Exploring for Patches


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Ok, this is a question I've posted on another forum and was surprised not to get much response.  Maybe it is a well guarded secret.  But I will try the same question, here.

So you have found a gulch, gully or wash with one or more nuggets in it.   This is a requirement.  You have to know there has been gold in this place.  Maybe the nuggets are rounded, or maybe they are coarse.  You've pounded the wash with every coil you can find.  Now the thought is, maybe the gold slowly eroded down the hillside from a patch.  Let's try to find it.  I know this is not always the case.  Maybe even rarely the case.  And I am not talking about ancient river channels carrying the gold for mile.  But if I want to try to find this area that eroded from a hillside patch over time, without a loaming technique, how would you go about your search?  (or maybe you guys have had really good experiences loaming to narrow down your detector search - that would be interesting too)

My guess ... I would go up stream to my last piece of gold I found and begin combing the banks parallel and above the wash.  If nothing found I would rinse and repeat for the other side of the wash.  If still nothing found then maybe everything was already transferred to the wash, or is in the wash gravels.

 

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LipCa, you probably gave the best response before, but you were one of the few who actually answered the question.  I am not expecting people to repeat their answer.  There are a few I know on this forum with a lot of knowledge on this subject.  Perhaps they will share. 

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A great question Andy, I am doing the same thing..I spend half the time hunting ,the other half i hunt for new patches. When i find the nugget I look at the area found, and start asking questions. Like is it coarse or smooth, this tells me distance usually. Second thing I look at is when i find a number of pieces, I try to find a pattern or path traveled, depending on how those questions get answered i look in that direction. I have like you loamed with a detector on both sides of the ,gulch, ravines, and gullies. Sometimes I use a pan...but have not yet located the one source because I think their are multitudes of gold strings feeding those lower areas. I have located small hard rock diggins and usually had good look squeezing out a couple finds from the hard rock tailings and found some patches of elluvial  below those diggins travelling down in too a water way. I suppose the saying is gold is where you find it is true, and with persistence one day that source or a few small ones will be found in time. 

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