Great timing. I just joined the Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club this week. Spent yesterday scoping out the area around Middle Camp looking for a promising spot on the club claims. I'm a novice, but thanks to guys like you, Jeff Williams and Dan Hurd I'm learning, there are others too but too many to mention.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON CHRIS'S BOOK,ITS CALLED "FISTS FULL OF GOLD",&THATS JUST WHAT THE BOOK TOUGHT ME & NOW I DO HAVE FISTS FULL OF GOLD.THERES LOADS &LOADS OF INFO IN THERE.I WAS ONCE LIKE YOU A NOVICE & THOUGH IF IT WASN'T FOR CHRIS'S BOOK I'D STILL BE A NOVICE WITH NO GOLD.
We are moving to Arizona and know Quartzite well . We are rock hounds and would love to get to gether with others to do some prospecting. Anyone in that area who is a geologist or just a rock hound like us please feel free to contact us.
Hi Chris As I remember you hauled several pounds of the good stuff out of the Flandrau in Tucson. I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for your help !! Soo Thanks John B.
John!!! How are you my friend? I hope you and your family are doing well. I am sorry its been so many years since we last got together. I had intended to be in Tucson for this years Gem show, but I will be helping my kids with general stuff here in Nevada as my son and his wife are having a baby at the end of January. But next year for sure! Yep, I helped you haul stuff out of the Flandrau back in the day. I hear they have a new museum opened in the Tucson area - The Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum. If you still have the same phone number that ends in 59, I'll give you a call sometime in the next few days.
I just stumbled across this video and have found it very informative. I am a member of the GPAA Michigan chapter and I am working on getting my membership with the LDMA. Yes I am totally new to all of this and will be getting your book as soon ass I can. Thank you and yes I am now following..
Hi: I live in Northern Indiana and my wife and I are lifetime members of the LDMA and GPAA… Where abouts are you in MI.? We wanted to go to there place in MI but then I think they closed it because we don’t hear anything about it anymore… Wish you best of luck. Have a great day and be blessed …
I live in Yavapai County. I've been Prospecting for many years. I haven't watched any Prospecting videos in a long time. Good information and a good video also. Thanks..... Liked and Subbed.
Chris as always love the work you do , just finished watching your video on gold placers of Arizona Loved it, my uncle and I have been going prospecting in the cave creek area in Arizona for the past 4 years no luck after your Teachings I wii do my homework identifying X-M-S and X-M-V , Chris thanks for all the Knowledge you share with the average Joe prosecutor can't wait to find our first Gold Nugget , time to do my homework , Thank you God Bless.!!!
Cave creek couldn't look better but often skunks me too .. try looking more east side of crown king .. there's tons of gold on the east side that always gets over looked .. Moores gulch is amazing .. good luck man
@@machinegunhippy Mr Black we thank you for the info on our next trip up I'll look in the will metal detect in the area you indicated , keep y'all updated and Thanks again God Bless.!!!
Usually I skip ahead about two or three minutes to find the real start point of videos. However, haha, this guy Chris hits the ground running so to speak. Informative video right out the gate, no wasting our time bragging. Keep it up Mr Chris!
I’ve spent many years as a gem prospector in varying states around the country, but just moved to Prescott a few weeks ago. I’m thinking I might be more productive in this state prospecting for metals, so videos like this are a huge help. Thank you for the resources.
I find gold and silver ore bound up in quartz veins out here. The hard rock mines were abandoned largely during WW2 when the commercial viability of the mines dropped. Many years later with better extraction tools and techniques, these mines which were previously considered "tapped out" are soon going to be making some individuals a lot of money.
Chris is the ONLY RUclips creator I know who actually takes the time to reply to every comment. Even if it's just an acknowledgment that someone took the time to make a comment, he does it. It speaks very highly of the respect he has for his audience. I'm sure the day will come where he'll get hundreds a day per video and that'll be impossible, but I see him being the kind of guy (and he was when I met him at the Minelab dealer conference) that would stay up the night to do it. PS: Buy his book, I bought it when it first came out years ago and it's the bible for prospecting, a GREAT resource for your collection.
Chris is great at getting back. I just left a message for him as well so I'm waiting for a response. The only one else besides Chris is Jeff Williams the prospector out of Arizona. He always responds as well. You two are my favorites to watch.
@@jasonyork4418 Jeff Williams and Chris Ralph aren't in the same ballpark when it comes to peer respect from others in the geologist/prospector community, they're not even in the same universe. Williams gets back to you cus he sees a buck to be made via his Patreon or salted ground pay to detect tourist trips to Gold Basin. Chris replies cus he's a professional and wants to share the knowledge..... one's a professional, the other's an actor who plays with toy guns, skeleton's and makes real prospectors look bad to the general public, like we're all clowns.
@@Jennifer-007 Stop hating on someone that you have probably never met sunshine! Just because Jeff has an open and out going personality doesn't make him fake .So do us all a favor and keep your negative attitude and persona to yourself. Don't judge or you will be judged yourself!!! And if you like I will stop watching Chris if people like you watch him!!
Great video. Lots of good information. I am going to be south of Phoenix visiting family in a few weeks. I hope to be able to do a little prospecting while there. I hope to find a little gold and also some copper ore. I want to try refining some copper and plan on bringing a few buckets of copper and gold bearing rock and dirt home to work over. I will check out more of your videos. Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to see what you do next.
Thanks you are very helpful, I am getting started and looking at places near Tucson to start and also many new ideas of places that I have not considered. I will continue to watch your videos. Bruce tucson
I just watched your video on magma and what minerals you might find i found it quite interesting now I found about 18 different veins of magma that come out of the mountain side and through a small wash of rock not sand there is a large area where someone bedrock is exposed and you can chip it away in large pieces like slabes of flag stone there is also a lot of quartz laying all over the ground amongst other stuff how hard is it to get a permit to dig some up to it tested to see what it contains like I said it comes out of the side of the mountain through the wash and back in to the mountain on the other side of the wash the veins range about a foot and a half wide on some the smallest around 10 inches wide in the bottom of the wash coming out of the cracks where it must have pushed itself out it is about 1and a half feet to 2feet tall the wash isn't that wide ror the most part where these veins started and I stopped going was about100 feet there could have been more I'm assuming there was I was with my grandson and he got bored very fast so we didn't go on I was wondering what your thoughts were on the subject and what I might need to do so I don't get into trouble with the government or anything thanks I'm hoping to go back to this video and watch a couple others if I sent you a picture of this one rock I found do you think you could tell me what it is I believe you might have mentioned it in your video on magma and what minerals might be in it thanks agin I find your videos very insightful and I love watching them
Is the land part of the US public lands. I suggest you take small samples first and test them. I do not offer a mineral ID service, mostly because it’s not as easy as you think. Usually, minerals cannot be identified from just a picture. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/видео.html and Part 2 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/zOWo49X90gA/видео.html and Part 3 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/_ab5NngRlVw/видео.html - Those videos should answer a lot of your questions. Finally, it sounds like you need a ton of information. I'd suggest you buy my book and read it. It has loads of info that will help you.
Moved from Northern CA to Southeast AZ (Cochise Co) in 2020. Found a sizable piece of pyrite recently and now I've been bit. I'd love to retire early and prospect full-time, but at today's prices would need for find nearly 4 lbs annually to replace my income. The wife and Ive been talking about splitting our time between two states - presently she lives in CA and I AZ; we're considering 1 May - 1 Nov in AK and the other half (Winter) in AZ. I could prospect in both! Thanks for your content!
"ONYA CHRIS" ANOTHER INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE UPLOAD.I LIKE TO WATCH YOUR UPLOADS TWO OR THREE TIMES AS IT REALLY SINKS IN TO WHAT YOUR SAYING.KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK PROFESSOR.SHANE FROM BATHURST AUSTRALIA
@@ChrisRalph yeah wow hey the golden triangle has loads of gold.let me know if you do come to Australia as I know of a place where there loads of gold as well & it's on private property with permission from the owner of course.thanks to your uploads & book has tought me so much more than you think.fists full of gold yeeer haaa
Havasu has nice gold but I bought land in the Meadview area and have found good gold there too. Joined the Mohave prospects and Havasu gold seekers clubs to hit the claims. You have lots of GPAA claims to hit as well around those areas.
