Gold is not scattered at random. It gathers where hot fluids cooled, where rivers slowed and where heavy minerals had nowhere else to go. These guides explain that geology in plain words and turn it into practical tips for the field.
Start here: How Is Gold Formed? From Exploding Stars to River Gravels
Where to Find Gold
Black sand is a mix of heavy minerals that travels with gold in streams. Learn what it is made of, what it tells you about a spot and how to separate fine gold from it without losing any.
Prospecting Methods
In the desert there is no creek to run a sluice. A dry washer uses air and vibration instead. Learn how it works, what ground suits it and how to clean up the concentrates.
How Gold Forms
Epithermal deposits form in hot spring systems just below the surface of volcanic areas. Learn the two main types, what their quartz looks like and why some of the world's richest gold veins are epithermal.
Prospecting Methods
A suction dredge vacuums gravel from a riverbed and runs it over a sluice. It can move a lot of material, but rules have tightened in many places. Here is how dredging works and what to check first.
Where to Find Gold
Alaska still has active placer mining and some of the best recreational panning in the US. Here are the main regions, public panning areas and the realities of prospecting in the far north.
Where to Find Gold
Australia has produced some of the largest gold nuggets ever found. Here is a guide to Victoria's Golden Triangle, Western Australia's goldfields and other regions, plus the licences you need in each state.
Where to Find Gold
Canada's best-known gold country lies in British Columbia and the Yukon. Here is where hobbyists can pan legally, from BC's recreational panning reserves to Free Claim #6 in the Klondike.
Prospecting Methods
A highbanker is a sluice with a pump and hopper that lets you work gravel away from the water. Compare cost, output, portability and legal limits to decide which one suits your prospecting.
Prospecting Methods
A sluice box lets a creek do the hard work of separating gold from gravel. Learn how riffles and matting trap gold, how to set the right angle and water flow, and how to clean up without losing fines.