The Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory of Australia has been known to have gold since the 1880s. The exact year and circumstances of the initial discovery may vary in historical accounts, but it is generally attributed to the late 1880s. This discovery led to a period of gold rush and subsequent mining activities in […]
Desert Prospecting
Finding gold in the desert can be challenging due to the lack of water, but there are specific methods like drywashing that you can use to recover gold from the most inhospitable desert environments.
Central Arizona’s Big Bug Mining District
The Big Bug Mining District is a historic mining area situated in the Bradshaw Mountains of Central Arizona. The region gained attention for its rich gold deposits, but copper, silver and lead were also mined in the region. The town of Big Bug was established when gold placers were discovered at Big Bug Creek around […]
Cobalt Mining in the United States
Cobalt may have been referred to as goblin (due to its toxic effects when the ore was smelted) by the early miners in Saxony back in the sixteenth-century, but today it represents the epitome of cutting-edge technology. Unlike its ancient use in artifacts and textiles as a blue dye, today cobalt is an important constituent […]
Gold Deposits Under Lake Mead and in the Surrounding Desert
Lithium is the Next Mining Boom in the West
Lithium is an element, atomic number 3, and the lightest known metal. It is an important component used in large-scale battery storage for renewable energy production. Lithium is also used to make batteries for laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras, and also to power the electric vehicles. It is also used in the manufacture of aircraft […]
Detecting Old Drywash Piles to Find Missed Gold Nuggets
Gold prospectors in arid regions are limited in the ways that they can recover gold. Many of the methods that work elsewhere are not feasible in the desert. The reason is simple. Water is the basic requirement for a wide variety of placer mining methods. Panning, sluicing, dredging, high banking, and even using a simple […]
Gold Prospecting near Barstow, CA (The Coolgardie District)
Some of California’s earliest known gold deposits were found in the harsh desert of San Bernardino County. In fact, many are surprised to learn just how much gold was found in Southern California since the northern half of the state gets most of the attention. Yes indeed, the desolate barren desert around Barstow actually saw […]
Gold Mining Areas near Kingman & Bullhead City
The purpose of this article is to provide some basic information for gold prospectors exploring the desert around Kingman and Bullhead City. There are quite a few good spots worth prospecting, but the desert is vast and it can be hard to know where to start. The good news is that Mohave County is the […]
7 Places to Look for Gold in the Southwest this Winter
A lot of people in the US like to venture south for the winter. I’ve been doing that very thing for the past few winters, although I only go for about a week. Lots of people spend several months, pulling a trailer or RV’ing down warmer climates in Arizona, Southern California, and New Mexico. There […]
San Diego Gold Prospecting | California Desert Mining
This article is going to take a look at a few gold mining areas way down in the Southern California desert. Of course, this area is generally overlooked and gets almost no attention in the history books. Perhaps that is for good reason. The gold strikes in Northern California certainly overshadowed these relatively small gold […]
Gold, Minerals & Treasures of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is one of the most famous canyons in the world for its magnificent beauty. Less known are the stories of various gold and riches hidden there. At the peak of the early gold rushes in Arizona and California, this area was mainly ignored by miners. Although some minor gold deposits were found, […]
8 Gold Prospecting Areas near Lake Havasu City, AZ
There are plenty of locations in the desert around Lake Havasu City where a prospector can find some gold. In fact, Mohave County is the 2nd leading gold producer in the state of Arizona. Not everyone is familiar with the golden history of this area. Within an hour of the city you can find several […]
Desert Gold Prospecting vs. High County Gold Prospecting
Southern Nevada Gold Mining – Explore the Desert around Searchlight
Southern Nevada doesn’t have as much gold as the northern and central parts of the state, but there are a few areas that do in fact have some gold. Searchlight is one of these places. Searchlight, Nevada is a small town situated in the Piute Valley of Clark County. The town is quite small today, […]