Another Great one very timely in my understanding of geology involved with gold and being currently in AZ I see things related to those holes in the ground I never could till recently thanks to your vids in particular. It renews my enthusiasm.
Hi Chris. Thanks for sharing another great informative video ! I have that book too. Good resource indeed. I'm surprised that most of the placer gold in the state is associated with metamorphic rock. So are my claims ! Very interesting. 🤔 Definitely going to take closer look at that while prospecting. There's so many great places to prospect throughout the state. Perhaps another favorable attraction to AZ, is less regulatory concerns ?
Its true that Arizona is not so freaked out about everything regulatory. Your claims are in that area where it is associated with the schist, but where it is in direct relation to your claims - I'm not sure. Do you ever find meteorites?
I'm in #31, just a mile east of King Tut. Schist, gneiss, quartz monzonite, scattered everywhere and mixed with clay. Yes, some meteorites have been found there. I collected a small one in my sluice one day !
Good morning Chris. I seen a video that you have on Topographic maps. You said to look for dimples on the sides of mountains. But you drew it. And I was wondering if there was a way to show us on a Topo map what it actually looks like? A drawing is one thing. But to actually see what it really looks like would help me out a lot. Thanks for your videos and have a great day today.
I am not sure what video you are talking about. I have never said to "look for dimples on the sides of mountains" - perhaps I said something and that is what you thought I meant. Can you check and let me know what video you are looking at? If you let me know, I will try to help.
@@ChrisRalph Good morning Chris. Prospector Jess has a video on Topographic maps how to read and understand what the differences in different kinds of gold deposits. How to read the contour lines and what to look for. It's a great video. Thanks for replying back. Have a hell of a day today.
I live in South Carolina and every where that gold is found is usually quickly turned into a state park, but there are still some old closed down mines, that closed at the start of the civil war and never reopened, but the land it's own is owned by an individual and you may need permission to go on the property, if it's a game management land, then you can access it, when it's not hunting season. I recommend Sumter national forest, you can apply for a panners permit at the ranger station.
That is one of the big differences between the east and the west - so much public land all over the place here, not so much in the east. But a lot of gold has come from the Carolinas.
@@illeagle6024 I know where about an old settlers fort used to be, where when the Cherokee Indians attacked they brought all the people inside. In that same area or just below there gold has been found, the creek there runs into the Pacolet river and from that spot down the river gold has been found the are at least 5 old gold mines in that area. But I've only ever found very small placer gold. I had a friend that found several million dollars worth of gold down around sumter national forest, that why I recommend there, I'm not really able to go walking in the woods alone anymore.
The "GOVERNEMEMT COMMIES " Soon to change - we have the right to mine from God and our constitution - the cabal has shut down so many gold bearing area's - made into reserves - a park or a because of a turtle or lizard - we have let them take it but we are about to take it back !! Patriots rock under Trump !!
Hi Chris. I love your videos and book! I met you a few years ago at a GPAA event in PHX. I'm an Army guy at Fort Huachuca and Greaterville is my normal hunting grounds. I've read all the material I can get on the area but if you have any pointers, I'd be grateful to hear them. Thank you. Keith
Thanks for sharing Chris, My Daughter and I just got into the hobby of MDing last year, but summer came quick here in AZ, lol. I just picked up the Nokta Legend last week and looking to take it out east of the valley, I live in the Queen Creek area and looking into places like Superior, Queen Valley, Globe, or Florence. Any spots you recommend? I know ppl dont want to give away their honey holes, lol. Thank you sir.
Just found your site. I worked for Asarco for 26 years in the computer dept. Our copper refinery is in Amarillo Texas. The refining was electrolytic in the tank house. Stater sheet pure copper, anode placed in sulphuric acid. Cathode dissolves and forms anode of copper in about 2 weeks. Well the impurities called slimes sink to the bottom. Well what's in slimes ? Gold and silver depending on the assay of the ore. Can't tell the huge profits the company made as a byproduct of copper refining. Unfortunately live in NJ. As far as I can determine no hold on NJ. Watch all the reality gold shows. 78 years young, too old to try to head to Alaska, lol. Ok thanks for the very informative videos.
Yep -there is smelting and there is refining. The smelting turns the raw ore into metallic copper, the refinery turns the impure metallic copper into a product pure enough for commercial use. The slimes also frequently have traces of platinum metals too.
Hi CHRIS, as always fantastic information and video. Thank you. Hey, is it wise to buy a heavy-duty 4WD Jeep Bronco, or International Scout that has a lift kit and heavy-duty upgraded suspension parts to drive on the dirt roads getting to sites? Some of the dirt roads are like driving on a dried-up river. You can pop a tire.
@@ChrisRalph that would be fantastic, Chris. You have the clearance, all four wheels pulling you up the hills plus plenty of room for the gear. Good choice.
Are you using a cell phone sceen? Google "Placer deposits of Arizona" by Maureen Johnson. It's a free download. Read it and check out the map. There are multiple places not too far from Tucson.
Hi Chris. I have been interested in prospecting pretty much all my life, but only recently have tried to find gold, last 5 yrs. I am now out in AZ, CA, and looking. Boy, this hard. And finding old mines, and seeing where they are, I am left speechless at how they even got to them and dug them out. I saw some that where literally 200 ft up a mountain. And how did they dig out solid rock? some were started, then abandoned. And why some areas weren't even started when there is a good quartz vein? I don't understand. Also, why do they try to get under the vein? If you had to pick a spot in CA, AZ, and NV for me to try and find gold, what would they be? I would love to find someone to go out with to do this. Thanks
Gold is so valuable because its so hard to find - if it were easy to find, it would be a lot cheaper! Finding gold is a skill that has to be learned. I would urge you to join a local prospecting club and go out with them and learn from the other members. Buy and read my book on prospecting. Your success in finding gold depends on what you know and it takes work to learn. There are good spots in CA, AZ, and Northern NV - I've found gold in all those places and know other people who have successfully found gold in all of them. Southern Nevada is a lot more limited in places to find gold, but there are a few.
Hey, Chris, Great research for the knowledge. Two questions: is the thin gold used on Nasa and spaceX crafts pure gold, or gold alloy that you know of? The second question is about gold wire for high-end stereo sound systems. Specifically gold either RCA interconnect cable or speaker wire. Is it made and does it transfer audio signal faster or is it more pure than copper or silver wire? I know speaker wire is of course made of copper, but I also know they make silver wire. Gold is the best conductor as well.
Hi chris really enjoyed the vid i thouvbt since you work with icmj id let you know an old fteind that i used to mine siver with in south , south nm very close to the border gave me a cmj from 1967 still got it later in the late 80sand90s i got a subscrip still have a bunch of those, very informative cant remember the yr but one of them had a really neat Story about gold in bolivia pretty cool gettin ready to go hit some of those hot spots in az,again thank you for the excellent vid!
I can't find the link to the maps. I have 2 copies of your book. Love it. Thank you. I bought the Placer Deposit books for AZ and Nevada. Maps are always missing. Even on line, one can download the books but not the maps. Thank you
It appears that the USGS publication site is crashed. Keep trying, they will get it up again eventually. At the USGS site you can download the maps, at least when its not crashed. The Arizona geology map works, its not part of the USGS system. Here are the links from the video description: Here are the links I had promised to the book, The Arizona district map and state geology map: Placer Deposits of Arizona, USGS publication 1355, Maureen Johnson: pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf Map of Arizona Placer Gold Districts from the USGS report above: pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/plate-1.pdf Arizona state Geology map, repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/630741
Hey Chris,,,question. I’m in Florida and will be moving out west but I’m unsure where yet. I just know that I want to get into gold mining and prospecting for myself. My question is, in your opinion…where should I go? I have metal detectors and will be buying sluicing equipment and what not but I’m just seeking advice from a seasoned vet like yourself on where to go exactly. Mainly…if you were in my shoes, where would you go in the US if you were starting out and wanted to make a living off of it?
