Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

╳Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

Groups

Recent Images in Discussions

GeneralJust starting out, Ontario Canada

26th Jan 2014 00:24 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Hello there,

So i'm a new and aspiring prospector. Don't even have any gear yet but that's coming (it's winter, not too concerned right now anyway.)

I'm doing a lot of research, finding mineral deposit lists online and i do like what i see but, there's always going to be doubt.

I'm currently looking for areas that have high level quartz, granite and clay. So far i have found some quartz (in the Addington Mine area of course) granite is everywhere it seems so i'm narrowing it down to granite within a 10 foot dig. Also found a lot of blue and red clay, both of which i am told are "good" indicators of gold.

But nothing is a promise when it comes to finding gold.

I'm currently searching all near the Addington mine since, again as i'm told, you'll find gold where gold has been found. So far it's taken me to several places around there. I plan on staying at a near by camp site and driving to the areas.

My main concern is panning and being told i am not allowed to by either the municipality/owner or government. I am curious to know just how much trouble i would get if i simply went out there and panned? I saw your article on your trip to the Addington Mine (Golden Fleece mine) which was great, i wish there were more pictures but, did you seek out the owners permission first? I read that you did want to pan but felt it wouldn't have yielded much (if any) gold. Do you feel it would be the same for the whole area, or just the mine itself? In an online report i found it indicated that roughly 400,000 tones of reserves were left there. Would it not be a good source for panning, as in the report it suggested about .13 oz/tn Au? Also, would this be a place only worth bringing in heavy equipment to extract the gold, or would it be conceivable to pan successfully in the area?

I'm also open to hearing where you think might be the best places to try my luck at panning. Like i said i've been looking specifically in the Northbrook/Cloye area(Kaladar Township) specifically because i don't want to commit to a big travel just yet. Also, the closer i can find gold from my home (I live in Ottawa) the better.

If there is anywhere within a 3 hour drive that you could suggest i would greatly appreciate it. Like i said early, a lot of the soil samples that i have been specific about hold quartz, granite and clay and i believe all three of those are good indicators to gold. I've also been lucky to find a map of what's underground and i'm specifically looking in areas that have metavulcanic rock underneath as i believe that to be a great indicator of gold as well. There is a mine in the states that sits on a large bed of it and is quite successful, so that leads me to believe that i could do worse.

Since all i plan on doing is panning, for now, i don't intend on digging much deeper than 3-5 feet. I'm specifically looking for areas with streams and water beds, of course, but i am not adverse to going through the woods and dry panning either.

Anyway, clearly i'm looking for all kinds of information. I would appreciate some info specific to the area in which i would hope to pan this spring/summer. But i'll take any advice i can get.

Thanks all, and great website!

Marty

26th Jan 2014 00:56 UTCPhil M. Belley Expert

Why are you interested in finding gold?

For panning, you'd want to go around Beauce, Quebec. Looking at a 7 hour drive. You'd be hard pressed to find an area which is not under claim.

The largest and best gold deposits in the area are in the Archean Greenstone belts (Noranda-Timmins regions) - hard rock (have not heard of noteworthy placers). Very long drive.

The Kaladar deposits are tiny, mostly consist of invisible or disseminated gold.

In any case, as with all mineral collecting and gold prospecting, you'd be investing way (!) more money than you could hope to recover in gold. It takes considerable investment of time, resources, effort (research, learning geology, field work) and luck to make a good discovery. Even for 99% of geologists, it would be easier and quicker to work weekends in retail and buy gold samples as opposed to go find them.

26th Jan 2014 01:16 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Hello Marty,

You can pan as much as you want in Ontario as long as it isn't for commercial purposes. Not sure what you hope to accomplish in your search for gold but Southern Ontario is closed to staking so if you hope to find a gold mine you will have to go to northern Ontario. If you are only looking for gold as a hobby then you can look on any crown land or private land if you have permission. Unfortunately gold will not be easy to find as it is usually in relatively low concentrations. You will seldom see gold in most gold ore however there is always the chance that you will come across some visible gold if you look on an old mine dump of a known gold producer. I wouldn't count on any lumps of gold like you see coming out of Australia. A grade of 0.13 oz/t may be good ore but it is very unlikely you will see any gold in it without a magnifying glass. I worked in a gold mine for 6 months that had an average grade of close to 0.13 and never saw any visible gold underground, although I did see some in drill core.

As for indicators of gold? In the area you are, generally I would look for quartz veins with some sulphides in it like pyrite ( the host rock really does not matter). However I have found that galena in quartz veins is an even better indicator or gold. Gold is also commonly found with arsenopyrite in quartz veins in your area. The problem with panning for gold in Ontario is that Ontario has been heavily glaciated and there hasn't been enough time for gold to weather out and become concentrated since the last ice age. The most likely place to find gold by panning is in the Vermilion River near Sudbury, even so it is very fine gold and not in very small amount, nothing like the Yukon or B.C. Best of luck.

