Arizona's HIDDEN Gold Nugget locations EXPOSED!

Arizona's HIDDEN Gold Nugget locations EXPOSED!

Arizona is a popular place to prospect, with dry washing and nugget detecting being the most popular. Yet there is also plenty of lode mining potential. There are even a few places for panning and sniping – more if you bring your own water. It’s a snowbird haven and folks from colder climates flock there by the tens of thousands during the winter. Many Arizona placers are nuggety, small and widely scattered over a large area. In this video I go over some of the best known placer gold districts in the sate and talk about the geology that puts the gold there.
Here are the links I had promised to the book, The Arizona district map and state geology map:
Placer Deposits of Arizona, USGS publication 1355, Maureen Johnson:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/report.pdf
Map of Arizona Placer Gold Districts from the USGS report above:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1355/plate-1.pdf
Arizona state Geology map,
https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/630741
For those who want to learn more about Prospecting and finding gold check out my book, Fists full of Gold. It’s an encyclopedia of everything on the topic of prospecting. It’s available on from High Plans Prospectors. (Affiliate) You can find it at:
Fists Full of Gold Book – How You Can Find Gold in The Mountains and Deserts
For even more information on prospecting, minerals, gems and other related information you can also check out my website at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/chris_prospect.htm
The Prospecting and Mining Journal magazine can be found at:
http://www.icmj.com

50 Comments

  1. @jasonc1789 on December 9, 2024 at 9:36 pm

    X marks the spot of course! Think the opposite

  2. @colesdad2000 on December 9, 2024 at 9:37 pm

    Id love to see a overlay of gold deposits vs the Geologic map

  3. @jasonc1789 on December 9, 2024 at 9:38 pm

    Nice gold? MiAmi and globe

  4. @allencheck501 on December 9, 2024 at 9:39 pm

    Hi chris really enjoyed the vid i thouvbt since you work with icmj id let you know an old fteind that i used to mine siver with in south , south nm very close to the border gave me a cmj from 1967 still got it later in the late 80sand90s i got a subscrip still have a bunch of those, very informative cant remember the yr but one of them had a really neat
    Story about gold in bolivia pretty cool gettin ready to go hit some of those hot spots in az,again thank you for the excellent vid!

  5. @sonorangreenman4472 on December 9, 2024 at 9:39 pm

    Thanks you are very helpful, I am getting started and looking at places near Tucson to start and also many new ideas of places that I have not considered. I will continue to watch your videos.
    Bruce tucson

  6. @3ennyboom869 on December 9, 2024 at 9:39 pm

    Hey Chris,,,question. I’m in Florida and will be moving out west but I’m unsure where yet. I just know that I want to get into gold mining and prospecting for myself. My question is, in your opinion…where should I go? I have metal detectors and will be buying sluicing equipment and what not but I’m just seeking advice from a seasoned vet like yourself on where to go exactly. Mainly…if you were in my shoes, where would you go in the US if you were starting out and wanted to make a living off of it?

  7. @georgehuesler9561 on December 9, 2024 at 9:40 pm

    Ouch! I cringed when you butchered the name of my home town, Arivaca. (Although you mispronounced quite a few names, so I don’t feel quite so singled out, haha) the correct way to pronounce Arivaca is AIR·i·vah·cah. Originally it was called Aribac; (ah·REE·bock) which was a Pima Indian word for "many waters" or "many springs." This is due to a shelf of shale that pushes the ground water up to the surface, compared to Tucson’s 1000 ft deep wells, ours are only about 100 ft. Anyway, Padre Kino, the Spaniard, came to Aribac, and like so many other native words, he got it wrong and called it Ari-vaca, which translates to "dry cow." A far stretch from Many Waters, but the name stuck. As far as gold out here, it is literally everywhere. It’s in every wash, every mountain, every field, heck, we even have a street in the townsite called Placer Street, named accordingly! However, despite the gold being everywhere, the problem is it’s all flour gold. You would be very lucky to even find a small nugget. But, if you have patience, eventually you’ll find something of worth. So there you go! A brief history of Arivaca. Please, pronounce it correctly from here on out though! Thank you!
    (AIR·i·vah·cah)

  8. @darrelllne2136 on December 9, 2024 at 9:42 pm

    What happened to SALOME IN LA PAZ COUNTY ???, RICH IN GOLD……Mmmmm, Pilgrims…..