I hate to burst you bubble, but expecting to make a living off it with no experience or knowledge is completely unrealistic. Focus first on getting a job, then join a local prospecting club and learn the skills of finding gold. Arizona and Northern California are both good places.
Hello I just recently moved to AZ. I have been watching your channel and subscribed to you for a while. I am in the south Eastern part of the state. I have some rocks and minerals I would like to share the pictures of to you. Thank you for the great information
Thanks for subbing! But I'm sorry - I get quite a few people every day who want me to ID their rock and mineral photos. I do not offer a mineral ID service, mostly because it’s not as easy as you think. Usually, minerals cannot be identified from just a picture. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/видео.html and Part 2 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/zOWo49X90gA/видео.html and Part 3 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/_ab5NngRlVw/видео.html
I live in a cooler village in south AZ. I built a chicken coop, I built my house steps. I only did outside work in the shade or for 2hrs. Anything more than that is a serious sun burn. That was with sun screen.
Depends on what you mean by "High Dollar". There are a few at about $500 that can do a decent job, once in a while you can find a used one that is good for a lower price.
I went into the video description and pulled out the links for you. Placer Deposits of Arizona, USGS publication 1355, Maureen Johnson: pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf Map of Arizona Placer Gold Districts from the USGS report above: pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/plate-1.pdf Arizona state Geology map, repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/630741
Thank you for your video...I don't know what a shist is but I'll learn. I too just joined Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club and hope to have a pocket full o gold soon. Of more interest to me are meteorites. Do you know where the strewn fields are or where can I find a map of strewn fields and would you like to show me where I might go?
I know that maps of the strewn field exist because I have seen one but I don't have a copy. I'd use Google to search if any copy exists on the internet. Also use Google to search for images of schist. That will help you recognize the rock when you see it.
I have a pretty fascinating lode claim in central AZ… some nice specimen gold from stringer veins , some pretty insane stuff! Anyways have learned a good deal from your videos over the years appreciate ya Chris!
What would be super cool is if you went into a deep dive on how you would approach a district for the first time and what goes into selecting equipment and locations. Basically a tutorial for a beginner and what to look out for when beginning a prospecting/mining addiction lol. Maybe starting with the Tucson area Greaterville district as an example since it's known for large nuggets, has a rich history, is close to a population center, and many other interesting variables.
I have stuff on a general level of where to look when you get to a district. But to do it only for one district, it would be of interest only folks interested in that particular district.
@ChrisRalph oh yeah in my part of the state in cochise County oh yeah the amount of rain and floods we get in the summer monsoon is serious..last year we recorded just shy of 30 inches also quite a bit of snow on our mountains in the winter
Will a detector like a Nokta Macro detect gold or do you have to spend $1000 and buy a gold specific type? I found a big chunk of quartz that looked as though there was some gold in an inclusion (but somebody walked off with it). Since then Ive been curious about finding gold here in AZ. I found a map recently that showed thousands of little mines all around the mountains here.
Nokta Macro is a manufacturer that makes all sorts of detectors from cheapie $100 kids detectors to high end ones. They do make some good gold oriented detectors, so I dont really understand your question. The problem with the very cheapest detectors is that are made to find coins and large items - most nuggets are tiny by comparison.
I've heard the Nokta Macro finds flakes of gold & is well worth exploring with it & if not go the gold bug pro for half the price of the Nokta.the gold monster 1000 is another good one with ferrous-non ferrous indicators
The best places I've found are in the deeper water where there are large stones and bends. I've pulled lots of nuggets out. All you need is some snorkeling gear and some pics . Dig the cracks.
I've done some trips to AZ and yes, let's think about this in the future. However, I have a new grandchild due in 2 weeks, and my wife and I will be jumping in to help the parents wherever we can. That's going to occupy my time in the next couple months.
Its a skill that one has to learn. Think of it maybe like golf. The first time you go out you wont be hitting 10 under par. However, if you practice you will get better.
Page 408 Years ago panning for gold brought rich yields from the lower Gila and the Colorado river valleys, but today this part of the Basin and Range Region produces only small amounts of manganese, fluorite, and tungsten. crow = (bu-rung) ga-gak pe-ning = head-ache pan = du-lang
download the free placer deposits of Arizona book I recommend and do some reading. The map is just for the whole of the state of Arizona - there is not an individual placer map for every area.
The spaniards were mining gold in Arizona in the 1600's A lot of the mines in Arizona we're already started by the Spaniards and just taken over by the white man later. But they were already pretty deep by then, some of them 600 feet to 900 feet deep hard rock mines
A lot of silver was mined in Mexico and the Andes of South America. The US was well explored, but was mostly a disappointment. A little silver was mined in the Santa Ritas near Tucson - but only a very little gold was mined before the Mexican revolution.
Red Rover hard rock gold mine in Cave Creek is 900 feet deep with a machine shop at 600 feet. It was bought by a gentleman from Oklahoma in 1906 for $600,000. But the history says that the Spaniards were mining at first. On the 1600's Later they were taking the ore to Texas by mule. That was the closest refiner. You can find some of the hard rock on the road that they used to travel, because either they were attacked along the way or they had to offload extra weight from the mules. But I have found gold out there and I wondered where it came from so I had to look on the overhead on google. That's when I discovered the red rover was about a mile from where I was. I did a lot of research and I found that the Spaniards found it first. It's a pretty big mine at 900 feet deep, and it never comes up in history information. Nobody talks about it. They talk about the mistress mine a lot in Cave Creek. The red rock is mostly red hematite, and you can see the gold in it. It's so rich. I was cutting a piece on my rock saw and I cut through a gold nugget. There are a lot of mines in Arizona, that never made it into the history books. A lot of them do not even have names, but still a couple hundred feet deep.
A mother load of info. I would only add that Arizona is 10th in the nation for violent crime, lots of property theft of tourists that gets recycled back into Mexico, lots of land fraud, mexican drug cartels, organized crime, murder and rape, like the wild west, so I would be carefully not to flaunt any expensive equipment or vehicles, or go with a team, carry a firearm, keep a low profile, don't tell people what you are doing but have a good cover story. I grew up in Alaska, supposedly ranked #1 for violent crime, but it's only because everyone there is crazy, they'd have to be to live that far north, 6 months of basically living in a cold dark cave does that to people.
Nice videos, but i dont think you know us desert people very well. The daytime heat does not stop us, we know how to deal with it. Granted mornings are great, but afternoon heat is very tolerable for desert people.
And remember folks. Don't follow the lost Dutchmen maps or any other for that matter. Even if you find it in a secret compartment of an old trunk you might have stumbled upon. 😁
I might someday - at least I've been to Colorado a few times. Every one wants a video on gold in their backyard. The problem with these videos is that the prospectors in the other 49 states generally dont care about the gold in your backyard. They want to know about the gold in THEIR backyard.
I've never been to Alabama. Every one wants a video on gold in their backyard. The problem with these videos is that the prospectors in the other 49 states generally dont care about the gold in your backyard. They want to know about the gold in THEIR backyard.
Arizona is now the #1 gold producing state in the USA and now has the #1 producing gold mine in the USA. Nuggets are not what your #1 priority should be because both the State of Arizona and Nevada are not known for their nuggets although you run into some. But the fine particulate is what you should go after, 30 to 50 mesh
Jim - you need to study up and learn more - pretty much everything you said is wrong. Nevada is the leading gold-producing State, producing millions of ounces each year and accounting for about 75% of total US domestic production. All the other states combined are 25% of US production. As far as historic production, Nevada has produced more than 10 times the gold that Arizona has. The bulk of the gold from Nevada comes from gigantic sediment hosted "Carlin type" deposits that have gold so small you need a microscope to see it. Its more like 1500 to 2000 mesh, not 30 to 50.
