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Date Posted: 03:07:41 12/08/03 Mon
Author: Chris Ralph
Subject: Why red dirt is often a good place to find gold
In reply to: mlgdave 's message, "Re: Hey Jim---" on 02:39:29 12/08/03 Mon

OK Pat - for the answer as to why red dirt is often a good place to find gold:

The residual placer Gold deposits we find with our detectors are formed by circulating geothermally heated waters. Often the waters contain other things in addition to the than gold like dissolved sulfur (needed to carry the dissolved gold) silica (quartz) and iron. As the waters move nearer to the surface and cool, they deposit their load forming veins, etc. The iron is deposited along with the gold. At times depending on the chemistry of the solutions, there may or may not be much quartz. The iron often ends up being deposited as various sulfides, mostly pyrites. As the iron oxidizes near the surface from exposure to rain water and air, it is converted to red iron oxides (coloring the dirt red). So spots of intense iron red dirt may indicate a spot where mineralized waters deposited iron (and gold too). This is why red dirt is good - the gold and iron were originally deposited together, and though you cannot see the gold buried at a spot, the red iron coloring the dirt may be visible from a couple hundred yards.

Reno Chris

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