Old Time Prospecting - Tips and Tricks

[AshtonPage]

Hi Guys,

I don’t know if anyone is interested – but here are some old-time prospecting techniques that were used back in Walt’s day. We’ve all heard stories of how some of the old time prospectors could simply ‘read’ a hillside and tell you if there was gold there or not. I’ve read a couple of places where modern mining companies hired an ‘old-time prospector’ and he was able to outsmart the PhD geologists. I don’t know if that’s true or just fanciful tales, but it was an interesting read.

Many of these tips came from the gold prospecting booklets written by Jim Straight. I don’t believe these are common knowledge – at least tips like these are not published in “How to pan\sluice\dredge\metal detect\take-your-pick – method of finding gold” books available today. I’m posting these here because I’m just about ready to toss all the stories and simply start prospecting from scratch.

If anyone else knows some old time prospecting tips, please add them to the list. One last thing: What the heck is a "sulfide" weed?? Photos would be nice.
Here ya go:

All gold ore deposits naturally have a high concentration of arsenic and mercury. The fumes from these deposits would kill off the local plant life. [The conquistadors] were instructed to look for rocky, barren places. Sometimes, there would be a line of dry dirt where a gold vein was underneath.
An area of mountainous terrain that was colored light green or orange was a priority.

When looking for silver, they were to look for the "sulfide" weed. This plant lives only in places where silver sulfide is present and is fairly common in Arizona. Sometimes, these weeds would follow an underground creek, which when traced to its origin would lead to a silver deposit.

Pay attention to areas of different color rock; the more varied the color, the more chance for gold and silver mineralization.
Look for prominent hilly surface exposures of dark-colored basalt. While basalt does not carry gold, it is a good indicator for gold.
Seek for any nearby exposures of light-colored rhyolite within a mile of the basalt, and check the washes and gulches for copper, lead, and zinc values that are also carrying silver and gold.

The steeper the vein, the richer the ore.

The most productive veins parallel the mountain front.

Best,
Ashton

[shining sun]

I printed this out and am taking it with me on my next trip! I'm curious however, is this only good for the Southwest? What about our little sagebrush desert here in eastern Washington? (Cascade rain-shadow) ALL we have here is basalt! It's an indicator, but we are in the region of thick lava flows and there is little else. I've found a few agates around the Soap Lake area, but that's all. I've tried panning in the Snake River, which is close to my town, but all I found was a cheap rusted earring! But I'm intrigued with being able to read the geology. I study this every chance I get, because I love it when the Earth tells me stories! So this list goes into my "trail notes"
Shining sun, fledgling old prospectress (sounds oxymoronic, haha)

[AshtonPage]

That’s a good question. I can only assume that things like; sulfides in the earth that stunt plant growth would be pretty much the same everywhere, while indicators such as sulfide weed would be localized to the southwest.

I’m still not sure what sulfide weed is. I seem to remember (always a scary thing) that it was also called a ‘trumpet weed’ because the flower was trumpet shaped. But I’m going from memory on that one. As long as I’m going from memory – I read somewhere that in wooded areas the old time prospectors would look for pine cones on the ground that were stunted and sickly – also caused by sulfide emissions from underground ore.

If you ever look into bio-chemical sampling, then the old time prospector tips make sense. Bio-chemical sampling is where clippings from local plants are taken and analyzed for chemical concentrations of elements that also occur where gold is present. The theory is that some elements (like sulfur) naturally leach out into the surrounding soil and are absorbed by the plants. A higher than normal (relative to the surrounding area) concentration of these trace elements is a good indicator that gold is in the area.

The main reason that I’m considering reverting to ‘old time prospecting’ (perhaps with a bit of bio-chemical sampling for good measure) is that the clues we have are so ambitious that you could be almost anywhere in the Superstitions and see “over the point of a ridge a rock that looks like a man”. I found one location that I believe fits that description but other people have their own places they believe fits that description…….. since we’re in different locations, we’ can’t all be right.

For those of you who actually bother to read through the stuff I write – I personally believe that TRTLLAM is a ‘sun sign’. That opinion is based solely on what I’ve seen at my location. I always thought that Kenworthy was stretching things a bit when he wrote about sun-signs, but I have the photos to show that (assuming I am right) sun-signs actually do exist. If I am right about this, it would be a plausible explanation as to why others never located TRTLLAM. But that and two-bits will get you a cup of coffee.

Best,
Ashton

[thehunter]

I don't have a of the weed but you can really smell it. I follow the old ways, like looking where trees real green showing pockets of water, bare areas from mercury holes in flat stone for grinding corn and the most rugged rocky areas.
But if your looking for a large cashe from mission mine you have to learn to see markings.they are experts in blending them with natural erosion.I forgot to say the priest are not involved but their followers.
I see you have a nice movie camera I could use you on my dig.

[coazon de oro]

Ashton,

How are you my friend, and why did you give up so easy?

Searching for treasures has helped me learn a lot of things that I never knew before. The list goes on and on from stars, to minerals, to flora, geography, history, you name it. All that new gained knowledge is a treasure in it's self, not to mention all the new friends that I have made.

I applaud you on your new gained knowledge, I too learned that old school prospecting some years ago. There is or was a website that showed the mentioned flora, but I didn't save it.

"No miner will ever find my mine". Many prospectors have tried before you. I'm not saying it can't be done, or trying to discourage you. I wish you all the luck in the world.

My opinion on treasure signs is that all the books that are out there about them were made by treasure hunters trying to make a buck. They just used known symbols and signs of known maps, throwing in some made up ones. Since they were well known, others believed them. Look for a Spanish treasure sign book made by a Spaniard.

TRTLLAM If I knew your address, I would send you a picture of the left eye of my finding without revealing the rest. TRTLLAM fits exactly as Jacob stated on my find. The left eye is 75 yards across, and 25 yards from top to bottom. You have to be able to see it from a distance, over the top of the point of a ridge. He rode up to it, and worked on it with his pick.

The shot from the top of the ridge to the mine is just 45 yards on my find. Very easy for a shotgun.

Homar

[AshtonPage]

Hi Hunter,

I sold the Bolex (16mm Camera) in my avatar photo. By the time I paid for the film, processing, color correcting and transfer to video – if costs about $100 a minute to shoot film and convert to video. Now you know why I sold it.


Hi Homar,

As always, good to hear from you.
I agree, the knowledge I have picked up and the experiences I have had have been second to none.

Here’s my email – ShuttleHarvester@gmail.com

I realize that publishing my email in a public forum is an open invitation to others, but I consider myself part of the DH community so I’m OK with people knowing how to contact me. All that I ask is that those who contact me be respectful. People also need to know that I’m not in the best of health and there are times where it can be A WEEK OR MORE before I get to my email. So folks - don’t always expect an answer right away. I’m not ignoring you; I’m just not always well enough to do things.

Best to All,
Ashton

[thehunter]

Hi ashtonpage thank you for responding and I hope you you feel better soon.