Where can I find gold? Where and how to look for gold? Where can there be gold?

Not only legends, but also historical facts claim that in the old days gold mining was quite active in the Moscow region: maps of deposits, preserved since then in various versions, still attract the darlings of fortune and gambling adventurers.

The gold rush at different times alternately covered the vast expanses of Russia. Gold panning began in a variety of regions, and often such enterprises achieved very significant success. And this is not surprising, because the Russian subsoil contains almost the entire periodic table, including precious metals. From time immemorial, miners in Rus' washed gold, which was more than enough for jewelry for the royal families, for precious church utensils and frames for icons, for minting coins and even for trade with close and distant neighbors.

Today, there are several hundred large and small deposits of this noble metal in the country. The Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chukotka, Yakutia and the Magadan Region have held the championship in its production for many years.

Statistics do not mention information about the mining of precious metals in the central part of the country, and therefore not every resident of the areas adjacent to the capital knows that gold mining is possible in the Moscow region. To this day, enterprises that actively mined placer gold in Soviet times have been preserved in mothballed form, producing up to 4 tons of precious metal per year.

Many of the deposits near Moscow are highly profitable from the point of view of gold mining, since they contain over 17 milligrams of gold per ton of processed rock. For comparison, we can say that in world practice a deposit is considered promising if its gold reserves are 10 milligrams per ton of rock.

From ancient times to the present day, gold can most often be found in the rivers of the Moscow region. If you believe the surviving maps, which indicate the most promising places for prospectors, the bulk of them are in the northern part of the Moscow region.

For example, in the area of the village of Iksha, a network of small rivers originating at the tops of the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge erode layers of glaciers with their flow. In the thickness of these ice masses formed over centuries, a lot of precious metal has accumulated, which enriches the river sand.

And today one of these small rivers in the Iksha region tirelessly delights fans of the gold rush with the alluring shine of precious grains. The old-timers of these places tell the miners a legend according to which one of the rivers once turned into a real golden stream, from which miners washed not fine gold sand, but relatively large precious nuggets.

Legends are legends, but small grains of yellow metal, which are called “signs” in the language of prospectors, are found in rivers near Iksha in our time.

Cartography to help

Persistent rumors that there is gold in the Moscow region and that it is not so difficult to find it received unexpected confirmation from cartographers. Not long ago, a modern map of attractions located in the Moscow region was published. The attentive eyes of fortune hunters saw on it the symbol Au between two villages of the Dmitrov region.

One of them is Protasovo, and the second is Ignatovo. Any high school student knows that a similar sign denotes an element of the periodic table, which has atomic number 79 and is a noble metal, or, more simply, gold.

For gold mining in the Moscow region, a map indicating deposits where there is at least any significant amount of gold sand is simply necessary for the prospector. It helps to weed out rumors and legends that have no basis, and direct your energy to finding truly promising places for mining the precious metal.

A little history

Gold from the Moscow region has been mentioned in historical references since the beginning of the 19th century. The soldiers of Napoleon's army, having occupied Moscow, first of all began to inquire from local residents where the extraordinary “golden” river was located, in which, instead of fish, gold nuggets await their catchers.

After the expulsion of Napoleon and the end of hostilities, envoys from the Russian imperial court came to Moscow. The purpose of their visit to Moscow was the same as that of the French: to learn about large gold deposits near Moscow. However, the residents of the Moscow province did not reveal their secret, and the royal envoys returned to the court with nothing.

Another outbreak of the “gold rush” occurred in the lands near Moscow before the October Revolution. The reason for it was an incident that helped a peasant from the Dmitrov region find two rather large nuggets on the bank of a small nameless river. The lucky plowman resold the find to a capital merchant. Soon after this, “top secret” maps with the designation of a gold-bearing place began to circulate around Moscow.

In response, many Moscow residents succumbed to the excitement and decided to try their luck with a prospecting tray in their hands. Even the famous master of reporting, Vladimir Gilyarovsky, succumbed to the general excitement, and went along with everyone else to catch their luck. Moscow guidebooks responded to the increased demand and began to publish data that there really are gold deposits near the village of Iksha, and they can be found in:

gold placers;
alluvial boulders of glacial origin.

The baton of general excitement was picked up by local newspapers, which began publishing articles with tempting, action-inducing headlines:

"Klondike near Moscow";
"Russian California";
"Golden River"

The successful entrepreneur Ponomarev was not at a loss at the right moment. In the wake of popular interest, he created a joint-stock company with the goal of organizing gold mining on an industrial scale. Very respectable people of that time became members of the society. However, their hopes for quick enrichment were not realized.

The gold rush died out as suddenly as it started. And the reason for this was not at all the absence of the sought-after gold in the rivers near Moscow.

Industrialists did not have the technology to make metal mining economically interesting. At that time it simply did not exist.

Golden river beds

Employees of the Central Scientific Research Geological Prospecting Institute of Non-Ferrous and Precious Metals (TSNIGRI) told Rossiyskaya Gazeta journalists that not only the rivers near Iksha are of interest to prospectors. There is also noble metal in the beds of the Sestra and Volgusha rivers near Moscow.

To prove their words, they organized a real mining expedition for the workers of the pen, leading them to the shores of the Sister. Journalists had to pick up trays and get down to work. Their efforts were not in vain. After several hours of hard work, they lathered 5 milligrams of pure golden sand.

If you look at this catch through a microscope, it looks very impressive. All grains of sand have a smooth, water-polished surface and a bright, inviting shine. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see the microscopic nuggets with the naked eye. But the fact that a certain number of gold signs were found in a short time suggests that this metal still exists in the rivers of the Moscow region.

