Where to start?

[JonnyReb]

 I've never thought to post this to a forum but I was glad to see you folks on here, i'll bet you can help me with this. *20 years ago I moved to a 12 acre strip of land on the outskirts of Charlotte N.C.. The property is different from most of the surrounding property in that its very hilly and rocky. Has a small stream bordering it and along that stream are 9 trenches starting at the stream and running 100-500 feet into a hillside, reaching widths of 15ft and maybe 10 feet deep. At the tops and lining the edges are great piles of quartz chunks. Some are exposed but if you start digging you realize they go deep. Many are broken and have holes and pits in them, some going deep. Not a trace of precious metals in the rocks I can find, was gold already extracted from these? Searching Mecklenburg county gold maps I found 7 claims on my creek (1830's-40's), theres no doubt to me that these are the old surface mines. I've done some panning and metal detection with no success, but I really don't know what i'm doing either. Would general consensus be that in all probability I do have gold left here and where to begin in finding it? Thanks in advance for all replies, jeff

[charles p]

Maybe some good info in the Charlotte library.  Might also consider calling the Museum of Natural History in Raleigh or the Mint Museum in Charlotte to speak to someone about your opportunity.  NC has a mineral museum off I-40 in the mountains - I think it is near Marion. 

[JonnyReb]

 Thanks Charles and your right, I just need lots more education on the subject. I need to specifically find that indeed they did find gold here, although i'd say its a given as i've found records online by googling "mecklenburg county long creek gold". These records speak of _ 3000 man mining operation on long creek, a water wheel with an 800lb cast iron "stamp", to break quartz i'll assume. There are the remains of two vertical shaft mines on top of a nearby hillside(8ft wide, shallow,holes surrounded by underground quartz chips), and finally, unbelievable as it sounds, the hood and boiler box to some kind of light gauge steam engine. Extremely deteriorated but you can see what it was. I figured they dug the quartz and transported it to the rock crusher on the creek possibly. its all slightly educated guesses on this end but theres no doubt that large scale surface mining, chasing quartz veins, is what they did here. Now I just need to try to determine if it was worth their effort, and if gold remains, either in lost grains or untouched in still hidden veins. I'll post some pics, even 150 years after all this was done, the mines are very evident.  J

[prospector86]

Sure looks like a mine was there at some point. Probably wasnt making enough money back in the days when it was running but with the current price it could make money, just a lot of time work and money to get it running agian. At the end of it you might be chasing a dream though too.

[JonnyReb]

 I have no doubt i'm just chasing the same dreams that were pursued here 150 years ago, well put. Still, when I walk the trenches and see how far those guys dug the hillsides chasing a particular vein I can't help but think they were finding something. A buddy with a small sluicebox and pump is putting the final parts and pieces together on his contraption, may not be long before we at least check out the creek, if we find color who knows what we'll do from there. Get up into the hillsides with a backhoe probably. Oops, dreamin again:-) time will tell, got my fingers crossed.  J