You can locate gold and black sand anywhere. The trick is not having the right detector but having your detector at the right place. This complicates your desires but it also makes things fun and interesting. As an experienced prospector, I'll first suggest that you join the GPAA. Look it up.
Then, regarding your stream, here is what I'd do. I'd find places where gold has been found on the stream. If none has ever been found, start at the downstream edge of your property. Go upstream and prospect by looking around for possible earlier routes for the stream. Many streams have changed course over the years and you can often stumble upon an old, no longer used (by the stream) bend or arm that has straightened out. Failing to do that, look in the stream bed for areas where sand has filled a crevice. Dig into that sand and pan some to see if there are any flecks or micro particles of gold in your pan. If you get black sand, that's good but not absolute proof that gold is there. You must persevere.
Keep looking around for more and more crevices and repeat the steps. Even if you find gold there, keep moving upstream until you no longer find gold. Mark all these places on a map of the area, even if you have to draw it yourself. If the map you are using is incorrect, fix it so the stream is right. After marking all these places, then and only then do you turn on your detector. Now it's time to let your detector do its thing. You can find detectable nuggets inside the crevices and upstream of a crevice if they're fairly large. Smaller nuggets can be found downstream. Black sand will be found if it's there and can be panned if you wish but I collect it in buckets and bring it home to pan on those days when I just don't feel up to traveling. You can work your concentrates easier with a sluice. Keep good daily records of your finds including labeling your buckets of concentrates and marking their location on your map.
After you have completely cleaned out the creek to your satisfaction (impossible to do, by the way), it's time to do some uphill work. Look at your map patterns to see where the largest concentrations of gold have been found in your previous work. From there, go uphill on the banks and look for the possible source. Again, this is first done with your eyeball and the computer between your ears. Since you have joined the GPAA (What??? You didn't???), you will have reference material at hand to help you find the source of the alluvial gold.
If you do find that the meanderings of your stream have changed, you might spend some time digging craters into the area that used to be the stream bed and looking carefully at anything you find. Remember, the closer you get to bedrock, the better your chances of finding gold.
One small section of a stream, perhaps no longer than 200 yards, can keep you busy for years and just might make you wealthy. Particularly at today's gold prices. Have fun.
One last word for you. Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth State, meaning that the state considers minerals to be owned by the state. Be sure you have the correct permits in place to ensure that you keep your own gold.
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« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 10:08:05 pm by GoldDigger1950 »
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It's all about that moment when metal that hasn't seen the light of day for generations frees itself from the soil and presents itself to me.
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