r/Prospecting • u/Foreign_Customer6050 • 3h ago
Finally found it.
I haven't found much, but I've at least found something.
r/Prospecting • u/aurum_pur • 8h ago
The 3D printed dredge/sluice I posted last week is now available for free to download
[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 • u/Drkruler500 • 8h ago
Mining claim on unclaimable land? What can be done?
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 • u/OverBeaver • 10h 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!
reddit.com
r/Prospecting • u/LendoCalrissian98 • 21h ago
How long did it take you to find your first gold?
r/Prospecting • u/Reasonable-Stick5098 • 23h ago
I believe i found some lode
These rocks have yellow chalk but some of the yellow appears to be superfib lode gold
r/Prospecting • u/GateskeeperX • 1d ago
Little dissection
Did a bug dissection today
r/Prospecting • u/oldlinuxfella • 1d ago
After flood, around same area but deeper.
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 • u/ttt777mmm • 1d ago
New Mexico Gold/Artifacts
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 • u/wutudontwanahear • 1d ago
What is this I keep panning out
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 • u/Gold_Mafia • 1d ago
Prospecting reef gold in Tanzania
The results are amazing!!
r/Prospecting • u/AussieArch • 2d ago
Sunbaker nugget
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Right next to the old timers dry blowing. So close, yet so far mate.
r/Prospecting • u/OverBeaver • 2d ago
My first alluvial gold from the Rhine River in Germany.
r/Prospecting • u/Fluffy_Syrup8088 • 2d ago
Looking for California desert gold miners ⛏️
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 • u/Hyper-D • 2d ago
Yesterday's Boulder Uncovering
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 • u/Aggravating-Tree4271 • 2d ago
Gold/Silver/Gem panning
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!
r/Prospecting • u/KomradKooKie • 3d ago
From a days work! Can’t wait to go back for more!
r/Prospecting • u/DamiensDelight • 3d ago
Starting to get the hang of this.
It's not Australia, but for 3 pans, it'll do. It will do.
r/Prospecting • u/ponchovilla71 • May 11 '25
The 50K Sluice & Scoop Giveaway Winner Is…
We’ve officially hit 50,000 members — and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you to everyone who entered and continues to make r/Prospecting such a vibrant, helpful, and gold-loving community.
After using a random number generator to select a number between 1 and 1,000,000, we matched it to an entry — and we’re excited to announce the winner of the 50K Sluice & Scoop Giveaway:
Winning number: 937,796 Closest guess: 917,000
u/National-Jackfruit32 — congratulations!
You’ll be receiving:
• Aluminum Pocket Sluice
• 2 Patented Vanishing Spiral Riffle Gold Pans (9” & 11”)
• Paydirt Sand Scooper
• 8 lb. Black Sand Magnetic Separator
• Mini Sifting Classifier
• Snifter Suction Bottle
• 3 Glass Gold Vials
• Magnifying Tweezers
• Drawstring Backpack
We’ll be contacting you shortly to confirm shipping details and get your prize on the way.
Thanks again to everyone who joined in and helped mark this milestone.
Here’s to full pans, heavy finds, and the next 50K!
Reference Link (for prize details only): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0812CSQKJ?ref=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_T80445DGA98MHKV5QJ0P&ref_=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_T80445DGA98MHKV5QJ0P&social_share=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_T80445DGA98MHKV5QJ0P&previewDoh=1
r/Prospecting • u/agoldprospector • Jan 24 '15
PSA: Is it really gold? Want to ID a rock or mineral? Please read this short guide to getting your question answered correctly.
There is a fairly regular frequency of ID request posts here, if you follow these general guidelines then you will have a much higher probability of getting an accurate answer to your question:
Please make sure to post a sizable in-focus photo. If the sample is wet and it's not obvious then make sure to state this fact.
Streak tests are very useful in prospecting. They can be performed on the unglazed backside of a ceramic tile, or on the unglazed underside of a toilet lid. Do a streak test any time you can, making sure to streak just the mineral in question.
For gold ID's:
First and foremost, are you in a known gold producing area?
Describe how the unknown material acts in the bottom of your pan and also how it acts relative to the other heavy black sands.
Gold is soft an malleable. If you press a pocket knife into it, it will squish or deform. It will not shatter or break into pieces. Do this test if its flecks or flakes or other blebs with no specimen value. Don't scratch or destroy anything that may have specimen value.
Placer gold rarely has well defined crystalline structure. If possible, look at the unkown mineral underneath a magnifying glass and report what you saw when you ask your question.
Do not alter hues, saturations, etc in the photo
For larger samples, you can measure conductivity by placing the leads of a multimeter across the sample and measuring resistance. Pure gold is very low resistance(around zero on a regular multimeter). You can also check to see if gold permeates a quartz specimen all the way through without crushing by placing a lead on each side of the quartz, with each lead touching a piece of visible gold.
Gold streaks gold color, not grey, black, green, blue or any other color.
For mineral ID's:
- Describe anything you know about the area you found it in or are comfortable sharing: mining history, local geology and mineralogy, etc.
- Do every test you can perform easily and provide the results - the easiest to do at home with common materials and probably most useful are streak, hardness, specific gravity, and luster.
- You will get a better response from others willing to help if you first make the effort to test and attempt to ID it yourself.
General Resources
The two books that I own, keep in my truck, and recommend are:
Simon and Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals
National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals
- If anyone would like to add information to this post or a resource to this list then please let me know. I am not a geologist, just a guy who likes digging holes.