top of page
First off - let me say that what I am about to describe works for me and hopefully, will work just as well for you. The key to finding gold is “research”. Knowing where gold was found before greatly increases your chance of finding gold there again. The old timers recovery rate was poor and they lost a lot of gold in the process. This web site is devoted to providing the tools you need to to do your research.
When I first started, I spent months in libraries researching potential areas. In my early days, I was a suction dredger and was not concerned about the size of the gold. Quantity was my driving factor in selecting a location. I turned to metal detecting in my later years, although I do occasionally dust off my dredge and return to the water in search of that yellow dust. Now I am more interested in the size of the gold rather then the quantity.
Over the years I have compiled enormous amounts of data relating to the location of gold in the United States and offer it up for use by you so you don’t have to spend valuable time in the libraries doing your research.
TOOL #1: My computer. It stores all the knowledge I accumulate in the quest for gold. The information is acquired from libraries, purchased books, the internet and my own personal field notes. It all gets stored in my computer and is backed up on redundant storage devices in case the computer crashes. I scan all the printed material, with a flatbed scanner connected to my computer, and store it as a complete document. The documents are put in folders organized by state, county and/or quadrangles.
Each year there are new products brought to market that aid me in visualizing gold distribution, navigation and land ownership. One such product is OnX. An electronic mapping product that does all of what I mentioned above. I keep all of my finds on the map and have downloaded thousands of placer and hard rock gold mines to its database. OnX runs on smart phones, computers and tablets. It syncs between all of your devices. If you make an entry on one it is saved to all.
Above are two OnX maps. The topo map on the left shows roads, trails, land ownership and gold mines. The OnX map on the right is a satellite view of the same area zoomed in to show more detail.In the center of the satellite map you can see the tailings from a gold mine. Zoomed in closer below you can see more detail of the mine tailings.
TOOL #3: A digital book of the area I am detecting. Digital books work best on tablets but can also be viewed on smart phones. There are many times I hunt entirely new areas to me. Areas others choose not to hunt because they are way off the beaten path or too far for them to hike to. A electronic satellite or topographical map comes in very handy when exploring new places. Satellite map resolution is so good now days that you can spot old workings from them. Old workings means that at some point in the past, an old prospector was finding something valuable enough to move earth for it. In gold country that means they were finding gold. Chances are, my detector is better at finding gold than they were.
Below are two examples of the pages from Gold Placer Deposits of Arizona. They are smaller here than they would appear on a tablet.
TOOL #2: My iPhone and iPad. I run OnX on both and take both with me when nugget hunting. Hi-resolution maps are updated from your cellular connection. If you know you are going to be out of cellular range you can download the maps to your device before leaving home. I use OnX to navigate to my prospecting area if the location is new to me. I use it to lay a breadcrumb trail down when I grid an area and to find my way back to the vehicle if I plan to cover a lot of random ground hunting for patches of gold. Be sure to purchase a tablet that is cellular capable. You do not have to subscribe to a cellular plan to use its GPS receiver as a moving map display. If it is not cellular capable it will not have a GPS receiver built into it. If I know I am going to be out of cellular range for an extended period of time I will mount Starlink on my vehicle so I can communicated with family and update my OnX if need be. Starlink also allows one to make phone calls via satellite. For me this is a safety issue. In July 2026 I was camping 43 miles from the nearest cellular signal when I came across a lost dog that was exhausted and dehydrated. Fortunately, the dog had a collar with a phone number on it. I called out using Starlink and reached the owner who lived 90 miles from where I was camped. They had been out camping that weekend when the dog wondered off and feared lost forever.
If I or one of my nugget hunting buddies have an emergency, Starlink can be a lifesaver when in the backcountry. Not to mention, everyone can text or email their love ones when we get back to camp after a long day of hunting.
I am not going to get into a lengthy discussion on the physical tools I use to hunt with. To each his own. You have to find tools that fit your budget and work best for you. I use a Detectronics, Australia Modified Minelab GPX 5000. It gives me all of the stock capabilities of the GPX 5000 while allowing me to select front end gain and frequency settings that approach the capabilities of the GPZ 7000 and GPX 6000 for a lot less money. Is it as good at doing what the newer detectors do? Probably not, but it comes close.
bottom of page