26th Jan 2014 02:24 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Thanks so much, this is exactly the kind of helpful advice i was looking for.

Bare in mind that if i end up with 2 tiny flakes of gold, i will be happy. My intentions would not be to expect a huge pay out on any 1 trip. If i get any large amounts they will be a bonus but, more likely, collected over time.

Thanks again.

26th Jan 2014 02:57 UTCBill Morgenstern Expert

Check in Northwestern Ontario west of Thunder Bay, towards Atikokan. I have found visible gold in hard rock along the highway. Branch out on old logging roads near Kashabowie.

26th Jan 2014 06:25 UTCRock Currier Expert

You might want to consider using a metal detector to locate gold, silver or metal antiques.

26th Jan 2014 06:33 UTCD Mike Reinke

Martin,

Is there any stream near your house or on friends property you have tried panning in? Find a sharp curve in the stream and try the inside of the curve. I have never found a flake, but I've only spent maybe an hour or so total, and found 'dust' right away. I've even panned bags of sand (how is that for desperate!--. but also to see if my technique could be improved, and 'what else might be in the bottom?') You set your sights low, and that is wise, at least for someone starting out.

Mike

26th Jan 2014 13:19 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I am now thinking of adding a sluice box to it all as i really appreciate the added technique. I'm thinking about making my own, mostly because i always prefer to make my own equipment whenever possible, i feel i learn more about it.

Is there anything you could recommend about either making a sluice box or purchasing one?

Thanks again, really happy i decided to sign onto this website.

Marty

26th Jan 2014 13:31 UTCMaggie Wilson Expert

Hi Martin - I'm sure there are many more resources online if you do a Google search, but here's what I found very useful for one of my college papers.

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_resources/gold/Documents/SP87.pdf

26th Jan 2014 13:41 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Wow, that one is really nice! I love the hopper/screen/apron idea...i wasn't considering that before but i will be using these plans for sure.

Thanks so much!

26th Jan 2014 15:22 UTCGary Moldovany

Martin, my best advice for you would be to get involved with the "Gold Prospectors Association of America" their web address is www.goldprospectors.org. They have a mining guide with open localities all over North America, lots of helpful advice and a great magazine. Membership package includes a gold pan and various other items you need to find gold. Good Luck! Gary

26th Jan 2014 15:43 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Again, very helpful advice!!!

Much appreciated.

5th Feb 2014 19:08 UTCScott Rondeau

There's some great maps if you follow the "Launch OG SEarth" link on the left of this site. Abandoned mines, bedrock geology, mineral deposits, drill and bore holes.

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/

I've been researching places to go around Ottawa as well. So far I think my best bet is to go round looking in the gaping holes all these uprooted trees have left, for both gold and crystals. Seriously, there must be an uprooted tree ever hundred feet in any direction after all those wind storms we've been having.

The tree's done most of the work, and at the very least it seems like a good way to survey an area and get a better idea of what's happening underground.

6th Feb 2014 20:28 UTCD Mike Reinke

Scott,

Interesting. Do you find visible gold? Apparently, at least some gold is there. Here is a clip from 6 years ago:

Siberian Trees “Mine” Precious Metals

In Siberia’s forests “it is possible to find native gold in rotting tree stumps,” reports the Russian magazine Vokrug Sveta. Scientists from Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk have found that evergreen trees growing above ore deposits in Siberia draw up dissolved metals from the soil. When the trees die and rot, the metals are deposited on the forest floor. From a single ton of residue produced by the rotting wood of these trees, Siberian scientists have obtained five grams of platinum, almost 200 milligrams of gold, and three kilograms of silver.

In this case it was scientists who obtained it, no so easy for a layman.

.

10th Feb 2014 00:38 UTCScott Rondeau

Mike,

I haven't actually had a chance to look yet myself. Just saw this site claiming it's a good place to find crystals.

http://countingbirds.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/how-to-find-your-own-crystals/

I just assumed it might reveal gold as well. His story checks out in the prospecting forums, where they used a scratch ticket analogy. I still like those odds. The sheer number of overturned trees in the immediate area alone will keep me busy all summer.

If you can find one near an area where the rock is protruding from the earth, you should be closer to bed rock.

12th Feb 2014 17:52 UTCMartin Lefebvre

All great stuff and i guess i'll have to include uprooted trees in my "look for.." catalog. thanks for the heads up.

i've gotten my gold pans and a sluice box now and i even got a bag of concentrates (with some surprisingly good results in it) and feel like i just need a place now.

i've been doing a lot of research, pdf files maps and everything in between, and i think the best - and closest within reason for me - place to go is in the Anglesea/Kaladar/Barrie township area. I'm getting my prospectors license any day now and i've found some land i can claim. the bigger question is of coruse, is it worth it?

it seems the most likely thing i'll be finding is gold in hard rock, rather than any gold in flakes along the streams and rivers (placer) i tend to look with my sluice and pan.

