Tools, Techniques and Recommended Products

Here is an amazingly good article on epithermal gold deposits. Highly relevant to Colorado because it explains the vast majority of our gold deposits. Of course, we also have volcanic deposits such as in Cripple Creek and Lake City areas, but the majority of our hard rock gold occurrences in the Colorado Gold Belt are […]

https://findinggoldincolorado.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ChillsAndThrills_KevinSingel-1.pdf Check out this magazine article I wrote! It was published in the Gold Prospectors Association of America’s GPAA Gold Prospector, Jan/Feb 2024 edition. Of course, I also suggest joining the GPAA at www.goldprospectors.org or at least subscribing to their magazine for 25 bucks a year. HAVE FUN going prospecting all over Colorado using the […]

Ben Parker is justifiably one of the heroes of the Colorado gold prospecting community. He was a student at Colorado School of Mines over 60 years ago. For his dissertation, he chose to create a compilation of ALL the information he could find about gold placer deposits across the state. He used original source material […]

Hi all, the following article is from Paul Schiffer. Paul is a relatively new prospector who has taken a very intense approach to the initial learning process so I thought he would be a good person to write a guide for other new prospectors. Now here’s Paul:At some time, everyone reading this decided to at […]

How to use your placer gold from gold panning to make a gold ring.

Learning about different types of waterways can make us smarter prospectors. Here’s how!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new tool every prospector should put to work! Keeping track of where you dig will help more than you may realize. By tracking our outings and how those trips turn out, we can learn more, faster, and become better prospectors. This is something I have done […]

Think like a miner. Hmm what does that mean if you are a small scale prospector in a public access prospecting area? Well, a miner is someone working a mine. Maybe on their own claim or someone else’s. Either way, a miner thinks longer term. They know they will be back to get more of […]

The southwest part of Colorado was the last area properly explored by US gold prospectors as they migrated across the state. Many towns such as Ouray, Telluride, Silverton, Durango, Rico, Dolores and Placerville owe their existence to the early prospectors. While my book (learn more about it here) and various other articles on this website, […]

Where to find gold in a waterfall…

Is it worth chemical or heat processing of the black sands from placer mining?

Mining rights in Colorado and the role of the BLM.

The key books every Colorado prospector needs.

Like this website and the Finding Gold in Colorado books? Want other prospectors to know you’re in the know? Then check this out! Lots of cool gear with the official logo on it. Note: I get a small commission from each item sold on Red Bubble so…thanks for your support! There’s all sorts of stuff: […]

Many small-scale prospectors dream of owning their own mining claim but don’t want to face the challenge of locating a new one. Instead, the idea of buying an existing claim sounds more appealing. Is this you or maybe your prospecting buddy? Buying an existing mining claim on federally managed public lands can be a fast […]

Our next-door neighbors in Utah have some beautiful lands worth exploring. This is also true for gold prospecting in Utah. While there was never a real gold rush in Utah, there are accessible placer deposits in each quadrant of the state. If you are interested in learning more, you need Alan Chenworth’s book Gold Panning […]

Gold bearing placer streams in Colorado are generally many thousands of years old, sometimes millions of years old. In that much time, a stream can move around and erode much deeper into a valley. As this happens, cobble deposits containing gold can be orphaned, or left behind, by the flowing water.  As the stream continues […]

When exploring old mining districts across Colorado, prospectors may run into hard rock mines with ore dumps nearby. These large piles of brocken rock from underground can contain impressive gold/rock specimens and overlooked ore. Mine-side ore dumps are often a combination of barren rock removed as the original miners followed the vein, and ore which […]

Many of the waterways of Colorado are gold bearing and carry flood gold downstream during high water seasons. As many placer gold prospectors quickly learn, flood gold accumulates in cobble bars. Studying the details of how gold accumulates in a cobble bar will dramatically increase gold production for casual prospectors. Prospectors usually know to dig […]

