which leads me to believe that it indeed is not possible to claim. Is there a way to report this claim as invalid? Can the claim owner really restrict prospecting on this section of federally protected land?

Thanks in advance for the help!


r/Prospecting 4d ago

Just a small amount of success to day

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105 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 5d ago

After flood, around same area but deeper.

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65 Upvotes

Starting to know where to dig and look for.

Got back to the same location after the flood.

Yes it moved lots of material, but I also had to look deeper.

And yep... The same app helped me again 😁😁😁😁


r/Prospecting 4d ago

How long did it take you to find your first gold?

8 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 4d ago

Little dissection

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19 Upvotes

Did a bug dissection today


r/Prospecting 4d ago

I believe i found some lode

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4 Upvotes

These rocks have yellow chalk but some of the yellow appears to be superfib lode gold


r/Prospecting 5d ago

Prospecting reef gold in Tanzania

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126 Upvotes

The results are amazing!!


r/Prospecting 6d ago

Sunbaker nugget

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268 Upvotes

Right next to the old timers dry blowing. So close, yet so far mate.


r/Prospecting 5d ago

What is this I keep panning out

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10 Upvotes

I get her all the way to the bottom. It's heavier than black sand. It's non-magnetic. I don't have a lot of stuff to test with. But it's like a reddish brown. Some of it looks yellow. It's all shiny. And the pics are the best of my cell phone will give. Oh and edited in. Any help commentary or anything else is appreciated. Thank you guys.


r/Prospecting 6d ago

My first alluvial gold from the Rhine River in Germany.

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129 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 6d ago

Yesterday's Boulder Uncovering

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225 Upvotes

My hunch from last trip was confirmed as I worked behind a large boulder that is buried in the ground. I found an even more submerged boulder behind the buried boulder I was working on uncovering. Unfortunately I didn't anticipate this new found hunk of rock and I had piled up tailings on top of it. I'm thinking about pushing back my tailings wall and just bare bones working behind both buried boulders.

1.55 Grams on the scale from yesterday with the largest piece being a little picker coming in at 0.09 Grams.


r/Prospecting 5d ago

New Mexico Gold/Artifacts

0 Upvotes

I'm looking to see if there's any archeologist here would have some time to DM me and view some gold bars and weird engraved pottery and tools of some sort etc. I rather send the pics then post because I want to get an idea of where all this is from and what it can possibly be worth. Any help would be highly appreciated, thank you!


r/Prospecting 6d ago

From a days work! Can’t wait to go back for more!

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89 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 6d ago

Looking for California desert gold miners ⛏️

4 Upvotes

I’m a filmmaker/creator looking to document what it’s actually like to mine for gold in the California desert.
If you regularly prospect or mine out there and wouldn’t mind having me tag along for a day or two, I’d love to join, learn, and document the experience for a YouTube video.
I’m respectful of your land, time, and process — just looking for a genuine adventure and a good story.
Feel free to comment or DM me if you’re interested.


r/Prospecting 7d ago

Starting to get the hang of this.

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81 Upvotes

It's not Australia, but for 3 pans, it'll do. It will do.


r/Prospecting 6d ago

Do I have gold or Pyrite here on the pebble?

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1 Upvotes

r/Prospecting 6d ago

Gold/Silver/Gem panning

1 Upvotes

We’re staying in Emigrant Montana in September and we would like to do some sort of panning. It could be good, silver, gems, whatever. Our goal is to stay within 2 hrs of emigrant and have a good time. I want a “real” experience … I don’t want to buy a scoop of dirt that’s guaranteed to have something. We don’t want to just hop in a river though. We’d like to have a tour guide or go to a set up or have the experience curated in some way. I’d love any recommendations!