@@ChrisRalph my bad, I stand corrected. I mixed up Arizona being the largest producer of mined minerals ( mostly copper) not the largest gold producer. The Moss mine in district 27 being the largest gold producer in Arizona not the country
Totally agree that AZ is the biggest producer of copper. Its the biggest copper producer by far. Is the Moss mine still open? I really don't know but I heard rumors that they might shut down a while back. Maybe with gold prices as high they are they have stayed open.
It is going strong. I drive by it just about everyday, I do a boat load of prospecting around the Moss Mine. I believe they are buying and picking up as many available fee simple sections as well as licenses and blm leases around their mine as humanly allowable
Ouch! I cringed when you butchered the name of my home town, Arivaca. (Although you mispronounced quite a few names, so I don't feel quite so singled out, haha) the correct way to pronounce Arivaca is AIR·i·vah·cah. Originally it was called Aribac; (ah·REE·bock) which was a Pima Indian word for "many waters" or "many springs." This is due to a shelf of shale that pushes the ground water up to the surface, compared to Tucson's 1000 ft deep wells, ours are only about 100 ft. Anyway, Padre Kino, the Spaniard, came to Aribac, and like so many other native words, he got it wrong and called it Ari-vaca, which translates to "dry cow." A far stretch from Many Waters, but the name stuck. As far as gold out here, it is literally everywhere. It's in every wash, every mountain, every field, heck, we even have a street in the townsite called Placer Street, named accordingly! However, despite the gold being everywhere, the problem is it's all flour gold. You would be very lucky to even find a small nugget. But, if you have patience, eventually you'll find something of worth. So there you go! A brief history of Arivaca. Please, pronounce it correctly from here on out though! Thank you! (AIR·i·vah·cah)
My humblest apologies for the mis-pronounciation. However, you are wrong about it only being flour gold. I've seen a good number of nuggets found by metal detectors from that district.
@@DarronSanderson Nah, we already put a big "A" on the side of the mountain just outside of town. We're way past molehill in this town. I'm not offended by the mispronouncing of my hometown, but I take enough pride in our little community to correct someone if they get it wrong. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of pride and knowing the history of the place you live. If you don't like it, well, that's too bad. You can argue on the internet, if it makes you feel better. I hunt gold too. But I don't think you want to be called Day-roon and her son, do you? Furthermore, the issue was settled a long time ago. I hope this clears things up for you, Good Journey, Good vibrations, may you find the elusive 9 pound nugget we've all been searching for. ✌️
You know Chris, i still can't figure out how BLM can forbid people from metal detecting, pan or dry wash. I can see them saying no claims but not the other three. It's still a recreation.
Yes in Arizona it is more often then not it is one or the other or both Especially west Arizona for the most part it is the deposition for the gold formation in west Arizona.
You youngsters need to pay attention to this guy. He literally makes a good living “prospecting” for precious metals. Not many can say that. Now put on those boots and grab your rock hammer!
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Great timing. I just joined the Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club this week. Spent yesterday scoping out the area around Middle Camp looking for a promising spot on the club claims. I'm a novice, but thanks to guys like you, Jeff Williams and Dan Hurd I'm learning, there are others too but too many to mention.
Best of luck to you in your efforts, there is some good gold out there around Middle Camp.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON CHRIS'S BOOK,ITS CALLED "FISTS FULL OF GOLD",&THATS JUST WHAT THE BOOK TOUGHT ME & NOW I DO HAVE FISTS FULL OF GOLD.THERES LOADS &LOADS OF INFO IN THERE.I WAS ONCE LIKE YOU A NOVICE & THOUGH IF IT WASN'T FOR CHRIS'S BOOK I'D STILL BE A NOVICE WITH NO GOLD.
AND I, may be joining you there,, Soon, , , vacating intellectually impotent, , , ,Mojave Co. permanently!!!!
We are moving to Arizona and know Quartzite well . We are rock hounds and would love to get to gether with others to do some prospecting. Anyone in that area who is a geologist or just a rock hound like us please feel free to contact us.
Hi Chris
As I remember you hauled several pounds of the good stuff out of the Flandrau in Tucson. I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for your help !! Soo Thanks
John B.
John!!!
How are you my friend? I hope you and your family are doing well. I am sorry its been so many years since we last got together. I had intended to be in Tucson for this years Gem show, but I will be helping my kids with general stuff here in Nevada as my son and his wife are having a baby at the end of January. But next year for sure! Yep, I helped you haul stuff out of the Flandrau back in the day. I hear they have a new museum opened in the Tucson area - The Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum. If you still have the same phone number that ends in 59, I'll give you a call sometime in the next few days.
I just stumbled across this video and have found it very informative. I am a member of the GPAA Michigan chapter and I am working on getting my membership with the LDMA. Yes I am totally new to all of this and will be getting your book as soon ass I can. Thank you and yes I am now following..
Sounds great, welcome aboard.
Hi:
I live in Northern Indiana and my wife and I are lifetime members of the LDMA and GPAA…
Where abouts are you in MI.?
We wanted to go to there place in MI but then I think they closed it because we don’t hear
anything about it anymore…
Wish you best of luck.
Have a great day and be blessed …
Very much enjoyed the geology discussion. Knowledge is power when prospecting.
Very true - knowledge is power.
I live in Yavapai County. I've been Prospecting for many years. I haven't watched any Prospecting videos in a long time. Good information and a good video also. Thanks..... Liked and Subbed.
Glad you liked it and Thanks for the sub!
Chris as always love the work you do , just finished watching your video on gold placers of Arizona Loved it, my uncle and I have been going prospecting in the cave creek area in Arizona for the past 4 years no luck after your Teachings I wii do my homework identifying X-M-S and X-M-V , Chris thanks for all the Knowledge you share with the average Joe prosecutor can't wait to find our first Gold Nugget , time to do my homework , Thank you God Bless.!!!
Best of luck to you in your efforts.
Cave creek couldn't look better but often skunks me too .. try looking more east side of crown king .. there's tons of gold on the east side that always gets over looked .. Moores gulch is amazing .. good luck man
East of I 17 is what I meant by east of crown king ... I meant east of the Bradshaw lol
@@machinegunhippy Mr Black we thank you for the info on our next trip up I'll look in the will metal detect in the area you indicated , keep y'all updated and Thanks again God Bless.!!!
Usually I skip ahead about two or three minutes to find the real start point of videos. However, haha, this guy Chris hits the ground running so to speak. Informative video right out the gate, no wasting our time bragging. Keep it up Mr Chris!
Trying to have worthwhile stuff from the get go. Thanks.
Fantastic education Chris ! I`ll have to try prospecting in Arizona some day ⭐⭐ ⭐
I imagine you know all this stuff and a whole lot more.......
🤣🤣🤣
Hey I see what u did there hahaha
@@ChrisRalph Would you by chance have any advice on how you might tailor your approach to finding gold in North Carolina?
I just came across your channel this morning. I have watched a few and I have no doubt I will continue. Thank you very much 😊.
Awesome! Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video.
I’ve spent many years as a gem prospector in varying states around the country, but just moved to Prescott a few weeks ago. I’m thinking I might be more productive in this state prospecting for metals, so videos like this are a huge help. Thank you for the resources.
Try both! No doubt that AZ has some good gold, but there are lots of gems in AZ, especially turquoise.
Welcome to Prescott. Good luck with the prospecting.
Come down to Cochise for a day trip. The turquoise is rare but so very worth finding.
hey Chris,. I have found an incredible deposit for placer . 3-6 grams per ton. some great gold
Sounds great! Best of luck to you in your efforts.
