I'll bet that  you have never thought of prospecting for gold out in the rivers, streams,  mountains and dry washes near areas where you live.  Well I have been doing this for a very long time and thought that I might just try and entice you to do the same.  Especially since the price of gold is hovering right around the mid nine hundred dollar mark.  It sometimes goes higher or lower depending on the market makers and commodity traders.

A lot of people have recently packed up their camping gear and headed for the hills so prospecting for gold has come back into vogue again.  Gold hunting and mining in the sunshine and fresh air has its benefits as well.  Young families with children have a great time prospecting and you can actually find some good gold if you know what to look for.  There are some tricks to this trade and I am going to talk about them in this blog which I will update from time to time. 

Many people have been fooled by what is called fools gold both greenhorns and small miners have been deceived by this look alike metal that shines just like gold.  I once had a fellow bring me a sample in a glass jar that looked like gold but testing proved it to be iron pyrite.  Iron pyrite has the color of gold and can be heavy like gold.  There are some differences though that you can usually see and test for in the field.

Testing is one of the most important steps in figuring out the differences between gold and pyrite.  Gold is soft enough to scratch and usually does not have sharp angular edges but pyrite does.  Gold flattens when you pound it with a stone or a hammer.  Pyrite crushes to powder when you hit it with a hammer or a stone.

Gold can be found with a gold pan, a dry washer, a sluice, a dredge, a high banker, or a metal detector.  Some people just go out and find black sand because it can contain values like platinum group metals along with gold.  There are actually companies that will buy black sand from you. 

There is an awful lot more to tell you about mining, gold prospecting, mining tools, and gold in Arizona where I live but it will have to wait until my next entry.  For those of you who would like to know more immediately please fill out the box on your left and send me your email address and I will get back to you.  If you want to get going fast go to my web page:  http://www.theweekendprospector.com

Have a great day!  Patti