And not only the northern region of the region can boast of the presence of gold. There is evidence that in the mid-70s, one of the students of the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute managed to wash gold grains in streams in the Podolsk region. To prove the veracity of his words, he willingly showed off his booty to his classmates.

And the impossible is possible

Experts say that gold deposits should be sought in layers of igneous rocks, which include granites and quartz, or in the vicinity of metamorphic rocks transformed under the influence of high pressures and significant temperatures.

Gold from the Moscow region is an exception to the rule. The fact is that the territory of the Moscow region mostly consists of sedimentary rocks. How, in this case, can one explain the presence of gold in the Moscow region?

Scientists have found compelling reasons to explain this phenomenon. According to the presented hypothesis, the reason for the appearance of gold in the Moscow region was a giant glacier, which several thousand years ago slid from the Scandinavian mountains to the Central Russian Upland. During its journey, it accumulated boulders, stones and fragments of various rocks in the ice layer.

As centuries passed, the climate changed and the glacial tongue began to gradually melt. In the places where the rapids formed, a natural enrichment process began to occur, as a result of which heavier minerals settled to the bottom of the glacier, thereby forming mineral deposits. Gold did not escape this fate.

Why mine in the Moscow region?

Despite the fact that gold has been mined in places near Moscow for a long time, its reserves are assessed by experts as insignificant from the point of view of industrial interest. In this case, who is developing these unpromising deposits and why? Scientists know the answer to this question too.

Gold from the Moscow region is of interest because it is of the alluvial type, which makes it possible to organize a fairly easy process of its extraction. According to experts, there will only be enough such placer gold in Russia for the next decades.

The reserves of gold that lie along with the bedrock can be mined for more than a century. The problem is that the development of primary deposits requires significant financial investments from gold miners to create:

complex and expensive infrastructure, including the development of mines and quarries, as well as the construction of processing plants;
transport and logistics network designed to serve the enterprise, since most of them are located away from housing.

Placer gold from loose rocks or alluvial deposits that form on river banks cannot boast of significant reserves, but in terms of extraction it is much cheaper for miners. There is one more factor that allows gold deposits near Moscow to become profitable.

In the central regions of the country, including the Moscow region, the main reserves of gold are contained in sand, which is actively used in the construction industry. Taking this factor into account, experts offered gold miners a technology that allows for the accompanying extraction of metal. This method makes gold mining economically interesting.

Private mining

The low profitability of gold mining does not frighten residents of the Moscow region, who in the summer turn into numerous private miners, happily spending time on the banks of large and small rivers.

For their purposes, they use simple, but time-tested and reliable mining technology. Most prospectors only need a few items to get started:

tray;
shovel;
bucket;
scoop.

The main difficulty is the main question: where to dig? Some miners dig through river sediments, while others go to quarries where sand and gravel are extracted. Once the location has been determined, you can begin to work.

Here another difficulty awaits the lover of precious metals. The prospector will have to patiently and carefully carry out the same constantly repeated movements for a long time. In general, the proverb applies to prospectors like no other profession: “Persistence and work will grind everything down.”

Secrets of mastery

Since gold is heavier than sand, it always settles to the bottom of the sand mixture. The main task of the miner is to wash the soil sample in such a way as not to inadvertently wash away the gold. After thorough washing of the sand, a dark-colored concentrate is formed, containing fragments of heavy minerals, among which gold grains are hidden. To examine the concentrate carefully in a quiet environment, you can pour it into a jar or a special bag and seal it tightly.

This material can be adjusted to the required result at home using a regular garbage scoop. First you need to go over its inner surface with sandpaper to get rid of the gloss and make the scoop less smooth.

Experienced miners warn beginners not to let the concentrate dry out. Since dried grains of gold will become buoyant and can be washed away with water during the first washing of the concentrate.

The prospector's pan also has its own secret. It must be made from a single piece of wood. And not every tree is suitable for this purpose. The highest quality trays are made from linden and cedar. Experts tried to make a tray from modern materials: fiberglass or plastic. But such products could not compete with the traditional wooden tray. Only wood allows the tray to float and has a surface rough enough to trap the gold grains.

To separate gold from dry rock, miners use a magnet because the minerals that accompany the gold contain a lot of iron. But there is a secret here too. Before using the magnet, it must be placed in a plastic bag or plastic container. In this case, adhering particles of ferruginous quartzites or garnets can be easily separated from the magnet by removing the bag. If you do not follow this advice, it can be very difficult to separate particles stuck to the magnet.

In some cases, the catch can only be detected using a microscope. Seeing the signs, as experts call small grains of gold, can be difficult without the help of equipment.

The “Gold Rush” continues to haunt adventure lovers to this day. Many people dream of becoming the proud owner of a gold nugget, but not everyone knows where to look for a suitable deposit. And, of course, for many it will be a surprise to learn that gold can be mined in the Moscow region, using sand pits or river beds for this purpose.

To become a prospector you do not need to purchase expensive equipment. A shovel and tray will help you take soil samples and wash the sand. And the direction of the search will be suggested by maps on which deposits of the precious metal are marked with the sign Au. But not only maps can become guides for modern gold miners. When setting out on a journey, you should study local legends and tales. Often they indicate traditionally gold-rich places.