I find gold and silver ore bound up in quartz veins out here. The hard rock mines were abandoned largely during WW2 when the commercial viability of the mines dropped. Many years later with better extraction tools and techniques, these mines which were previously considered "tapped out" are soon going to be making some individuals a lot of money.
Best of luck to you in your efforts.
Where abouts
@@StevenHanover The Bradshaw Mining District in AZ.
Thanks to the internet the jhonny come lately guys are ruining the good fishing spots
Chris is the ONLY RUclips creator I know who actually takes the time to reply to every comment. Even if it's just an acknowledgment that someone took the time to make a comment, he does it. It speaks very highly of the respect he has for his audience. I'm sure the day will come where he'll get hundreds a day per video and that'll be impossible, but I see him being the kind of guy (and he was when I met him at the Minelab dealer conference) that would stay up the night to do it. PS: Buy his book, I bought it when it first came out years ago and it's the bible for prospecting, a GREAT resource for your collection.
Thanks so much for the very kind words.
Chris is great at getting back. I just left a message for him as well so I'm waiting for a response. The only one else besides Chris is Jeff Williams the prospector out of Arizona. He always responds as well. You two are my favorites to watch.
@@jasonyork4418 Jeff Williams and Chris Ralph aren't in the same ballpark when it comes to peer respect from others in the geologist/prospector community, they're not even in the same universe. Williams gets back to you cus he sees a buck to be made via his Patreon or salted ground pay to detect tourist trips to Gold Basin. Chris replies cus he's a professional and wants to share the knowledge..... one's a professional, the other's an actor who plays with toy guns, skeleton's and makes real prospectors look bad to the general public, like we're all clowns.
@@Jennifer-007 Stop hating on someone that you have probably never met sunshine! Just because Jeff has an open and out going personality doesn't make him fake .So do us all a favor and keep your negative attitude and persona to yourself. Don't judge or you will be judged yourself!!! And if you like I will stop watching Chris if people like you watch him!!
@@jasonyork4418 🤣
If I lived there I would sure be trying. I love the outdoors, rock hounding, metal detecting, and the whole nine yards.
I dont get down to Arizona as often as I would like either.
Great video. Lots of good information. I am going to be south of Phoenix visiting family in a few weeks. I hope to be able to do a little prospecting while there. I hope to find a little gold and also some copper ore. I want to try refining some copper and plan on bringing a few buckets of copper and gold bearing rock and dirt home to work over. I will check out more of your videos. Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to see what you do next.
Best of luck in your Arizona prospecting. I'll be talking about how factories grow crystals in next week's video.
Thanks you are very helpful, I am getting started and looking at places near Tucson to start and also many new ideas of places that I have not considered. I will continue to watch your videos.
Bruce tucson
Glad it was helpful!
I enjoy watching your videos. Always something new to learn. 👍
Glad to hear it!
I just watched your video on magma and what minerals you might find i found it quite interesting now I found about 18 different veins of magma that come out of the mountain side and through a small wash of rock not sand there is a large area where someone bedrock is exposed and you can chip it away in large pieces like slabes of flag stone there is also a lot of quartz laying all over the ground amongst other stuff how hard is it to get a permit to dig some up to it tested to see what it contains like I said it comes out of the side of the mountain through the wash and back in to the mountain on the other side of the wash the veins range about a foot and a half wide on some the smallest around 10 inches wide in the bottom of the wash coming out of the cracks where it must have pushed itself out it is about 1and a half feet to 2feet tall the wash isn't that wide ror the most part where these veins started and I stopped going was about100 feet there could have been more I'm assuming there was I was with my grandson and he got bored very fast so we didn't go on I was wondering what your thoughts were on the subject and what I might need to do so I don't get into trouble with the government or anything thanks I'm hoping to go back to this video and watch a couple others if I sent you a picture of this one rock I found do you think you could tell me what it is I believe you might have mentioned it in your video on magma and what minerals might be in it thanks agin I find your videos very insightful and I love watching them
Is the land part of the US public lands. I suggest you take small samples first and test them. I do not offer a mineral ID service, mostly because it’s not as easy as you think. Usually, minerals cannot be identified from just a picture. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/видео.html and Part 2 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/zOWo49X90gA/видео.html and Part 3 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/_ab5NngRlVw/видео.html - Those videos should answer a lot of your questions. Finally, it sounds like you need a ton of information. I'd suggest you buy my book and read it. It has loads of info that will help you.
Thanks Chris, I greatly enjoyed this episode 🎉
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank Chris, very informative. Great job again. msc
Thanks, Mike - Glad it was helpful!
Another great video, I may have to try the Gold Basin area I hear so much about 😉
If I lived down there I'd be hunting the outer areas with that Precambrian bedrock. Hope you are doing well Jennifer.
Moved from Northern CA to Southeast AZ (Cochise Co) in 2020. Found a sizable piece of pyrite recently and now I've been bit. I'd love to retire early and prospect full-time, but at today's prices would need for find nearly 4 lbs annually to replace my income.
The wife and Ive been talking about splitting our time between two states - presently she lives in CA and I AZ; we're considering 1 May - 1 Nov in AK and the other half (Winter) in AZ. I could prospect in both!
Thanks for your content!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Always looking forward to your videos!!
Glad you like them!
"ONYA CHRIS" ANOTHER INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE UPLOAD.I LIKE TO WATCH YOUR UPLOADS TWO OR THREE TIMES AS IT REALLY SINKS IN TO WHAT YOUR SAYING.KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK PROFESSOR.SHANE FROM BATHURST AUSTRALIA
Thanks. I need to get back to Australia one of the days. Part of my family came from the Golden Triangle area.
@@ChrisRalph yeah wow hey the golden triangle has loads of gold.let me know if you do come to Australia as I know of a place where there loads of gold as well & it's on private property with permission from the owner of course.thanks to your uploads & book has tought me so much more than you think.fists full of gold yeeer haaa
I will let you know - I've talked a little about this with a friend who has also been there once previously - he'd like to return also.
Havasu has nice gold but I bought land in the Meadview area and have found good gold there too. Joined the Mohave prospects and Havasu gold seekers clubs to hit the claims. You have lots of GPAA claims to hit as well around those areas.
Yep. I've seen some nice big nuggets from around Meadview.
Ya its October and we are still getting up at the butt crack of dawn and we have a ton of clubs around here too thank you for a great video
Glad you enjoyed it.
Awesome thanks for the tips and work you’ve done for us. We do appreciate you. 👍🏻
That is very nice of you to say. Thanks.
Just found you by accident on RUclips and love the videos. Got a sub and now bing watching.
Welcome! I answer all my comments - so feel free to ask any questions.
Another Great one very timely in my understanding of geology involved with gold and being currently in AZ I see things related to those holes in the ground I never could till recently thanks to your vids in particular. It renews my enthusiasm.
Best of luck to you in your prospecting.
Hi Chris. Thanks for sharing another great informative video ! I have that book too. Good resource indeed. I'm surprised that most of the placer gold in the state is associated with metamorphic rock. So are my claims ! Very interesting. 🤔 Definitely going to take closer look at that while prospecting. There's so many great places to prospect throughout the state. Perhaps another favorable attraction to AZ, is less regulatory concerns ?
Its true that Arizona is not so freaked out about everything regulatory. Your claims are in that area where it is associated with the schist, but where it is in direct relation to your claims - I'm not sure. Do you ever find meteorites?
I'm in #31, just a mile east of King Tut. Schist, gneiss, quartz monzonite, scattered everywhere and mixed with clay. Yes, some meteorites have been found there. I collected a small one in my sluice one day !
Good morning Chris. I seen a video that you have on Topographic maps. You said to look for dimples on the sides of mountains. But you drew it. And I was wondering if there was a way to show us on a Topo map what it actually looks like? A drawing is one thing. But to actually see what it really looks like would help me out a lot. Thanks for your videos and have a great day today.