i guess i'm just wondering, not specifically about the area but rather, doesn't the gold trapped in these hard rocks (quartz, galena, et al)eventually make their way out into the streams and/or earth? no matter how long it may take, i am just wondering if this is eventually what happens?

also, if it's known that these areas have gold in the hard rock, as well as it is known that there is some gold powder to be found, seems to me that flakes would be somewhere in the middle of the two. perhaps it's just that there hasn't been much in recorded history, either no one has taken the time or no one wants to share their info - something else i've learned in my research, sharing good gold information like locations is a hard thing to get honestly.

either the doubter in me or the dreamer in me or both can't wrap my head around how much gold has been found in the area and yet everyone says there's just no gold in the streams worth going after. that just doesn't make sense to me.

anyway, all the advice i've been getting from this is greatly appreciated and i'm no matter what going to go out and look for myself but what i'm hoping to get is enough information in the mean time to do a better job at narrowing down my spots to look.

thanks again.

13th Feb 2014 01:25 UTCRobert Land

Here's a link to an O.G.S. document of placer and float discoveries in Ontario. As everyone else has said it's going to be a long hard road to find something, but. "gold is where it is" remember to take your magnifying glass.

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/MDC017/MDC017.pdf?expires=20070311062216&secretname=

That should give you some reading! And a few sleepless nights dreaming about what might be out there waiting for you.................................

13th Feb 2014 13:26 UTCScott Rondeau

> i guess i'm just wondering, not specifically about

> the area but rather, doesn't the gold trapped in

> these hard rocks (quartz, galena, et al)eventually

> make their way out into the streams and/or earth?

> no matter how long it may take, i am just

> wondering if this is eventually what happens?

I was wondering about that too. I was thinking large rock faces might be likely spots to look. Something like Oiseau Rock along the Ottawa river.

http://www.sheenboro.ca/tourism/images/Oiseau_Rock/OR_DLP.jpg

13th Feb 2014 15:40 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Exactly the kind of setting i was thinking about when i posted the question.

It seems you and I are after the same thing in the same area, we should stay in touch and compare notes, might help us narrow down what we're looking for.

Thanks for the link Robert, i'll be looking at that for a while :)

14th Feb 2014 05:17 UTCScott Rondeau

Martin Lefebvre Wrote:

> It seems you and I are after the same thing in the

> same area, we should stay in touch and compare

> notes, might help us narrow down what we're

> looking for.

Will do. I'll get around to registering here sometime before the snow melts and shoot you a PM.

14th Feb 2014 23:39 UTCScott Rondeau

Here's a Google map with great locations and info about collection sites not to far from Ottawa.

https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107917163691329983784.00044e4d6908322be8e30

There is also Aquamarine not to far from Ottawa in Quadeville Ontario according to this site

http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/gc/article/view/2699/3129

15th Feb 2014 13:48 UTCDermot Walsh

very best of luck would you be staying at or near Bon Echo P.P...?

the granite cliffs on Mazinaw Lake are 300 ft high

I have a place up there .getting a bit run down now.and I don't know how much time I can spend there

last few years one weekend opening and another closing down

still it would be nice trying to meet up

regards

15th Feb 2014 15:11 UTCGary Moldovany

Hi Martin. I have another tip for you. There is a website with gold prospecting videos that can be viewed on line for free, they also sell videos and prospecting equipment. The website is www.prospectingchannel.com

16th Feb 2014 23:44 UTCMartin Lefebvre

Good stuff guys, thanks again...send any and all information...although i've probably seen everything there is about gold in the kaladar/anglesea/kenebec/barrie township areas i somehow find a way to find something new and relevant every day. and it's thanks in part to this website.

Dermot, my intentions were to stay either at Hyatt's Glen or Woodcrest Resorts. Both very close to Big Gull Lake, which is another place of interest in. If anyone has any information about this area and it's history of gold please, let me know.

Thanks again guys!

Oh and gems are also on my list for sure, just haven't done enough research on them but i do know that where i intend to go, they are there...and i won't be throwing them away.

23rd Jun 2014 13:25 UTCBEAR ..PROSPECTOR

Hi ..there..im pretty new at gold mining..etc..but i have my own claim registered etc.. maybe we can chat . looking for help ..( maybe a partner) ..i sure hope your honest. i have all licences for mining.Pierre..call we can chat ...BEAR...Pierre 613 422 4402 .im in ottawa ..i have 200 acres at one place and 300 acres at another .. one claim is near Eldorado ..ontario.. other near Griffith ont.. i already found gold .match size nuggets..

25th Jun 2014 00:26 UTCScott Rondeau

Griffith is right at the turn off from highway 41 to the beryl pit. Are you out there often? I wouldn't mind stopping by to take a peek at what you have going on over there.

16th Sep 2014 14:58 UTCPeterv VA

Hi I have looked in many places and have found some lode gold but not by panning.....so I will buy some equipment to grind it down and then pan it out? Do you want to share in the costs? Peter

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: May 7, 2024 20:18:12

Go to top of page