Gold, with the exception of platinum, is the most expensive metal on the planet. Its undoubted advantages include plasticity, high specific gravity, resistance to external influences and, of course, excellent solar shine. Gold does not rust and does not dissolve in virtually any known aggressive substances. The metal is rare, but in small quantities it is found everywhere - in the ground, in water, in ash and even in plants. Gold can be mined using both industrial and artisanal methods. Miners most often wash it, of course, in rivers and streams. This procedure is technically simple, but usually very labor-intensive. In this article, we will understand in detail how

Where to look?

Gold is a chemically inert metal. That is, it rarely forms various types of compounds with other substances. Therefore, in nature, gold can most often be found in the form of nuggets. The latter have very different sizes. Small accumulations of gold may not even be visible to the naked eye.Gold sand or small nuggets weighing 1-3 grams are also found in nature. Such valuable "pieces" can be found in many rivers and streams - even where there have never been prospectors. But sometimes in nature you can find very valuable large nuggets - weighing 10 grams or more.

Where can you wash gold?or find it?There are only two main varietiessimilardeposits: ore and placer.The huge advantage of the latter is that when developing them there is no need to crush ore and dig deep mines. Placer deposits are formed in rivers due to the washing out of quartz gold-bearing rocks. The stream carries pieces of metal from the ground downstream. At turns in a river or stream, or near any obstacles, grains of sand or nuggets stop their movement, gradually accumulating. Such places are called “nests”. This is where miners usually work.

How is gold mined in rivers?

Of course, metal located in water or on the shore (when the bed of a river or stream changes) does not lie directly on the surface. Anyone looking for an answer to the question of how to properly wash gold should keep in mind that nuggets in placer deposits are always mixed with stones, sand, clay, and silt.

Actually, in order to remove them, a method such as washing with a tray is used. Gold, as already mentioned, has a high specific gravity. Basalt stones, sandstone and other rocks usually weigh less. Therefore, when washed, they simply drain with water. The gold itself remains at the bottom of the tray.

What to take with you

We’ll talk about how to wash gold in the river below. First, let's figure out what is needed for this procedure. Of course, first of all, a prospector who decides to get nuggets will need to take a tray with him. In addition, you will need a pipette and several containers for the gold itself. Nuggets are often very small in size and it is difficult to pick them up simply with your fingers. This is what you need a pipette for. For storing very small grains of sand, for example, a regular medical bottle is suitable. Large nuggets, of course, can be placed in any container.

You should also definitely take a sieve with you. You can make it by cutting a plastic bucket about halfway and making a lot of holes in its bottom. After all, rivers often contain not only sand, but also large stones. A sieve is necessary in order to sift them out.You will also need a small shovel to scoop up soil. Sometimes a prospector needsa rake for agitating, for example, heavy clay rock.

And of course, a person who decides to find gold should definitely wear rubber boots. Two pairs of gloves will also come in handy. Rubber ones will protect your hands from getting wet. Under them you should wear regular household gloves with pimples. The water in the river can be warm. But in the stream it will probably be very cold.

How to wash gold: technology

Actually, the procedure for extracting nuggets from river soil is not complicated. Large stones are removed first:

the sieve is installed on top of the tray;
a shovel is used to scoop up soil from a river or stream;
the mass is poured into a sieve and sifted;
Water is poured into the sieve from above in order to wash the remaining particles of soil down from the stones;
the sieve with stones is removed from the tray.

Next comes the actual washing itself. In order for things to move faster, experienced miners recommend performing this procedure on a small current. The answer to the question of how to wash gold looks something like this:

the tray with gold-bearing soil is carefully lowered into the water;
make movements left and right until the turbidity dissolves;
begin to perform circular movements, sifting out the sand.

Continue this procedure until all the soil is washed out. Next, carefully inspect the bottom of the tray. Nuggets weighing two to three grams are clearly visible to the naked eye. However, the remaining soil may contain very small grains of sand. It is important not to miss them.

How to stroke

This procedure on clay soils is performed after sifting out large stones. To agitate, the paddle is first immersed in the bow of the tray. Then it rises along the bottom to the top. This should be done so that the soil with clay and silt rolls down into the middle part of the tray. The stroke movements should be repeated quickly - about once per second. As a result, silt and clay will come into suspension, heavy particles will sink, and pebbles will be forced to the top. You should continue to work with the stroke until the water stops becoming cloudy.

At the final stage, you need to pull the tray out of the water and remove the pebbles on top. Then you can start washing the remaining sand.

What types of trays are there?

We found out how to wash gold by hand. Now let's talk in more detail about what the equipment necessary for this procedure is, and in particular the tray. There are several types of such devices used by miners for washing:

Asian ladles and basins. Such utensils are sometimes used by prospectors in the Urals. The disadvantages of such equipment include small volume, uneven discharge stream, and the possibility of losing small nuggets due to the small side. When using such a tray, a paddle cannot be used.
Trays of Chinese and Korean type. Such devices are quite convenient to wash. However, they are expensive. It is difficult to make such a tray yourself. This type of equipment is made from one piece of raw thick wood (without branches or cracks) by hollowing out the middle.
Yakut trays. Such devices are made from both sheet iron and plank. They are the ones most often used by private miners. Wooden trays are more suitable for rough washing in rich deposits. On metal, you can notice even the smallest grains of sand.

It is clear how to wash gold in streams in this way. An ordinary person who decides to find nuggets in the surrounding area should take a metal tray with him. Sheet iron is well suited for the manufacture of such a device:

0.8 mm for small trays;
1 mm - for medium ones;
1.2 mm - for large ones.

For work in water, it is best to use galvanized metal. Firstly, it will not rust over time, and secondly, golden grains of sand will be more visible on a light zinc surface. The metal should be cut according to the diagram (can be seen below).

