Hunting for gold with an Arizona prospector
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Gold is selling at more than $3,300 an ounce right now.
Pawn shops and jewelers are busy with people selling gold, but did you know Arizona is littered with it?
It’s the original get-rich-quick scheme. Gold.
With prices through the roof, you’re going to start seeing a lot more people searching for treasure.
Economic uncertainty leads to increase sales of gold and silver at pawn shops
With gold prices at record highs, many in the Valley are seeing an opportunity to sell their precious metals for extra cash.
The backstory:
Prospector Raw of Pay Streak Gold Panning & Prospecting Adventures is trying to dig up one of the rarest, most precious and now most expensive rocks you can find.
"I don’t know if you’ll find a million dollars worth of gold, but you can find some pretty nice pieces out here," Raw said.
He says you can find gold just about anywhere in Arizona, but you’ve got to know where to look.
"It’s really everywhere out here, it's almost lying all over. The only hard part is finding it in concentration," Raw said.
He went on a hunt in an undisclosed part of the San Domingo area, just outside Morristown.
He loaded up a bucket with all the tools and searched for the right place to dig.
"You’re looking for dark gravel, distinguish between dark and wet," Raw said, explaining that when the gravel peels out quickly, it's not a good sign. You want it to be packed in densely.
He says while gold is the goal, the most satisfying part is the search.
Map of the area where the search was:
What they're saying:
It’s not just an adventure anymore. With gold through the roof at well over $3,000 an ounce, Raw says some people are coming out looking to strike it rich.
"I had a fellar tell me, ‘I want to go out and dig for gold,’ and I go, ‘OK, I’ll show you what we do.’ ‘Well, I don’t want to be a prospector, I just want to go out and find a ton and be done with it,’ and I go, ‘OK yeah,’ in between digging," Raw said.
Did Raw strike gold?
While on the hunt on April 28, he whipped out a metal detector with a target in mind.
It was just a piece of metal. Didn’t find gold.
Let's check another.
It's important to note that gold is heavier than dirt, so it should get trapped in a carpet-like material being used as the water washes everything else away.
"Let’s find out if you got any gold here," Raw said. "Heavy gold to the bottom, light stuff to the top. Gold is seven times heavier than these gravel."
He found a little spec of gold. Let’s give it an estimate.
"About a buck and a half or $2 right there. Easily. $1.75, $2," Raw said.
For Raw, he packs it up and heads back out to teach his prospecting ways to more gold-hunting hopefuls.
Whether they strike gold or not, he says the adventure is the real treasure.