I am not sure what video you are talking about. I have never said to "look for dimples on the sides of mountains" - perhaps I said something and that is what you thought I meant. Can you check and let me know what video you are looking at? If you let me know, I will try to help.
@@ChrisRalph Sorry Chris it was a video from Prospector Jess.
I'm not sure what Prospector Jess meant.
@@ChrisRalph Good morning Chris. Prospector Jess has a video on Topographic maps how to read and understand what the differences in different kinds of gold deposits. How to read the contour lines and what to look for. It's a great video. Thanks for replying back. Have a hell of a day today.
If it is just a tiny one, it is on my bucket list. Have detector, will travel.
The gold is out there to be found. You just need to get out there and work and learn.
I live in South Carolina and every where that gold is found is usually quickly turned into a state park, but there are still some old closed down mines, that closed at the start of the civil war and never reopened, but the land it's own is owned by an individual and you may need permission to go on the property, if it's a game management land, then you can access it, when it's not hunting season. I recommend Sumter national forest, you can apply for a panners permit at the ranger station.
That is one of the big differences between the east and the west - so much public land all over the place here, not so much in the east. But a lot of gold has come from the Carolinas.
If you ever look at the areas militarily bases in the west, notice that most of them are huge areas where gold is.
@@illeagle6024 I know where about an old settlers fort used to be, where when the Cherokee Indians attacked they brought all the people inside. In that same area or just below there gold has been found, the creek there runs into the Pacolet river and from that spot down the river gold has been found the are at least 5 old gold mines in that area. But I've only ever found very small placer gold. I had a friend that found several million dollars worth of gold down around sumter national forest, that why I recommend there, I'm not really able to go walking in the woods alone anymore.
The "GOVERNEMEMT COMMIES " Soon to change - we have the right to mine from God and our constitution - the cabal has shut down so many gold bearing area's - made into reserves - a park or a because of a turtle or lizard - we have let them take it but we are about to take it back !! Patriots rock under Trump !!
Hi Chris. I love your videos and book! I met you a few years ago at a GPAA event in PHX.
I'm an Army guy at Fort Huachuca and Greaterville is my normal hunting grounds. I've read all the material I can get on the area but if you have any pointers, I'd be grateful to hear them.
Thank you.
Keith
Lots of gold has been found around Greaterville. Be persistent in your quest. Finding gold is not easy.
Great presentation, a lot of very helpful information !!!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing Chris, My Daughter and I just got into the hobby of MDing last year, but summer came quick here in AZ, lol. I just picked up the Nokta Legend last week and looking to take it out east of the valley, I live in the Queen Creek area and looking into places like Superior, Queen Valley, Globe, or Florence. Any spots you recommend? I know ppl dont want to give away their honey holes, lol. Thank you sir.
Download a copy of Placer Deposits of AZ, by Maureen Johnson. Then read it carefully. It will suggest possibilities to you.
@@ChrisRalph awesome... thank you!
Thank you, I watched the whole video and shared it!!!!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Great video! I'm a newbie and it open my eyes to the options
Glad it was helpful!
Just found your site. I worked for Asarco for 26 years in the computer dept. Our copper refinery is in Amarillo Texas. The refining was electrolytic in the tank house. Stater sheet pure copper, anode placed in sulphuric acid. Cathode dissolves and forms anode of copper in about 2 weeks. Well the impurities called slimes sink to the bottom. Well what's in slimes ? Gold and silver depending on the assay of the ore. Can't tell the huge profits the company made as a byproduct of copper refining. Unfortunately live in NJ. As far as I can determine no hold on NJ. Watch all the reality gold shows. 78 years young, too old to try to head to Alaska, lol. Ok thanks for the very informative videos.
Yep -there is smelting and there is refining. The smelting turns the raw ore into metallic copper, the refinery turns the impure metallic copper into a product pure enough for commercial use. The slimes also frequently have traces of platinum metals too.
Hi CHRIS, as always fantastic information and video. Thank you. Hey, is it wise to buy a heavy-duty 4WD Jeep Bronco, or International Scout that has a lift kit and heavy-duty upgraded suspension parts to drive on the dirt roads getting to sites? Some of the dirt roads are like driving on a dried-up river. You can pop a tire.
I drive a 4WD Ford F250 diesel crew cab truck.
@@ChrisRalph that would be fantastic, Chris. You have the clearance, all four wheels pulling you up the hills plus plenty of room for the gear. Good choice.
Where in Tucson you said? The map is to small to locate the place you referred.
Are you using a cell phone sceen? Google "Placer deposits of Arizona" by Maureen Johnson. It's a free download. Read it and check out the map. There are multiple places not too far from Tucson.
I work the Ellsworth district around Salome looks like I should spread out great information Chris thanks .
I hope the info gets you some good gold.
Hi Chris. I have been interested in prospecting pretty much all my life, but only recently have tried to find gold, last 5 yrs. I am now out in AZ, CA, and looking. Boy, this hard. And finding old mines, and seeing where they are, I am left speechless at how they even got to them and dug them out. I saw some that where literally 200 ft up a mountain. And how did they dig out solid rock? some were started, then abandoned. And why some areas weren't even started when there is a good quartz vein? I don't understand. Also, why do they try to get under the vein? If you had to pick a spot in CA, AZ, and NV for me to try and find gold, what would they be? I would love to find someone to go out with to do this. Thanks
Gold is so valuable because its so hard to find - if it were easy to find, it would be a lot cheaper! Finding gold is a skill that has to be learned. I would urge you to join a local prospecting club and go out with them and learn from the other members. Buy and read my book on prospecting. Your success in finding gold depends on what you know and it takes work to learn. There are good spots in CA, AZ, and Northern NV - I've found gold in all those places and know other people who have successfully found gold in all of them. Southern Nevada is a lot more limited in places to find gold, but there are a few.
We just got to our camp out spot for a minute outside of Congress Arizona. There's a couple of mines near us but haven't checked them out yet.
Sounds like a great area to explore. Are you staying for the winter?
@@ChrisRalph some what yes. We're planin on quartzite later next month.
Hey, Chris, Great research for the knowledge. Two questions: is the thin gold used on Nasa and spaceX crafts pure gold, or gold alloy that you know of? The second question is about gold wire for high-end stereo sound systems. Specifically gold either RCA interconnect cable or speaker wire. Is it made and does it transfer audio signal faster or is it more pure than copper or silver wire? I know speaker wire is of course made of copper, but I also know they make silver wire. Gold is the best conductor as well.
Gold connections exist because Gold does not corrode. Yes, they use alloys.
@@ChrisRalph thank you Chris. Are you headed out this weekend to find gold?
@@ChrisRalph Chris I saw you in the 60-Minutes documentary on the history of gold. Good seeing you in it. Very knowledgeable. 🤘
Chris, what would you suggest for understanding the geology of central Java, Indonesia? I have looked for geological reports but have not found any.
I am not familiar with Indonesia. All I can suggest is a Google search.
Id love to see a overlay of gold deposits vs the Geologic map
Interesting idea, I'll work on it.
Hi chris really enjoyed the vid i thouvbt since you work with icmj id let you know an old fteind that i used to mine siver with in south , south nm very close to the border gave me a cmj from 1967 still got it later in the late 80sand90s i got a subscrip still have a bunch of those, very informative cant remember the yr but one of them had a really neat
Story about gold in bolivia pretty cool gettin ready to go hit some of those hot spots in az,again thank you for the excellent vid!
Glad you enjoyed the video.
You remind me of my awesome neighbor...like your brother lives right next to me haha.. as always, great video, great information.
Thanks for the kind words.
I can't find the link to the maps. I have 2 copies of your book. Love it. Thank you. I bought the Placer Deposit books for AZ and Nevada. Maps are always missing. Even on line, one can download the books but not the maps. Thank you
It appears that the USGS publication site is crashed. Keep trying, they will get it up again eventually.