This procedure is performed like this:

the outlines of the pieces are drawn on the sheet;
cutting is carried out;
Bend lines are drawn on each cut piece;
the sheet is bent to give the tray the appropriate shape;
sharp corners are rounded with scissors;
a wire 6-8 mm thick is rolled along the edge of the tray;
Handle rings are riveted along the sides on both sides.

When making a tray from metal (as well as from wood), you should keep in mind that the angle between both of its planes should be 140 degrees.

Is it possible to wash gold in the river: what does the law say?

Unfortunately, it is prohibited to walk freely and look for nuggets in our country. In principle, anyone can wash. However, this type of activity must be properly formalized. Unfortunately, licenses for this are not sold freely in our country. But if you wish, you can enter into an agreement with an enterprise that has a similar document.

Unfortunately, there are not too many gold mining companies in Russia and their area of activity is limited. Perhaps someday the government will allow free mining (as was the case, for example, in the USSR). But at present, it is not worth walking with a tray along streams and rivers just like that, without a permit. If gold is found from a prospector without a contract, he faces a large fine.

Instead of a conclusion

So, we hope we have answered the main question of the article in sufficient detail - how to wash gold in the river and what is the best way to do this. Metal trays are convenient and quite simple to manufacture. However, if you wish, you can purchase a small plastic tray for the first time, for example, via the Internet. Such devices are inexpensive and finding them on the Internet is relatively easy.

Finding gold is hard work. Sometimes months of fruitless efforts and research pass in search. Russia is far from being the last among the countries that have deposits of this precious metal. Moreover, in recent years it has ranked 5th among gold-mining countries.

Geologists advise looking for precious metal only where it can be found, and for this there are a large number of ways to find metal in the form of flakes, nuggets, gold sand and placer gold. Precious metal may be found in areas where mining companies have operated.

It can be on the surface layer, in the middle of mountain streams or on a raft, in bedrock, or rock cracks. But you shouldn’t look where searches have never been carried out; the likelihood of finding precious metal there is almost zero. When a person finds even a small pebble of gold, he understands that his labors were not in vain, so he should not be discouraged. Great luck, geological knowledge and a good tool will increase the likelihood of a find many times over.

Basic signs of gold

It is very easy to confuse gold with another mineral if you do not know some of its features. Everyone knows that it is yellow and shiny. But, besides gold, pyrite and chalcopyrite have such characteristics. Nuggets can be yellow with red and greenish hues.

The natural material is malleable and can be forged. It does not oxidize, but dissolves in hydrochloric or nitric acids. If you look for gold in ores, you first need to focus on the fact that the metal grows together with other minerals. It will not clearly crystallize like pyrite and chalcopyrite. The noble metal is often found fused with quartz, appearing like a grain or plate.

Alluvial gold is characterized by grains in the form of hooks or wires. In this form, natural material is found in the form of small grains and various kinds of nuggets. If we consider its dimensions, we can distinguish the following categories:

finely dispersed (up to 10 microns);
visible (0.01-4 mm);
nuggets (from 5 g to 10 kg).

To distinguish it from pyrite and chalcopyrite, you need to pay attention to the color. The pebble is viewed from different angles. From any angle, gold will not change its original shade. Pyrite will give itself away by changing its color. Its bright yellow color will fade to gray upon inspection. Gold can be checked with a knife; it will not crumble like pyrite and chalcopyrite, but it will leave grooves or lines on it.

If doubts have not been dispelled after the procedures, you can test the metal using sulfuric acid. Gold's color will not change, but pyrite and chalcopyrite will change it. Pyrite in areas of impact will turn black, and chalcopyrite will turn red.

Precious metal deposits

There are many places where you can find gold. But to a greater extent, gold ores are formed in mountainous and watery places. Near the mountains, in depressions, young gold deposits are found. Gold veins accumulate in places of faults and cracks in mountains, rocks, and are located along the line of mountain rivers. They come from the bowels of the earth through special channels (fault zones and igneous rock dikes). The total length of such veins can reach several hundred meters, and sometimes reach up to 2 km.

In search of gold, prospectors find pure deposits of gold veins and complex places of formation of non-ferrous metals. In the second case, placer deposits of gold are formed due to the properties of the precious metal to dissolve and oxidize under natural conditions. Gold can come into contact with other minerals and form where sulfides and granitoids come into contact with limestone. Vein deposits are located at different depths, so they are divided into 3 categories:

low temperature;
medium temperature;
high temperature.

If there is a placer gold deposit nearby, then there are also vein channels in the area. The precious metal is sometimes an integral part of the gold-polymetallic zone, then silver, zinc and lead are combined with it. In Cretaceous sedimentary formations, in depressions and conglomerates, gold-bearing veins are found in places of faults and large cracks.

In these zones, the metal is found in generations with different types of quartz, sulfides and other minerals. But the largest areas for extracting priceless metal are stockwork areas. Gold, along with sulfides and quartz, is scattered in areas of large cracks in the form of inclusions or veins in the rock. Such deposits can be very long and large. Therefore, in such zones, metal mining is organized industrially, where ordinary miners can search for gold quite effectively after completing all the work.

Types of metal deposits

The most common gold deposits are quartz veins, created by nature over many years. Over time, these veins were destroyed by external factors, and both quartz and gold were washed away by sediments into rivers. At the bottom there was a constant movement of stones, which crushed and rolled around the metal. Due to the fact that the noble metal is heavier than other minerals, it was deposited in certain areas of the ducts. With just one glance at the size and degree of rounding of a sample, specialists can determine its travel history and the location of the main vein.

