Georgia gold associated with iron & quartz?

[Artfuldodger]

I know that in general gold is found with iron gossan or quartz. This could be limonite, hematite, and also iron rich black sand.
I've seen a few pictures of gold in quartz which is also common in Georgia. I've found some iron rich areas in Columbia County that also contain some quartz. Most of the iron ore is gossan meaning it is rotton/crumbly.
This area is about 10 miles south of any gold found in Columbia/McDuffie/Lincoln Counties.

Maybe I need to invest in a pan.

 

[Bigga Trust]

i didnt know Columbia Co had gold. I have heard of people finding Brown Chalcedony near Hirem

 

[Bigga Trust]

Lincoln Co has Graves mountain, correct? Lots of Kyanite

 

[westcobbdog]

Paulding County and West Ga had known gold mines back in the day.

 

[Artfuldodger]

i didnt know Columbia Co had gold. I have heard of people finding Brown Chalcedony near Hirem

I'm not sure, do you mean Harlem in Columbia Cty or Hiram in Palding Cty?

 

[Artfuldodger]

Lincoln Co has Graves mountain, correct? Lots of Kyanite

Yep we go there every year. They have a dig in April open to the public.
They did mine a little bit of gold there. There was some gold found in Columbia County during the Georgia gold rush. Most in this area was found in Mcduffie and Lincoln County and Mccormick County across the Savannah River.

 

[Bigga Trust]

Sorry, Harlem

 

[Artfuldodger]

Sorry, Harlem

OK, I'll have to look for some. I've been finding a lot of iron rocks around Martinez. Limonite, etc. Some quartz pieces here and there. No quartz veins. Quartz with a crumbly texture. Lot's of red, yellow, white, and purple clay. A few Indian Paint Pots, nodules, breccia, and conglomerates.

Camping at Bussey Point in Lincoln County we passed an abandoned mine. It's roped off with "do not enter signs." Mostly all caved in anyway. I did notice a lot of black sand on the shoreline at the campground near that mine. Lots more quartz in that area. Mostly milky white. I did see a Bussey Property gold mine on an old map. Right across the Savannah River from McCormick County, SC. Not that I'd pan on Federal Property.

 

[Bigga Trust]

You can pan in National Forrest and BLM I believe.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5261774.pdf

 

[Artfuldodger]

You can pan in National Forrest and BLM I believe.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5261774.pdf

Oh, OK thanks. It looks like it's ok as long as one doesn't get too carried away digging or messing up the ground or riverbeds, Panning or rock collecting.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/conf/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5120146

 

[Artfuldodger]

Gold panning, Allatoona Lake policy;

https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Portals/46/docs/recreation/OP-AL/Docs/Gold panningpolicy.pdf

Read this about Clarks Hill Lake where I camp. I may need a permit;

“We usually issue 25 to 30 permits a year for recreational panning,” said Tom Lewis, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office at Thurmond Lake. “It is strictly by-hand panning -- no motorized equipment.”

 

[Artfuldodger]

Not my area but an interesting guide for the Allatoona area:

http://www.aipg.org/sections/GA/pdf/2012 seminar/Presentations/lunch 1-Gold Presentation.pdf

 

[Bigga Trust]

Yeah, they might get a little upset if you showed up with a sluice box and generator.

 

[Hooty Hoot]

Gold fever is a real thing. When you find some, you want to get even more. Gold pans are fine for prospecting and cleaning up but you will never get much gold prospecting with one. When you find some, you immediately start thinking about ways to move even more material. I have found gold in some of the creeks mentioned in Artfuldodgers' link but in small quantities. This county has grown so much in the last few years that opportunities are limited. A bucket, and a pan and shovel do not interest me anymore. Anything more and someone will go to squawking.

 

[greg j]

I lived off Ledbetter rd in Villa Rica for 3 years and had a creek in the back of my property. I bought a gold pan from the store in town and commenced to "pannin"
in the creek. I did find gold but it was what they call flour gold, like a grain of flour.
It took a lot of panning to get a few flakes of gold, but it was fun.

 

[Artfuldodger]

It does seem like a lot of work unless it's a hobby. Just like looking for a ruby all day under the hot sun or a fish.

The gold mines above Augusta, used stamp mills. They had to crush up the quartz ore and filter that with mercury lined screens. The mercury attracts the gold. Then it was boiled to release the gold from the mercury. Tons of ore to get just a little bit of gold.

 

[GeorgiaGlockMan]

I have a kindergarten buddy in Tx that has the gold bug bad.

He found out my place is in the Ga quartz belt and that there are/were 9 goldmine all within about a 5 mile radius to my farm in Lincoln county.

He is dying to get a backhoe and slucebox set up in (or just off) the creek.

After doing the preliminary 5 gallon bucket digs down in the creek last summer, I panned and panned and panned in the comfort of my backyard.

Got lots of black sand but no gold.

He's an optimist and says we only need to find a few ounces of gold to cover our machinery and startup costs. Lol.

 

[lagrangedave]

Largest gold nugget ever found in Georgia was at Rosemont in Troup county in a chunk of rose quartz