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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Gold Occurrences in Wisconsin

There is gold to be found in Wisconsin in the forms of placer deposits in just about any county in the state that were brought here by the many glaciers that have come down from the gold bearing regions of Canada. It should be remembered by prospectors that Wisconsin is divided geologically into two different parts that are nearly equal in size. In the southern part of Wisconsin the basement rocks are buried under a deep deposit of sedimentary rocks that in some places can be miles deep. The northern part of the state is a continuation of the Canadian Shield.

Bedrock map of the Lake Superior region.

Gold found in the northern part of Wisconsin comes from both small lode deposits as well as widespread placer deposits. The placer gold is found in just about any stream or river in the state as well as the beaches along the southern shores of Lake Superior. The deposits lode gold all discovered in several places up to this point none of them found were economically viable. There are several mines in the northern part of the state that are producing both iron and other base metals. Geologically there is no reason why gold should not be associated with these deposits. Just across the border in Michigan there is working gold mining that is produced gold for many years. Of interest are the copper mines that are found in the northern part of the state where the operators of these mines were well aware of the presence of gold, but for economic reasons they just didn't raise the issue.

Throughout the whole state of Wisconsin there are glacial deposits of placer gold brought down from Canada that by being reworked by running water for placer deposits. These deposits are found in the rivers and streams wherever there is a sudden change of velocity in the running water, or on beaches of the many lakes in the state where the gold is concentrated by wave action. Gold of this nature is usually found in fine grains and what is termed flour gold that forces the prospector to become very skillful in the use of the gold pan recover this gold.

Glacial Deposits
Photo by Richard Webb

The gold isn't the only thing the glaciers brought down from Canada; they also brought down several gemstones including diamond, ruby, sapphire and zircon. Weight for weight the stones are actually worth more than gold with the exception of zircon. Deposits of these gemstones are often found in placer gold deposits because there are also concentrated by the action of flowing water. Like gold the glaciers scattered these gemstones across the whole state.

A glacier.
Photo by Kristan Hutchison

Anyone in Wisconsin is allowed to do what is termed recreational gold panning without having to have a license as long as the stream banks and bottoms are not harmed or large amounts of silt and other waste products is not released into the waters of the State. Any gold you find belongs to the person that holds the mineral rights on the property where you found it. You must get permission from the property owner before you do any panning by reaching some sort of agreement with the holder of any mineral rights before you start gold recovery. 

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I have been prospecting Wisconsin for quite awhile but with no joy of ever finding gold here. I have prospected several areas and even researched the geology of Wisconsin. I know of the GPAA chapters but don't want to get invloved with them at this time. Can you list any accurate or dependable locations to where ANY gold has been found. Please do not direct me to any website that hasn't been updated within the last month. I have visited every website listed on the internet and they are all outdaded or repeat themselves. As if it is the same author on every site. Thanks a million for any help.

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    1. Have you tried rush river in pierce county? I have found flour gold but not much as I am not very skilled at it. I have found an abandoned gold mine that was in operation in the late 1800's. Don't know how much was recovered. Rush river is about 4 miles west of Nugget Lake and the Rock Elm Disturbance.

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  3. It is recommended that anyone wanting to take this course be well acquainted with these subjects. HVAC School in Wisconsin

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  4. Beck, I found flower gold as well as some picker's at Plum Creek near Menomonie. I live in SE Wisconsin though so I never get to go there. I read on wisconsinprospectors.com though that there is Placer gold in Black Earth Creek near Cross Plains which is just outside Madison. I definitely want to try there as this is only an hr from my house! Good luck, please share where you've tried/had luck if any.

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  5. If you get the chance to come to Wausau, we are finding quartz bearing gold here. It isn't like you are going to get rich, but you will find gold for sure. There is some public land on the S.W. part of Marathon county just outside the city where we go.

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    1. Is that gold bearing quartz in outcrop or float?

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  6. Jim do you need a collectors permit to pan on public land or been bothered by the dnr?

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  7. I have found small gold in multiple spots along the Wisconsin river. Just look for areas where rocks and gravel look like they have been there for many years years.

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  9. I want to panning gold in Wisconsin, but I don't know located have it. And located alow to find the gold? Who knows can Reply me?

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    1. you can almost every stream without a permit. Be aware of trespessing on private property though.

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    2. If you access publically and maintain position in the river, you can't be charged with trespass.

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  10. I started a Wisconsin Geology GIS mapping project recently. I have been mapping various outcrops with mineral types and more...check it out here: https://arcg.is/0Gj5uS It is an interactive map, you can search it (type "Gold" for example in the search box) and you need to click around and play with it to get the most out of it. There is also an accompanying blog you can find a link to on the top of the page. I just started the blog but since gold is kind of a 'hot topic' I wrote an article on some of the sites in Wisconsin that produce gold.

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    1. or try https://wisconsingeology.blogspot.com/

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  11. There was a shockingly large placer gold operation on the Trade River in Burnett County in the Twenties and Thirties, including rail and sluice equipment all now now gone and gold has been found all along that river as has the Wood, the Yellow, and the Clam, I saw a 1 inch nugget as a child reportedly found on the Trade about 6 miles up river from the mine. It should be noted that the Trade area for 150 years has been involved with salting and occasionally mini-gold rushes that benefitted smart shopkeepers so data and anecdotal reports in historical literature are always suspect as to accuracy.

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    1. is there any gold still there

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    2. Right? If I know an area gets salted on a regular basis, hell yeah I'm going to go there and check it out!

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