You can successfully search for gold near a river only if the map contains marks on the main places of deposits, which can be both at the bottom of the river and near it. Near the river there are residual deposits formed due to the weathering of the vein. Some pieces of vein and nuggets moved a certain distance from the main location, but did not fall into the reservoir. These formations are called eluvial. When looking for terraced metal deposits, you can find formations above the water level (old bottom) and at a great distance from the current riverbed, sometimes they are found even high in the mountains. The last place where gold is formed is the bottom of the river, where the metal was washed away by water from the main vein.

Gold is several times heavier than other minerals, so its movement along the bottom occurs only under the strong influence of water masses over short distances. The movement occurs in the area of the river that is between the bends. Large stones become an obstacle to gold, so it is better to look for gold under them at the bottom of the river. As the river widens, the flow speed decreases, so gold can settle in such areas.

Gold content of quartz

Quartz is the most common mineral and forms in veins with many metals and minerals. In the search for the noble yellow metal, it plays a major role because the appearance of quartz can reveal the location of the gold. To correctly read quartz, knowledge of the properties of the gold-bearing sample is necessary. This mineral comes in a variety of colors and shades; it can be transparent, black, white, or gray. You can search for gold in quartz in several types:

corn;
nest;
veins;
germination;
invisible dispersive.

If ore minerals were in quartz, but were leached, then the quartz has signs of sponginess. When the process of sulfide decomposition occurs in a gold-bearing vein, quartz crystals acquire yellow, cherry-red, or shades similar to them, which indicate that the mineral is fermented. If a prospector in search of yellow metal sees banded quartz with powdery layers or with the inclusion of tourmaline and sulfides, it means that representatives of low-temperature or high-temperature layers are somewhere nearby. Such zones may contain gold.

Yellow metal satellites

Some prospectors, in search of wealth, focus on the companions of gold, and there are many of them. Quartz, adularia, silver, pyrite, galena, platinum - all these minerals are found with gold. The only problem is that the presence of one of the gold satellites in the ore does not always indicate the presence of a noble metal in it. Sometimes gold ores consist of fused quartz, lead and gold, sometimes gold, quartz and antimony, and sometimes a combination of gold, silver, quartz and feldspars.

Even about silver, the most common neighbor of gold, it cannot be said that it always indicates the presence of the yellow metal in ores. But when a nugget is found while searching, it is almost always mixed with silver. In some cases, the share of silver reaches significant figures, but sometimes this part is negligible. The ideal ratio of gold and silver in ores occurs mainly in volcanic zones. They can be in Kamchatka or any other Far Eastern region.

Rich places in Russia

Russia is rich in different types of deposits, so you can search for gold in almost all its regions. Skarn, hydrothermal deposits and gold-quartz formations are scattered in different regions of the Russian Federation. Approximate list of areas and types of gold deposits:

Siberia (Olkhovskoe) - skarn type;
Ural (Berezovskoye), Transbaikalia (Darasunskoye) - gold-quartz-sulfide formation;
Pacific ore belt - volcanogenic hydrothermal deposits;
Transbaikalia (Baleyskoe, Taseevskoe) - gold-quartz-chalcedony-sulfide formation;
Northeast Russia (Karamkenskoye) - gold-silver-quartz-adularia formation;
Yakutia, Magadan, Transbaikalia, eastern Siberia - alluvial placers;
Chukotka, Ural, Magadan, Bodaibo, Amur and Taximo are golden nuggets.

Many geologists are constantly in search of minerals; they skillfully use geological knowledge and can find gold even in places where an industrial base has been operating for many years, and then also miners. Where, it would seem, everything has already been dug up and dug up, people have almost reached the magma, but still 50 g or 100 g of gold can be found.

How to choose a place?

Before starting to look for gold, experienced trackers study a map of the area. It is necessary to examine the geological composition of the area: what fossils were found, their location and search method. Gold in Russia is found in different forms, but if there are gold placers in the surveyed area, then the place is suitable for survey. This can be either an industrial area or a non-industrial area.

It should be noted those areas where industrial bases have worked or where quartz is present in this area. It is necessary to consider the valleys that form the tributary of the river. The valley is divided into 3 parts: upper, middle and lower. It can be noted with greater confidence that gold will have to be looked for in the upper part of the valley, but there have been cases when gold-bearing places were located both in its middle and lower parts.

It is easier to search for gold based on the characteristics of the deposit when the bedrock is not under sediments and sediments. For example, quartz gold-bearing veins appear as ridges and ridges on the surface of the surveyed area. Quartz can also be in the form of placers, blocks and fragments of a characteristic white or brown-red color. If you look for gold in elongated depressions or clearly defined troughs, you can find stockwork ore deposits. When conducting a survey of a steppe area, the search for gold should be carried out in a place where there are the most thickets, or in a place where there are the least amount of them.

Necessary tool

Attentiveness, geological knowledge and a metal detector can help in the search. This equipment is quite expensive and will quickly pay for itself, but not all models will cope with the task. Moreover, you need to know how to use and set up a metal detector, since it is very sensitive to the soil, which itself will create interference. The metal detector detects large nuggets at shallow depths (up to 1 m), and the smallest ones at a depth of up to 15 cm.

A special feature of working with such products is its excessive sensitivity, which is caused by a large amount of minerals and iron in the soil. The device should not be configured for a specific type of metal; it must be operated in the mode of detecting all metals without exception. Iron, like gold, produces the same sound, so it is better to stop and test the ground rather than continue searching for gold to no avail. It is necessary to listen to the soil using headphones, so you should be extremely attentive to changes in noise.

