CO n00b looking for techniques and locations Options

[benjamin]

Howdy, I just discovered this hobby last week and have been to a few places on the Cleer Creek west of Golden and found.... zilch (!).

I built a large bilge pump gizmo for hand dredging but so far I think I need better valves because it doesn't work well at all. I have managed to vacuum a couple shovels worth of stuff off the rocks in Cleer Creek and got a lot of black sand and some red things. Interested in knowing where people go (while there is still snow covering the Breckenridge area) to see even the slightest hint of gold. So far I could claim that gold does not exist in Colorado, having never seen even the tiniest speck in the 10 or so pans I've sloshed. Seems like I was following all of the lore regarding where to look and how to dig but I guess not :\

Anyway, I'll try to attach a pic of the red things and the black sand that came out of just 2 cups of material I got when my pump was working. Seems like a lot of black sand for so little gravel... and zero gold for that. Hmmm. There is a learning curve.

I'm in Superior if anybody has any suggestions.

Thanks!
Ben

[CP]

Hi Benjamin,

Welcome to the CP forums, make yourself right at home browsing the entire CP website.
Thanks Jim, we do try to keep good upto date info on the site for all prospectors.
30"lbs" per 5ver......WOW!! That is some killer stuff, we all want 2......I'll pay shippin' fer' mine.

You can also find some good info in our plans and tips page for panning Benjamin, the area you visited, (Clear creek) should give you some specks panning just about anywhere in Jefferson county's open space along the creek. Remember though, the specks may be very small and you have to pan them very delicately or they wash away. There are several other tips on that page too including seasoning new pans if you've got a new one.

Hopefully some of those tips help out in the field and good luck next time. Don't forget to take the camera for pics to post in the forum here too. Everyone loves to hear about the adventures and finds.

Oh, X marks the spot sometimes, but those are hard to come by.

CP