FINDING GOLD III (Gold & Sapphires)

Start slow, learn …
Start slow, learn to research on the net and in the library before setting foot in the field. Try to find the gold locations before you ever get there and save much time and money from historical accounts and reading the gps server maps (topo maps from google, teraserver and elsewhere). Most important, be patient, and realize there’s more gold in the adventure than in the gold itself. Best of luck and thank you for the kind comments.

Thanks for …
Thanks for producing these great videos Matt. I am just getting into propecting and I think I have gained more “book knowledge” from your videos that from anywhere else. I hope you do a “Finding Gold XII”. What is the best advice that you could give somebody just getting into propecting? Keep up the the good work!

That is the …
That is the determinate factor between the two. Lush red = ruby, all other colors (including colorless) = sapphire.

so, simply the …
so, simply the color can determine a ruby or a sapphire?

also thanks for your videos, alot of the places you went were very beautifull, wish there were some nice gold panning/whatnot sites near me =P

Sapphires are any …
Sapphires are any color but red (ruby), and both are corundum (scientific name). Corundum is naturally colorless but the impurities of chromium or aluminum will make colored stones (a ruby, or sapphire). The one grey area is a pink (pinkish) sapphire - one person’s pink sapphire is another’s ruby . . . Rubies glow brilliant red under ultraviolet light, the same for pink sapphires (so the same impurity is present (but not the amount).

arent sapphires …
arent sapphires blue?

holy cows!!!! i …
holy cows!!!! i went there and found like 20 saphires….

Supposedly, there …
Supposedly, there is placer gold in Connecticut, too. But I hear there is more in Vermont.

I love your videos. …
I love your videos. Thank you!

They were at the …
They were at the Gem Mountain mine, also on the West Fork of Rock Creek, Montana.

Where were the …
Where were the finished stones found/filmed?

Yesterday i found a …
Yesterday i found a huge place of black sands, and some of the black sand areas has alot of gold flakes, amazing find. By the way i collect black sands, so when ever you or anyone you know close to california whats to sell there sands i will buy it. I learn alot from your videos, keep up the great work. I will have to show u a trick i know if you ever come to california. Have a happy new years

it is beautaful, u …
it is beautaful, u should go back by conrad montana and talk to ppl there

thanks for the …
thanks for the reply and info

I was going to …
I was going to check that with a boat, but due to the water being so low, couldn’t find a way into it. I have not either (heard of finds) but the Etowah is loaded with it and I was going to check the N end where it feeds in. Bound to have garnets in it, they practically all do in those N. foothills. I did find two small (very) diamonds in Holcombe Creek (W of Buchannan) so they may be around too but are very hard to separate at normal dredge speeds for gold. Good luck - much to find in Ga.

have u ever …
have u ever searched any feeder streams of allatoona lake ga i’ve found large amounts of quartz and iron pyrite but have never heard of gold or gem finds

Didn’t live there, …
Didn’t live there, but appreciate your enthusiasm for the state - a beautiful place for sure. Have not tried in Ohio, but if you plug Ohio Placer Gold into your search engine one of the links is to Geofact 09 Gold In Ohio and that gives a map of locations. Good luck!

omg thanks man, u …
omg thanks man, u lived in montana for 2 years. have you ever done gold hunting in ohio?

Yes it was, on the …
Yes it was, on the W. Fork of Rock Creek near Phillipsburg.

was this taken in …
was this taken in montana????

Extremely hard to …
Extremely hard to do in the field. All of us who dredge gold have left behind thousands in gemstones . . . That said: with the book”Gem Identification Made Easy” a 10X triplet loupe, a UV light, and a dichroscope you can probably ID 95% of them. Even England’s Crown Jewels had a piece that turned out to be spinel instead of ruby, so you can see — it’s not easy. #1 tip - if something looks “different” “pretty” or has a defined (octagonal, etc) shape — take it home where you have time to ID.

how do I know in …
how do I know in the field if I have precious stones?

If you watch …
If you watch Finding Gold 1-5 you should have plenty to find gold. Finding Gold V has how to work the inexpensive equipment, Finding Gold II and Finding Gold IV will give you a decent primer on reading (this one too). I would start off light (just a pan, or sluice) and if you find a concentration go from there.

Anyway, a stream ( …
Anyway, a stream (about 3-6 feet wide) runs through her property that comes right out of where this prospector shaded the map of where he thinks the gold was. What makes this story even more interesting is that I asked my mother about the stream and if she ever found anything. She said that when she was a kid she used to find find tiny pieces of what she thought was gold or fools gold in the stream. My question to you is how do I get started in my search of this stream?

Hi Matt I have a …
Hi Matt I have a crazy story for you.

I’m a college student and I recently remembered a story my grandmother told me when I was a kid. She told me she found a map on one of her hills where she lives in the Adirondack park (Fulton County) NY. The map was found about 30-40 years ago and must have been dropped by a prospector. The map was of her property and about 10,000 acres of surrounding property (she ownes 150 acres).