At the USGS site you can download the maps, at least when its not crashed. The Arizona geology map works, its not part of the USGS system.
Here are the links from the video description:
Here are the links I had promised to the book, The Arizona district map and state geology map:
Placer Deposits of Arizona, USGS publication 1355, Maureen Johnson:
pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf
Map of Arizona Placer Gold Districts from the USGS report above:
pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/plate-1.pdf
Arizona state Geology map,
repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/630741
Read the "video description", it's there.
Awesome, informative vid. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Chris,,,question. I’m in Florida and will be moving out west but I’m unsure where yet. I just know that I want to get into gold mining and prospecting for myself. My question is, in your opinion…where should I go? I have metal detectors and will be buying sluicing equipment and what not but I’m just seeking advice from a seasoned vet like yourself on where to go exactly. Mainly…if you were in my shoes, where would you go in the US if you were starting out and wanted to make a living off of it?
I hate to burst you bubble, but expecting to make a living off it with no experience or knowledge is completely unrealistic.
Focus first on getting a job, then join a local prospecting club and learn the skills of finding gold. Arizona and Northern California are both good places.
@@ChrisRalph Im in no need of getting a job. I can afford to go try gold mining. Appreciate the great info 👌🏻
Hello I just recently moved to AZ. I have been watching your channel and subscribed to you for a while. I am in the south Eastern part of the state. I have some rocks and minerals I would like to share the pictures of to you. Thank you for the great information
Thanks for subbing! But I'm sorry - I get quite a few people every day who want me to ID their rock and mineral photos. I do not offer a mineral ID service, mostly because it’s not as easy as you think. Usually, minerals cannot be identified from just a picture. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/видео.html and Part 2 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/zOWo49X90gA/видео.html and Part 3 can be found here: ruclips.net/video/_ab5NngRlVw/видео.html
thank you i loved this video im planning a trip down there now i know what to look for in host rock
Glad you enjoyed it.
I live in a cooler village in south AZ. I built a chicken coop, I built my house steps. I only did outside work in the shade or for 2hrs. Anything more than that is a serious sun burn. That was with sun screen.
The intense sun of the big AZ can be really dangerous.
Where should i send my parents to look for gold? They live southwest of Tuscon just north of keystone peak.
Have them join the local Tucson prospecting club.
Do have to only use a high doller high priced metal detector to find gold ?
Depends on what you mean by "High Dollar". There are a few at about $500 that can do a decent job, once in a while you can find a used one that is good for a lower price.
Thank you for this information
Where are the downloads for the ebook and the map? I don't see anything anywhere that I can click on.
go into the description of the video, read down and you will find the links.
I went into the video description and pulled out the links for you.
Placer Deposits of Arizona, USGS publication 1355, Maureen Johnson:
pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf
Map of Arizona Placer Gold Districts from the USGS report above:
pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/plate-1.pdf
Arizona state Geology map,
repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/630741
Thank you for your video...I don't know what a shist is but I'll learn. I too just joined Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club and hope to have a pocket full o gold soon. Of more interest to me are meteorites. Do you know where the strewn fields are or where can I find a map of strewn fields and would you like to show me where I might go?
I know that maps of the strewn field exist because I have seen one but I don't have a copy. I'd use Google to search if any copy exists on the internet. Also use Google to search for images of schist. That will help you recognize the rock when you see it.
Check out your local library
I have a pretty fascinating lode claim in central AZ… some nice specimen gold from stringer veins , some pretty insane stuff! Anyways have learned a good deal from your videos over the years appreciate ya Chris!
Sounds great! Glad the videos are helpful.
Thank you so much for some arizona content. 🙏 🤙👏👍
You bet, glad to do it.
What would be super cool is if you went into a deep dive on how you would approach a district for the first time and what goes into selecting equipment and locations. Basically a tutorial for a beginner and what to look out for when beginning a prospecting/mining addiction lol. Maybe starting with the Tucson area Greaterville district as an example since it's known for large nuggets, has a rich history, is close to a population center, and many other interesting variables.
I have stuff on a general level of where to look when you get to a district. But to do it only for one district, it would be of interest only folks interested in that particular district.
Enjoyed your video very interesting....Thomas Knox. Trenton georgia.
Thanks, Glad you enjoyed it
We get tons of rain here in AZ we pan all the time and sluice.. it's awesome.
You make it sound like Arizona is a rain forest jungle!
@ChrisRalph oh yeah in my part of the state in cochise County oh yeah the amount of rain and floods we get in the summer monsoon is serious..last year we recorded just shy of 30 inches also quite a bit of snow on our mountains in the winter
Will a detector like a Nokta Macro detect gold or do you have to spend $1000 and buy a gold specific type?
I found a big chunk of quartz that looked as though there was some gold in an inclusion (but somebody walked off with it). Since then Ive been curious about finding gold here in AZ. I found a map recently that showed thousands of little mines all around the mountains here.
Nokta Macro is a manufacturer that makes all sorts of detectors from cheapie $100 kids detectors to high end ones. They do make some good gold oriented detectors, so I dont really understand your question. The problem with the very cheapest detectors is that are made to find coins and large items - most nuggets are tiny by comparison.
I've heard the Nokta Macro finds flakes of gold & is well worth exploring with it & if not go the gold bug pro for half the price of the Nokta.the gold monster 1000 is another good one with ferrous-non ferrous indicators
Absoulutley im hoping to make Az my 2nd home in the winter.
Great weather in the minter months, no doubt about it.
The best places I've found are in the deeper water where there are large stones and bends. I've pulled lots of nuggets out. All you need is some snorkeling gear and some pics . Dig the cracks.
Interesting - there is not a lot of deeper water in Arizona.
@@ChrisRalph Deeper water in Arizona is what i consider around 3 feet. Places where normal people don't pan.
OK. Working in California, I think of deeper water as 5 feet or more.
Road trip ?
I've done some trips to AZ and yes, let's think about this in the future. However, I have a new grandchild due in 2 weeks, and my wife and I will be jumping in to help the parents wherever we can. That's going to occupy my time in the next couple months.
@@ChrisRalph Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@ChrisRalphcongratulations, Chris. A year later, but still well done.
Who knew there's au in az! Wow folks pay attention to Chris Ralph :)
Thanks.
Lol
Any land for sale there🤔
I am sure there is land for sale in Arizona.
I've tried a few times for fun but not much luck. It always feels like everywhere you go has been combed through by many people.
Its a skill that one has to learn. Think of it maybe like golf. The first time you go out you wont be hitting 10 under par. However, if you practice you will get better.
When the rain and snow comes - along with it comes gold ! I can't wait to get out there !
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Years ago panning for gold brought rich yields from the lower Gila and the Colorado river valleys, but today this part of the Basin and Range Region produces only small amounts of manganese, fluorite, and tungsten.
crow = (bu-rung) ga-gak
pe-ning = head-ache
pan = du-lang
There is still considerable gold in Arizona....
Rincon Mountain. Happy valley?
download the free placer deposits of Arizona book I recommend and do some reading. The map is just for the whole of the state of Arizona - there is not an individual placer map for every area.
The spaniards were mining gold in Arizona in the 1600's
A lot of the mines in Arizona we're already started by the Spaniards and just taken over by the white man later. But they were already pretty deep by then, some of them 600 feet to 900 feet deep hard rock mines
Were not we're
A lot of silver was mined in Mexico and the Andes of South America. The US was well explored, but was mostly a disappointment. A little silver was mined in the Santa Ritas near Tucson - but only a very little gold was mined before the Mexican revolution.
Red Rover hard rock gold mine in Cave Creek is 900 feet deep with a machine shop at 600 feet. It was bought by a gentleman from Oklahoma in 1906 for $600,000. But the history says that the Spaniards were mining at first. On the 1600's
Later they were taking the ore to Texas by mule. That was the closest refiner. You can find some of the hard rock on the road that they used to travel, because either they were attacked along the way or they had to offload extra weight from the mules. But I have found gold out there and I wondered where it came from so I had to look on the overhead on google. That's when I discovered the red rover was about a mile from where I was. I did a lot of research and I found that the Spaniards found it first.