The number of false signals coming from the ground depends on the sensitivity level setting. When the sensitivity of the metal detector is low, a person hears deeper sounds of ground testing. The result of the work also depends on the ground balance setting. Ideally, the headphones will display background noise as the metal detector probes the soil, the sound may decrease or increase.

To adjust, you need to turn the knob responsible for ground balance. Every 5-7 m you will have to adjust this function, since the mineralization of the soil may be different. To search for large-sized gold on fairly strong mineralized soil, it is necessary to use a negative setting, which will reduce the sensitivity of the metal detector to small nuggets. And, conversely, when searching for small nuggets, the adjustment is made in a positive direction. The best tuning method is a small sample of gold or lead.

When listening to the soil, the metal detector coil should be kept as close to the surface as possible. When a signal occurs, listening is carried out in all directions from the possible location of the nugget. If gold is present, the signal will be heard in all directions, and if the signal is only triggered in a certain direction, then it is not gold. The last step of the test will be to raise the coil above the intended location. If the sound suddenly fades away, it means the signal is false, and this place does not even contain metal.

Tray - equipment for beginners

Washing trays are used for taking samples, but those miners who have not yet mastered all the intricacies of searching use the tray as a means of extracting gold. Professionals work with a metal detector because up to 100 g of gold can be collected in a week of panning. But they are still used today. The choice of tray determines the efficiency and speed of work.

It is inconvenient to look for gold with a metal tray. There are greasy hand marks on it; they can only be removed by annealing the tray. The metal is corrosive and cannot be tested with a metal detector or separated from magnetite and gold. All the negative aspects of a metal tray are completely absent from a plastic product, and a green tray is an ideal product in which gold flecks are very clearly visible.

In searches, trays with a diameter of 15-40 cm are used, but a tray with a diameter of 40 cm will weigh approximately 10 kg in use. Therefore, the best option would be a tray with a diameter of 35 cm. In addition to the trays, you need to purchase a plastic sieve (mesh size 12 mm). Rinse should be 300-500 m higher from the river mouth. A good sign would be if at least 1 piece of gold gets into the tray, but if nothing is found during washing, this is not a sign that the stream is hopeless. If there are large nuggets in it, then there will be very few small gold pieces.

Humanity has always been interested in precious metals. They began to be mined thousands of years ago and such work is still actively carried out. This is mainly done by industrial companies that meet market needs. They know exactly where and how to find gold, since mining is carried out at the main deposits. It is much more difficult for a simple prospector to discover a nugget

Search territories

In modern conditions, it is not difficult to find information about deposits of precious metals in a country or a particular region. Professional mining of gold and silver is carried out by large companies and holdings that have all the necessary documents for this. They attract specialists - geologists and mineralogists - to develop new deposits.

Professionals use special equipment and soil tests at different levels. After such work, the composition of the subsoil and the possibility of searching for gold are taken into account.

It’s a completely different matter when an ordinary person sets himself the task of finding gold in the ground. Searching on your own rarely brings success without knowledge or experience in gold mining. To carry out such work, you must purchase a license, otherwise mining will be illegal. The document is most often obtained from a gold mining company.

There are many places where gold particles are found, but in small quantities. In regions with large deposits, searches will be more successful if you try. In order for a prospector to be lucky, he must know the geology of the area, for example, information about the types of rocks.

Experts say that where rocks collide, gold most often lies. It also happens within the same breed. Such places are the most promising for gold mining. Experienced geologists suggest that there was previously high pressure and temperature at the “contact point” of the two rocks. Such conditions always contribute to the appearance of a concentration of precious metal. The search guide will be the change in color of the rock.

Gold deposits

In its pure form, yellow precious metal is very rarely found in nature. Almost always it contains various impurities. The metal must be cleaned from them.

The most common place where gold is found in large quantities and without impurities is in quartz formations. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the layers are destroyed. This process promotes the formation of large nuggets. In nature, gold reserves are deposited in several types:

eluvial;
residual;
bottom;
terraced.

In the residual type, deposits are usually observed near the vein itself, which has been subjected to chemical or physical influence. This most often occurs at the foot of the mountains.

In most cases, terrace deposits are found at the bottom of rivers and streams. Water erodes the earth, which leads to the formation of an additional bottom. After some time, the old bottom rises above the ground level, after which a terrace appears. Such formations, hundreds of years old, are distinguished by their gold content in large quantities.

Bottom sediments occur in the form of sediments at the bottom of rivers. Gold moves along the river bed with the help of rain. In such reservoirs it is often mixed with black sand. The soil in them may look reddish, black or orange in color.

Mining locations in Russia

Gold mining is carried out in almost all countries of the world, including Russia. On the vast territory of the Russian Federation there is precious metal. The largest mines and mines are located in the Urals and the Far East. Most often, gold-bearing deposits are discovered together with platinum deposits, but the yellow metal does not occur in the natural environment with silver. There are several regions where to look for gold in Russia. These include:

Chukotka;
Ural;
Amur River Valley;
Magadan.

Large nuggets are found in these areas, the largest of which weigh up to 10 kg. Before you begin your search, you should carefully study the geological map of the area. It is advisable to talk with local residents who have the necessary information.

Most often, gold nuggets are found in pairs. You need to be observant and smart, because if one ingot was discovered, then there should be a second one nearby. Abandoned mines where previously . Reliable information is usually found in archives.

Modern technologies

Finding gold usually takes a long time. Sometimes they last for years and often without success. To properly organize the work, the digger must study the necessary literature and have special equipment. Everything together will contribute to a more productive and accelerated process.

