It’s Still Out There

It’s Still Out There

Dominic Ricci – GPAA/LDMA Executive Director of Operations

Photos by Brad Dover

The truth of the matter is, when it comes to discovering new gold deposits, the low-hanging fruit has likely already been picked. Gone are the days when someone could stumble upon an exposed hunk of gold at the bottom of a riverbed, as James Marshall did in 1848, setting off the California Gold Rush. Every year, the pursuit of gold becomes increasingly more challenging—but it’s still out there.

 Gold is one of the rarest elements in the world. The yellow metal’s rarity, of course, is one of the main reasons why it’s so highly valued across the globe and, for most of recorded history, recognized and used as currency. Unlike fiat money (Fiat money is government-issued currency that isn't backed by a commodity such as gold.), of which we can always print more, there’s only so much recoverable gold in the world. And despite the best efforts of alchemists, we can’t recreate its unique chemistry in a lab. The only way for us to acquire more is to dig.

 A small-scale miner has the opportunity to exploit small, rich accumulations of gold which larger-sized mining companies might pass by, due to reserve-size and overall ore-grade. Mother nature helps us access gold deposits with post draughts, storms and earthquakes.

Sometimes, after years and years of diggin, you find your “door stop!” We will call him “Prospector Larry.” Working a wash in Arizona, diggin about a foot down before hitting caliche. He ran his Minelab GPZ7000 across the area he dug, before he would vacuum up any last gold bearing material. The detector went off with a strong signal and what did he find? A 3+ ounce gold and quartz specimen nugget . . . or for Larry . . . his “door stop!”

Enjoy the outdoors! Work hard and you too may find your “doorstop.”