  9. @luiskinte863 on December 9, 2024 at 9:43 pm

    Great video! I’m a newbie and it open my eyes to the options

  10. @robber1988 on December 9, 2024 at 9:43 pm

    The 1st 5 minutes and ZERO useful information

  11. @callmese7en319 on December 9, 2024 at 9:43 pm

    I live in a cooler village in south AZ. I built a chicken coop, I built my house steps. I only did outside work in the shade or for 2hrs. Anything more than that is a serious sun burn. That was with sun screen.

  12. @azwelke2638 on December 9, 2024 at 9:44 pm

    The spaniards were mining gold in Arizona in the 1600’s
    A lot of the mines in Arizona we’re already started by the Spaniards and just taken over by the white man later. But they were already pretty deep by then, some of them 600 feet to 900 feet deep hard rock mines

  13. @johnwhite9132 on December 9, 2024 at 9:44 pm

    I just watched your video on magma and what minerals you might find i found it quite interesting now I found about 18 different veins of magma that come out of the mountain side and through a small wash of rock not sand there is a large area where someone bedrock is exposed and you can chip it away in large pieces like slabes of flag stone there is also a lot of quartz laying all over the ground amongst other stuff how hard is it to get a permit to dig some up to it tested to see what it contains like I said it comes out of the side of the mountain through the wash and back in to the mountain on the other side of the wash the veins range about a foot and a half wide on some the smallest around 10 inches wide in the bottom of the wash coming out of the cracks where it must have pushed itself out it is about 1and a half feet to 2feet tall the wash isn’t that wide ror the most part where these veins started and I stopped going was about100 feet there could have been more I’m assuming there was I was with my grandson and he got bored very fast so we didn’t go on I was wondering what your thoughts were on the subject and what I might need to do so I don’t get into trouble with the government or anything thanks I’m hoping to go back to this video and watch a couple others if I sent you a picture of this one rock I found do you think you could tell me what it is I believe you might have mentioned it in your video on magma and what minerals might be in it thanks agin I find your videos very insightful and I love watching them

  14. @LuisMartinez-lq4dc on December 9, 2024 at 9:46 pm

    I be Metal Detector Club 🪙 Golf Luis

  15. @LukeShort-q5t on December 9, 2024 at 9:47 pm

    BRADSHAW MTNS RICH HILL & GRAND CANYON USE ALL LANDS THAT ARE CLAIMED GREAT AMERICAN LANDS NICE

  16. @keithc0310 on December 9, 2024 at 9:49 pm

    Hi Chris. I love your videos and book! I met you a few years ago at a GPAA event in PHX.

    I’m an Army guy at Fort Huachuca and Greaterville is my normal hunting grounds. I’ve read all the material I can get on the area but if you have any pointers, I’d be grateful to hear them.

    Thank you.

    Keith

  17. @dfrozendog3849 on December 9, 2024 at 9:49 pm

    If it is just a tiny one, it is on my bucket list. Have detector, will travel.

  18. @vahagnmelikyan2906 on December 9, 2024 at 9:50 pm

    I enjoy watching your videos. Always something new to learn. 👍

  19. @DarronSanderson on December 9, 2024 at 9:53 pm

    Hi CHRIS, as always fantastic information and video. Thank you. Hey, is it wise to buy a heavy-duty 4WD Jeep Bronco, or International Scout that has a lift kit and heavy-duty upgraded suspension parts to drive on the dirt roads getting to sites? Some of the dirt roads are like driving on a dried-up river. You can pop a tire.

