Recreational gold mining
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(especially in Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(at Dolaucothi and in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
), in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
especially in western states but also elsewhere. Recreational mining is almost entirely small-scale placer mining.
Australia
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
does not prevent the private ownership of any minerals found in the land. At one time if individuals were to discover gold (or any other minerals) in their property, it would belong to the Crown, being the Australian Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
and not to private entitlement. Today this is not so, and Individuals can search and retrieve minerals with the acquisition of a miners permit that can be bought from the relevant Mining Department.
The largest nugget ever found was the Welcome Stranger
Welcome Stranger
The "Welcome Stranger" is the name given to the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found, which had a calculated refined weight of 2,283 oz 6 dwts 9 gr...
of 2316 troy oz (74 kg).
United Kingdom
Gold has been mined commercially in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(see Welsh gold
Welsh gold
Welsh gold is highly prized because of its origin and scarcity, and occurs naturally in two distinct areas of Wales. One area is in North Wales in a band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia. This was mined at several mines, the largest of which were the Gwynfynydd Gold...
) and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, gold prospecting can only take place with the explicit permission of the riparian owner, and any activities that cause or permit pollution of a watercourse, even re-suspended silt, could result in a criminal prosecution by the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
. There are locations where gold panning is a popular activity.
United States
In the eastern US, a zone of lode
Lode
In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock....
and placer
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
gold deposits extends in the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
region from Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Tennessee, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
have many former gold mines and current prospecting sites. These states were the main source of US gold before the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
gold discovery (see Gold mining in the United States
Gold mining in the United States
Gold mining in the United States has taken place continually since the discovery of gold at the Reed farm in North Carolina in 1799. The first documented occurrence of gold was in Virginia in 1782...
). Recreational gold miners have also had success in the northeastern US.
Small amounts of gold have been found in streams draining glacial deposits in the Midwest.
Gold prospecting and mining activities allowed on public lands vary with the agency and the location. Gold pans and shovels are commonly allowed, but sluice boxes and suction dredges may be prohibited in some areas. There are public mining areas in many states, and prospecting may allow one to stake a gold placer claim
Gold placer claim
In the United States, a placer claim grants to the discoveror of valuable minerals contained in loose material such as sand or gravel the right to mine on public land. Other countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Australia grant similar rights...
or other type of mining claim in certain areas. Some public lands have been set aside for recreational gold panning. Some private land owners also give permission for small-scale gold mining.
The largest true California gold nugget
Gold nugget
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate and grow the nuggets. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered...
, known as the "Dogtown nugget," weighed 54 troy pounds (20 kg), and was found in Magalia, California
Magalia, California
Magalia is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 11,310 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. A 195 pound troy (73 kg) mass of gold mixed with quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
was also found. Alaska has many sites for the prospector, both public and private.
See also
- Gold prospectingGold prospectingGold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector...
- Gold Prospectors Association of AmericaGold Prospectors Association of AmericaThe Gold Prospectors Association of America is an organization dedicated to finding and mining gold on a small or recreational scale. It has gold claims across America and members can work the claims for a yearly fee. The club is headquartered in Temecula, California. Most, if not all GPAA...
- Placer miningPlacer miningPlacer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
- Recreational gold mining in Alaska
- Gold in CaliforniaGold in CaliforniaGold in California became highly concentrated there as the result of global forces operating over hundreds of millions of years. Volcanoes, tectonic plates and erosion all combined to concentrate billions of dollars worth of gold in the mountains of California...
External links
- TeacherTube: Panning for gold, Instructional video, retrieved 20 January 2009.
- World Goldpanning Association, retrieved 9 January 2009
Australia
- ClickForAustralia.com: Fossicking and gold panning in the Northern Territory, retrieved 7 January 2009.
New Zealand
- FindGoldNZ.com: Where to find gold in New Zealand, retrieved 7 January 2009
- Ministry of Economic Development, Crown Minerals: Gold fossicking (recreational gold panning), retrieved 9 January 2009
- PayDirt.co.nz: Map of public gold fossicking areas in New Zealand, retrieved 23 April 2009
Switzerland
- Swiss Goldprospector's Association: Recreational Goldprospecting in Switzerland, retrieved 7 January 2009
United States
- US Bureau of Land Management: Recreational gold prospecting on public land
- US Geological Survey: Prospecting for gold in the United States, retrieved 20 January 2009
- Encyclopedia of Alabama: Gold production in Alabama, retrieved 3 January 2009.
- Illinois Geological Survey: Gold: its occurrence in Illinois, panning and prospecting, retrieved 3 January 2009.
- Indiana Geological Survey: Where can gold be found in Indiana?, retrieved 3 January 2009.
- Iowa Geological Survey: Gold in Iowa, by Raymond R. Anderson, PDF file, retrieved 9 January 2009
- Maine Geological Survey: Gold in Maine, retrieved 9 January 2009.
- North Carolina Geological Survey: Gold in North Carolina, retrieved 3 January 2009.
- Washington (state) Department of Fish and Wildlife: Mineral prospecting, retrieved 3 January 2009.