Finding Gold in Colorado Book Index: The following index will be included in books published in late 10/2018 and onward. It is provided here for those who own the earlier version of the book in an effort to continue to make the book more useful to all. For those without the book, I hope it […]

In the course of the research for my book (buy it here) and otherwise, I found quite a few online resources to be helpful. So, to give others a hand, here is my random collection of helpful web links. But first here’s a picture of some gold…because, gold. DRCOG interactive GIS of parks in metro […]

This is a claim marker for a claim next to one of the spots in my book. It’s accurate and quite clear in what it is marking. Even without this, a gps will guide you in staying on the public lands where you are welcome since I provide GPS coordinates for the edges of each […]

To help those planning trips, this simple map shows you which areas of the state are covered in each chapter of the book Finding Gold in Colorado – Prospectors Edition. This image should print fairly well at 8×10 but be sure to set your printer to “best” print quality. Chapters A-R across Colorado, the chapters […]

My book on gold prospecting across Colorado is now available here and ‘in stores everywhere’. It has even been updated for 2024. Awarded recognition as the “#1 New Release” in its category on Amazon in June 2018 and an “Amazon Bestseller” in May 2021 and frequently since! Over 10,000 sold in the first 5 years. […]

At some point, many casual prospectors get the itch to have their own claim. Then the discussion comes up about buying one vs. locating their own. Buying seems simpler to many but is rife with risks that lead to needing to do many of the same things as locating your own new claim requires. In […]

Prospectors Gold and Gems (PG&G) is an important asset in the commercial gold mining infrastructure of Colorado…available to prospectors all over. It is also more than that, it’s a one stop shop for a whole range of post-digging services small scale miners and active prospectors may desire. Back in the late 90’s you may recall […]

Some of my readers here are planning a visit to the Rocky Mountains as part of a family vacation, prospecting adventure or other sojourn. If you are inexperienced with real mountains, you may have some anxieties about coming. Worried about extreme weather, fast moving rivers, dangerous animals, road conditions or screwy locals? Good. You should […]

Your author doing some off season digging in Colorado. The trees are brown, but the gold is still yellow!

My favorite educational videos – learn to pan and to read a creek or river to find gold.

I think most of us have climbed around on old tailings piles, or walked a creek bed, while picking up interesting stones. As gold prospectors we are attracted to rocks that aren’t just pretty, they provide intriguing clues pointing us toward gold. Of course, you need to know what mineral you’ve found to learn whether […]

The Gold Cube is absolutely a standout product for us small scale gold prospectors in Colorado. Our beautiful state is known for having fine gold that prospectors back in the gold rush found frustrating. This makes the Cube an ideal tool for the serious prospectors who want to move up from pans and stream sluices. […]

That little scatter of gold above Ike’s forehead is a good reminder to bring your concentrates home no matter what! Why you ask? Well this gold comes from an outing to the BLM lands just north of Joshua Tree National Park in early December 2016. It’s dry land so I was dry washing with some […]

There are quite a few places around here to buy prospecting supplies. When you need gear, please shop via my links or support your local shop. There’s nothing like looking at your choices in person to get what you need and getting expert advice as part of the bargain. If you know of other prospecting […]

Digging in the city means participating in recreational gold prospecting as a guest of a local government, parks & rec district or similar organization. While the tools of prospecting are the same (shovel, pan and sluice, maybe an electric highbanker like the Gold Cube), the process of finding a spot to dig is vastly different. […]

The gold in metro Denver is in almost every waterway big enough to have a name. In the early days of the gold rush this was confusing and frustrating for the first American prospectors. They found gold way out southeast in Elbert County, due south of what’s now Denver in Douglas County and Arapahoe County…and […]

How to steps for processing your placer concentrates without any fancy equipment.

A quick summary of prospecting clubs in Colorado with some perspectives on each.

Prospector Jack does a great job showing where to prospect…much better than just “telling” right? You have located a prospect. So now what. This is what I look for. I look for what I call the gold line, and that is the path that gold will most often travel. There are exceptions to this rule, […]