  20. @CalmOrbitingSatellite-yk4in on December 9, 2024 at 9:56 pm

    bullshit

  21. @JCG0001 on December 9, 2024 at 9:56 pm

    A mother load of info. I would only add that Arizona is 10th in the nation for violent crime, lots of property theft of tourists that gets recycled back into Mexico, lots of land fraud, mexican drug cartels, organized crime, murder and rape, like the wild west, so I would be carefully not to flaunt any expensive equipment or vehicles, or go with a team, carry a firearm, keep a low profile, don’t tell people what you are doing but have a good cover story. I grew up in Alaska, supposedly ranked #1 for violent crime, but it’s only because everyone there is crazy, they’d have to be to live that far north, 6 months of basically living in a cold dark cave does that to people.

  22. @PuertoRicoVIVE25 on December 9, 2024 at 9:57 pm

    Where in Tucson you said? The map is to small to locate the place you referred.

  23. @madshephard2boots157 on December 9, 2024 at 9:59 pm

    I just stumbled across this video and have found it very informative. I am a member of the GPAA Michigan chapter and I am working on getting my membership with the LDMA. Yes I am totally new to all of this and will be getting your book as soon ass I can. Thank you and yes I am now following..

  24. @etankohcz1842 on December 9, 2024 at 9:59 pm

    THANKS FOR THExcellent vid/info Chris!!!! now that I’mdisengaged from the vocational rigors of my past life, ,I’m considering,, upgrading, my arcane, but still functional, ,Whites’ ‘D’ series , metal detector to to a more current/ technically advanced, ,, /lighter weight ‘m.d’., , ,relocating my gold pans,,,joining my local GPPA group and spending more time outdoors here in nw( Mojave ,correct spelling)Co. Az. , ,my birth state, ,not county. , , ,I’m from Pima co. raised in a mining family environment , my mothers’ father placer mined his way, from Sacramento,Ca. to Anchorage, ,,A genuine ’49er’ and owned/operated a gold mine in the Oro Blanco / ruby mtn. area, ,taught me how to placer mine , , ,Yes, , using ‘th’ good ‘ol’ steel pans, ,about mineralogy, ,& subgrade mining methods & outdoorsmanship, , , ,etc., ,etc. R.I.P. , , , And I think I"ll procure your, book ‘n’ update/grade my metal detecting placer mining knowledge , , ,even though this is my initial experience with you and your site content, , you’ve made a POSITIVE ,,,,CREDIBLE impression on me, ,re; your personality. and experiential, technical expertise, ,& I aspire to visit your site more frequently, henceforth, , , ,THANK YOU!!!for the CREDIBLE, ,, ‘GOOD STUFF’/INFO

  25. @YeshuaT-bm6ss on December 9, 2024 at 10:00 pm

    Ya its October and we are still getting up at the butt crack of dawn and we have a ton of clubs around here too thank you for a great video

  26. @ronpeterson7773 on December 9, 2024 at 10:01 pm

    Thanks again 😊

  27. @PaulBraman-es1ms on December 9, 2024 at 10:03 pm

    Thank you, I watched the whole video and shared it!!!!

  28. @db-ob7ic on December 9, 2024 at 10:03 pm

    Arizona is a geologist dream

  29. @anthonyloaiza9848 on December 9, 2024 at 10:04 pm

    Do have to only use a high doller high priced metal detector to find gold ?

  30. @rock-ness9610 on December 9, 2024 at 10:04 pm

    I can’t find the link to the maps. I have 2 copies of your book. Love it. Thank you. I bought the Placer Deposit books for AZ and Nevada. Maps are always missing. Even on line, one can download the books but not the maps. Thank you

  31. @thehillbillyhilton3557 on December 9, 2024 at 10:05 pm

    We just got to our camp out spot for a minute outside of Congress Arizona. There’s a couple of mines near us but haven’t checked them out yet.