Previously, gold was mined manually, panning it using trays. Today, large mechanisms with a large number of trays are used for this purpose. Such devices are called dredges; they flush water from the river. This design is designed to extract precious metal from river rock.

When working with rocks, gravity differentiation technology is used. After extraction, the composition is taken to special mills, where it is crushed under the pressure of large balls of strong cast iron. The resulting mass is sent to a centrifuge to separate pyrite. It contains particles of gold.

More modern technologies make it possible to extract gold from almost empty mines, but such methods are unlikely to be suitable for the average miner. Many people use a metal detector, which reduces search time and increases work efficiency.

Application of a metal detector

Metal detectors began to be used abroad 40 years ago. For independent searches, it is advisable to use the most modern device with high sensitivity, since it can find even a very small piece of gold. If the tool points to something, then you should carefully examine the area. To do this, the sample is washed and studied. Conventional metal detectors react to ferromagnets and do not find the noble metal in its pure form.

The device should not be used for searching in water. It is considered to be ineffective in such an environment. However, it is in areas with mountain streams that deposits of precious metal can most often be found.

Metal detectors from the best brands allow you to detect gold deposits at a depth of up to 1 meter. Such devices significantly expand the possibilities, but you also need to be able to calculate the places where nuggets may lie. These are mainly gold-bearing areas in places of small mountain streams, where valuable metal falls from the slopes. It is carried away by water, and then, due to its high specific gravity, it sinks through pebbles and sand. As a result, .

These places look like rocks; they used to be the bottom of a stream. They end up on the surface when the water chooses a new, deeper channel. Places like this nearby are always worth exploring. If there are quartz boulders or polished pebbles in or around the water, then this is a good sign.

Whatever place is chosen to search for a gold-bearing vein, this issue must be taken seriously. Otherwise, all the effort, time and financial costs will be in vain.

Both of them have a small but relatively constant income with the right approach.

Those who set their sights on finding gold do not want to be content with little. Their finds will be rare, but much more valuable.

There have always been plenty of romantic gold diggers. And some of them actually got rich.

In order to become a successful gold digger, you need to understand how to look, where to look and what to use for this.

You don't have to open a new mine to find gold. This requires great financial resources, which not everyone has.

But people lose a lot of gold jewelry, jewelry made of precious metal through carelessness or haste.

It is this lost gold that we will look for: in the ground, on the street and on the beach.

Gold can be found wherever a person sets foot, but in some places the probability of finding is significantly higher.

As a rule, these are places for swimming and gathering of people in the city.

On the beach

Searching for gold on the beach is perhaps the most profitable activity among gold seekers.

Beach and coastal strip of the sea, lake or river ─ people often visit here crowd of people.

And it’s hard to find a person who hasn’t lost something on the beach at least once in his life.

It also happens that before going for a swim, a person takes off his gold jewelry and puts it in the pocket of his clothes lying on the sand.

Coming out of the water, he often forgets about it, and before getting dressed, he shakes the sand off his clothes, and with it the jewelry. In addition, some people drink on the beach, which distracts attention.

One way or another, on the sand and under water, as a rule, there is something for the seeker to profit from gold.

It’s more convenient to look for gold on the beach in the evening or at night, when the vacationers had mostly left. When it gets dark, use flashlights.

Experienced searchers find up to 10 grams of gold every day. Taking into account its cost in pawn shops and organizations that accept scrap gold (from 1,300 rubles per gram), it turns out very well.

Under the water

Not all vacationers know that a temperature difference of more than 10 degrees leads to a narrowing of blood vessels, as a result of which the fingers slightly decrease in diameter.

Because of this, when people enter water, which is often much colder than air, losing rings and rings in the water.

They not only swim in the water, but also frolic and play different games. At the same time, it often happens that gold chains with crosses or pendants made of precious metal break. Gold watches are also lost. Because they find more in the water gold than on sand in the coastal zone.

Most valuable finds come across at a depth of about two meters.

How to look for gold in waters? Search rakes with a long handle are suitable, as are metal detectors that can work in water.

Various places on the street

Parking and rest areas for tourists also attract gold seekers.

People on vacation are relaxed, move a lot, play active games.

At the same time, rings, signet rings and other gold jewelry are lost, and here it also makes sense to look for gold.

Squares and gardens, where thousands of people pass every day, can also become places for valuable finds, especially after meetings, holidays and events.

In park areas, where townspeople relax right on the grass, having picnics, someone’s valuable gold jewelry may also remain.

Urban flower beds and flower borders– places where it is easy to lose a ring or chain while working with the ground or bending over it. If people plant or weed flowers while wearing gloves, then removing the gloves increases the likelihood of losing a ring. In the city, large areas in the form of flower beds are planted with flowers. Worth looking.

Increases the likelihood of finding close to jewelry stores and workshops. Here people often lose gold jewelry or small gold parts from damaged chains, broken gold clasps on bracelets or watches. Small grains of gold and gold shavings are carried out on the soles of the master.

Necessary equipment

To look for gold on the beach or in a recreation area, it is enough to have powerful flashlight, metal scoop and beach rakes.

Special devices will also come in handy if you plan to search for and dig for gold in the ground: a magnet and a detector.

In the sea or lake, at a depth of more than 1.5 meters, you may need diving mask.

Search by rake

They are made from ordinary country rakes. Three parallel grooves are cut into the teeth using a grinder.

Strengthen between the teeth:

self-tapping screws slightly shorter than the teeth;
fishing hooks.