It's a pretty big mine at 900 feet deep, and it never comes up in history information. Nobody talks about it. They talk about the mistress mine a lot in Cave Creek.
The red rock is mostly red hematite, and you can see the gold in it. It's so rich.
I was cutting a piece on my rock saw and I cut through a gold nugget.
There are a lot of mines in Arizona, that never made it into the history books.
A lot of them do not even have names, but still a couple hundred feet deep.
A mother load of info. I would only add that Arizona is 10th in the nation for violent crime, lots of property theft of tourists that gets recycled back into Mexico, lots of land fraud, mexican drug cartels, organized crime, murder and rape, like the wild west, so I would be carefully not to flaunt any expensive equipment or vehicles, or go with a team, carry a firearm, keep a low profile, don't tell people what you are doing but have a good cover story. I grew up in Alaska, supposedly ranked #1 for violent crime, but it's only because everyone there is crazy, they'd have to be to live that far north, 6 months of basically living in a cold dark cave does that to people.
Violent crime is getting worse almost everywhere.
Nice videos, but i dont think you know us desert people very well. The daytime heat does not stop us, we know how to deal with it. Granted mornings are great, but afternoon heat is very tolerable for desert people.
I know a whole bunch of Arizonan residents that would think that you are taking serious risks nugget detecting in the 110 degree heat with no shade.
Thanks again 😊
I'm glad it was helpful.
I live in Arizona City. I would love to look for gold here, as a hobby.
Best of luck to you!
thank you
You're welcome
Thanks again
Always welcome
And remember folks. Don't follow the lost Dutchmen maps or any other for that matter. Even if you find it in a secret compartment of an old trunk you might have stumbled upon. 😁
I'm pretty skeptical of the tale of the lost Dutchman mine.
I've found apache, Indians with head dress on I walk back out so they may rest in piece with gold
They will wrest in a piece.
@@ChrisRalph🤣 Chris, lo. You are a great man. Funny.
Don't tell everyone, you'll spoil it!!😢😂
Sorry - the word gets out if I say it or not.
Arizona is a geologist dream
Yes indeed.
What happened to SALOME IN LA PAZ COUNTY ???, RICH IN GOLD......Mmmmm, Pilgrims.....
La Paz county is mentioned, - but not every spot in every county - it would have taken a 3 hour video.
do this on Colorado
I might someday - at least I've been to Colorado a few times. Every one wants a video on gold in their backyard. The problem with these videos is that the prospectors in the other 49 states generally dont care about the gold in your backyard. They want to know about the gold in THEIR backyard.
Very true, Chris, but some of us LIVE in Colorado.
Be nice hear about alabama
I've never been to Alabama. Every one wants a video on gold in their backyard. The problem with these videos is that the prospectors in the other 49 states generally dont care about the gold in your backyard. They want to know about the gold in THEIR backyard.
Arizona is now the #1 gold producing state in the USA and now has the #1 producing gold mine in the USA. Nuggets are not what your #1 priority should be because both the State of Arizona and Nevada are not known for their nuggets although you run into some. But the fine particulate is what you should go after, 30 to 50 mesh
Jim - you need to study up and learn more - pretty much everything you said is wrong. Nevada is the leading gold-producing State, producing millions of ounces each year and accounting for about 75% of total US domestic production. All the other states combined are 25% of US production. As far as historic production, Nevada has produced more than 10 times the gold that Arizona has. The bulk of the gold from Nevada comes from gigantic sediment hosted "Carlin type" deposits that have gold so small you need a microscope to see it. Its more like 1500 to 2000 mesh, not 30 to 50.
@@ChrisRalph my bad, I stand corrected. I mixed up Arizona being the largest producer of mined minerals ( mostly copper) not the largest gold producer. The Moss mine in district 27 being the largest gold producer in Arizona not the country
Totally agree that AZ is the biggest producer of copper. Its the biggest copper producer by far. Is the Moss mine still open? I really don't know but I heard rumors that they might shut down a while back. Maybe with gold prices as high they are they have stayed open.
It is going strong. I drive by it just about everyday, I do a boat load of prospecting around the Moss Mine. I believe they are buying and picking up as many available fee simple sections as well as licenses and blm leases around their mine as humanly allowable
I need to join a group , to have like minded people to go with , the serious ones !! Not wise to go out by yourself !
Quite a number of prospecting clubs in Arizona.
I find small nuggets all the time in Southern Arizona.
I've found a few myself down that way.
Ouch! I cringed when you butchered the name of my home town, Arivaca. (Although you mispronounced quite a few names, so I don't feel quite so singled out, haha) the correct way to pronounce Arivaca is AIR·i·vah·cah. Originally it was called Aribac; (ah·REE·bock) which was a Pima Indian word for "many waters" or "many springs." This is due to a shelf of shale that pushes the ground water up to the surface, compared to Tucson's 1000 ft deep wells, ours are only about 100 ft. Anyway, Padre Kino, the Spaniard, came to Aribac, and like so many other native words, he got it wrong and called it Ari-vaca, which translates to "dry cow." A far stretch from Many Waters, but the name stuck. As far as gold out here, it is literally everywhere. It's in every wash, every mountain, every field, heck, we even have a street in the townsite called Placer Street, named accordingly! However, despite the gold being everywhere, the problem is it's all flour gold. You would be very lucky to even find a small nugget. But, if you have patience, eventually you'll find something of worth. So there you go! A brief history of Arivaca. Please, pronounce it correctly from here on out though! Thank you!
(AIR·i·vah·cah)
My humblest apologies for the mis-pronounciation. However, you are wrong about it only being flour gold. I've seen a good number of nuggets found by metal detectors from that district.
@@ChrisRalph well, that is certainly good to hear! They're far and few between, unless you can find a good lode deposit that hasn't been tapped yet.
I understand
@@DarronSanderson Nah, we already put a big "A" on the side of the mountain just outside of town. We're way past molehill in this town. I'm not offended by the mispronouncing of my hometown, but I take enough pride in our little community to correct someone if they get it wrong. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of pride and knowing the history of the place you live. If you don't like it, well, that's too bad. You can argue on the internet, if it makes you feel better. I hunt gold too. But I don't think you want to be called Day-roon and her son, do you? Furthermore, the issue was settled a long time ago. I hope this clears things up for you, Good Journey, Good vibrations, may you find the elusive 9 pound nugget we've all been searching for. ✌️
@@georgehuesler9561 a 9 lb nugget would be wonderful. The "Pepita Canaa" nugget ws 1;682 Troy ounces.
You know Chris, i still can't figure out how BLM can forbid people from metal detecting, pan or dry wash. I can see them saying no claims but not the other three. It's still a recreation.
They dont forbid it everywhere, just some certain places.
Most BLM will never know, or never enforce.
Nice gold? MiAmi and globe
copper.
@@ChrisRalphcorrect
It friends with iron and copper
Frequently, but not always.
Yes in Arizona it is more often then not it is one or the other or both Especially west Arizona for the most part it is the deposition for the gold formation in west Arizona.
👍
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
👍👽
Glad you enjoyed it.
Mohave County has no gold, nope, none…. That crazy Breaking Bad Bedrock guy came and took it all. 🤭
I've seen some pretty nice gold from Mojave county - Hope you are well.
You must be right. Haven't found anything there, either. LOL !
@@allansgoldminingAllen, do you have a good mining group, club, or site? Please post if you do. Do you have a claim? I'm interested.
Take a liking too a viking
two, two, Twain.
You youngsters need to pay attention to this guy. He literally makes a good living “prospecting” for precious metals. Not many can say that. Now put on those boots and grab your rock hammer!
Thanks for the kind words.
X marks the spot of course! Think the opposite
Its who marks the spot that matters......