  32. @kennethroy9974 on December 9, 2024 at 10:05 pm

    Any land for sale there🤔

  33. @MichaelRand-r9w on December 9, 2024 at 10:08 pm

    Don’t tell everyone, you’ll spoil it!!😢😂

  34. @RectalRooter on December 9, 2024 at 10:08 pm

    @myroncook == How Geologists Discovered and Mapped a Great Seaway ==
    Seems to show why North East Arizona has little mineral’s
    Just sharing as best as I can 👍

  35. @DarronSanderson on December 9, 2024 at 10:09 pm

    Hey, Chris, Great research for the knowledge. Two questions: is the thin gold used on Nasa and spaceX crafts pure gold, or gold alloy that you know of? The second question is about gold wire for high-end stereo sound systems. Specifically gold either RCA interconnect cable or speaker wire. Is it made and does it transfer audio signal faster or is it more pure than copper or silver wire? I know speaker wire is of course made of copper, but I also know they make silver wire. Gold is the best conductor as well.

  36. @redneck048 on December 9, 2024 at 10:09 pm

    Nice videos, but i dont think you know us desert people very well. The daytime heat does not stop us, we know how to deal with it. Granted mornings are great, but afternoon heat is very tolerable for desert people.

  37. @StevenHanover on December 9, 2024 at 10:11 pm

    Where should i send my parents to look for gold? They live southwest of Tuscon just north of keystone peak.

  38. @WilliamZuniga-gf1nb on December 9, 2024 at 10:12 pm

    We get tons of rain here in AZ we pan all the time and sluice.. it’s awesome.

  39. @Darkice77 on December 9, 2024 at 10:12 pm

    The best places I’ve found are in the deeper water where there are large stones and bends. I’ve pulled lots of nuggets out. All you need is some snorkeling gear and some pics . Dig the cracks.

  40. @jasonc1789 on December 9, 2024 at 10:14 pm

    Take a liking too a viking

  41. @MetroCollectablesandvlogs on December 9, 2024 at 10:15 pm

    Thanks for sharing Chris, My Daughter and I just got into the hobby of MDing last year, but summer came quick here in AZ, lol. I just picked up the Nokta Legend last week and looking to take it out east of the valley, I live in the Queen Creek area and looking into places like Superior, Queen Valley, Globe, or Florence. Any spots you recommend? I know ppl dont want to give away their honey holes, lol. Thank you sir.

  42. @stevemclaughlin9436 on December 9, 2024 at 10:16 pm

    I’m not a fan of commercial rape mining.

  43. @kasandrabeckett8578 on December 9, 2024 at 10:20 pm

    Hello I just recently moved to AZ. I have been watching your channel and subscribed to you for a while. I am in the south Eastern part of the state. I have some rocks and minerals I would like to share the pictures of to you. Thank you for the great information

  44. @SteveManchester-sl3nn on December 9, 2024 at 10:21 pm

    Great presentation, a lot of very helpful information !!!

  45. @walterkonopacki5860 on December 9, 2024 at 10:21 pm

    Just found your site. I worked for Asarco for 26 years in the computer dept. Our copper refinery is in Amarillo Texas. The refining was electrolytic in the tank house. Stater sheet pure copper, anode placed in sulphuric acid. Cathode dissolves and forms anode of copper in about 2 weeks. Well the impurities called slimes sink to the bottom. Well what’s in slimes ? Gold and silver depending on the assay of the ore. Can’t tell the huge profits the company made as a byproduct of copper refining. Unfortunately live in NJ. As far as I can determine no hold on NJ. Watch all the reality gold shows. 78 years young, too old to try to head to Alaska, lol. Ok thanks for the very informative videos.

  46. @stevemclaughlin9436 on December 9, 2024 at 10:22 pm

    I live in Arizona City. I would love to look for gold here, as a hobby.

  47. @jimholland7622 on December 9, 2024 at 10:23 pm

    Arizona is now the #1 gold producing state in the USA and now has the #1 producing gold mine in the USA. Nuggets are not what your #1 priority should be because both the State of Arizona and Nevada are not known for their nuggets although you run into some. But the fine particulate is what you should go after, 30 to 50 mesh

  48. @jakebrakebill on December 9, 2024 at 10:24 pm

    thank you

  49. @mikerandall4264 on December 9, 2024 at 10:25 pm

    Largest turquoise deposit in the US is in kingman

  50. @jasonc1789 on December 9, 2024 at 10:30 pm

    I’ve found apache, Indians with head dress on I walk back out so they may rest in piece with gold

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