This design firmly clings to chains, rings, earrings and other objects in the sand, holding them tightly.

The rake can be used both in the sand and under water, walking along the bottom of the coastal zone.

When raking in water, be prepared clean them after every use, because they will bring a lot of garbage and plants.

It would be good if the device has long handle- this will greatly increase the chances of success.

Using Magnets and Detectors

Search magnets and metal detectors help make your search more effective. Digging for gold in the ground without them is completely impossible, because you need know where to dig. Finding gold in the ground without a metal detector is possible only by accident.

Gold, being a diamagnetic, not detected by an ordinary magnet.

A powerful search magnet detects and holds gold jewelry that contains a ligature─ an admixture of metals that gives strength to gold that is too soft and ductile.

Rings, rings, bracelets, hair clips, cufflinks and other jewelry are made from ligature gold. If the alloy component is nickel, then a neodymium magnet will easily find such gold. A neodymium magnet can be bought in Russian stores at a price of 1000 rubles.

A metal detector is also possible choose in store according to your financial capabilities, starting from two thousand rubles:

Dart ─ F100 ─ waterproof metal detector, price ─ 6900 rubles.
AQUAmarine 100 ─ underwater metal detector, price ─ 5,000 rubles.
Minelab GOLD MONSTER 1000 is a highly efficient, powerful detector, price ─ 59,990 rubles.
SHRXY GP-PINPOINTING is a compact detector (pinpointer) for beginners. The search depth is small ─ 5 cm, but it has high accuracy, it easily detects small metal objects in the ground layer, price ─ 2000 rubles.

Search at waste landfills

Russia is exceptionally rich in gold deposits.

Numerous deposits have been discovered from the Moscow region to Kolyma.

Among them there are mines that have been mined industrially and lost interest for the owner enterprises. For this reason they are closed.

Here, in small areas that were inaccessible to the bulldozer, there's still a lot left gold. At such sites, called technogenic placers, you can search for gold.

Until 2016, private individuals were not issued a license to search for gold at waste landfills. Those who arbitrarily searched for gold in abandoned mines were prosecuted.

Now, any citizen of Russia has the right to obtain a special license and, as a private prospector, look for gold in technogenic placers. According to the new regulation, gold can be searched only by the surface method, exclusively using hand tools. The use of explosives is prohibited.

The initial license fee is 7500 rubles, it is valid for five years. License renewal – 750 rubles.

It is important to choose the right search area. There is a greater likelihood of finding gold in places where there were nugget placers, where bars weighing more than 50 grams were found. Otherwise, you may waste time and labor in vain.

It is known that in the Urals, Chukotka, and Amur region they found nuggets weighing from 3.5 to 16 kg. So, it makes sense to look for gold in these places. But perhaps there are nugget placers located closer to your place of residence.

The reports of the territorial geological fund include information on geological developments, in which you can find the details of interest, it is available for review.

On waste dumps, judging by the experience of private gold miners, one search engine using a metal detector can find up to 20 grams gold in a day.

Nuggets are more common on the formation surface, once lifted by a bulldozer during technological development.

After excavating the rock using an industrial method, rock with gold placer appears on the surface.

In the small basins located here, there is a chance of finding large pieces of gold. But it happens that such areas are littered with rocks, and you can’t get close to gold.

The bulldozer does not pick up small cracks; they can also contain nuggets weighing more than five grams. In short, you need to be patient to find your first nugget.

Where should I send what I find?

At first glance, the most difficult thing seems to be finding gold. But no less simple task ─ find a buyer and properly sell the gold found. At the same time, lose as little money and time as possible.

Ligature scrap and decorations

Handing over scrap gold in Russia is not a problem; in any city there are pawn shops that accept gold from the population. To successfully return the found jewelry, you will need an ID card.

If the found jewelry is still is valuable as a product or historical object, it can be found buyer who will take it at a higher price scrap

Pure metal

Many private miners are in a hurry to get money for nuggets and sell gold to the owner of the enterprise, which previously selected the main gold from the site, at a price of 1500-2000 rubles per gram.

This is extremely unprofitable for a private gold miner. After all, this is the price of buying scrap gold alloyed (broken chains, bracelets, earrings, etc.), and not pure gold.

Even popular gold 585 samples, from which jewelry is made, contains only 58.5% pure precious metal.

One can imagine how much money a private miner loses after spending a lot of time and effort searching for pure gold and selling it at the price of scrap gold.

The same applies to refined gold extracted from radio components and devices.

To profitably sell pure gold, you need to know this:

Market value gold at the time of sale.
The price will be affected beautiful view nuggets. They are often bought by collectors for whom this is important. The highest prices will be paid for pure nuggets without foreign inclusions. Collectors buy beautiful, bright nuggets at a price above the market price.
Nugget cost depends on the place where it was found. This is an important point for collectors. They will pay more for something found in a little-known deposit.
Pawnshops, buying ─ this not the best way sell gold nuggets; in the best case scenario, only half of their real value will be paid for them. Handing over gold to a refinery, where it is purified from impurities ─ also means losing 20% of its value.
You can't rush to sell. We must calmly and carefully search for the right buyer, be it a collector or a reseller.

Useful video

A beach rake is the first tool in the arsenal of a novice searcher. The video shows how to make them yourself:

Conclusion

It is unlikely that private gold prospecting can become the main source of income and the main activity in life. But with the right approach, this fishery can bring significant financial assistance, especially for those who have a penchant for searching for lost jewelry and are not embarrassed by others.

While searching, remember ethical behavior in public places, do not cause inconvenience to vacationers with your excessive zeal.

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