John Carter on Martian Gold Mining

Mars from the Hubble Telescope   NASA

It may be a long time before we have prospector’s boots on ground on Mars, but we already know the Red Planet has gold deposits.  Gold and other valuable minerals on Mars will be associated with such geologic features as volcanoes, lava flows and impact craters.  Because the Red Planet has a totally different history, atmosphere and chemistry then Earth it is certain that many of the minerals found on Mars will be different then minerals found on Earth.  Another thing that is certain it will be a long time before any of these minerals and ores will find their way back to Earth.

Since all the elements in the universe other than hydrogen and helium are the results of atomic fusion that has taken place inside of stars and is a byproduct of supernova's gold can be found throughout the universe as a universal substance. You might consider gold and the other elements as leftovers from the formation of a supernova.

Olympus Mons the largest volcano on Mars and the largest known volcano in the Solar Ststem   NASA

Future prospectors on Mars are likely to find valuable mineral deposits in some usual locations according to planetary scientists that have been studying different ways to valuable deposits of metal ores can be concentrated on the red planet Mars as well as all the other planets in the universe.

The only environment that we have observed so far are those found on Earth or surface waters, ground waters and even chemicals left by lifeforms have played a major role in leaching, concentrating and depositing different kinds of valuable metal deposits including gold, silver, nickel, copper, iron and all the rest of the valuable minerals.

Victoria Crater, Mars showing its distinct scalloped edge caused by erosion.  This is a typical impact crater caused by a large asteroid that collided with Mars.  Both volcanoes and these features would be prime targets for prospecting.  Notice the large field of sand dunes in the center of the crater.   NASA

At present there is no surface water visible on Mars but there is plenty of evidence visible themselves this used to be running water across the surface of Mars. This fact indicates that there is ample evidence to support the idea of finding place or deposits on the surface of Mars where gold and other metals have been concentrated by the action of running water as well as wind. Other than these placer deposits question is raised where else does the starving prospector look for gold and other valuable metals on Mars.

Valleys and canyons on the surface of Mars as seen from the orbiter HiRise   NASA

According to planetary scientist Michael West of the Australian national University in Canberra and the Mars Institute is desirable minerals would be found around volcanoes and impact craters. One of the great differences in prospecting on Mars versus the planet Earth is that on Mars the planet is so cold that even groundwater is turned to ice as permafrost so that it functions little more than as another mineral in the ground.

Yes, there is gold to be found on Mars but don't count on putting any evidence of it in Fort Knox for a few more years at least.

Gold Occurrences in Connecticut

Gold has an early history in Connecticut where it was discovered and mined by the first governor ot the state, John Winthrop Jr. and one of his servants.  According to the story left by Winthrop they spent three weeks at Great Mountain near Cobalt, Connecticut mining, roasting, and assaying the ores from which they cast several gold rings.  Then he returned to his home in New London, Connecticut.  This was reported in the literary diary of Ezra Stiles the president of Yale University from 1778 to 1795.

Bedrock Geological Map of Connecticut

During the 1980s Prof. Anthony Philpotts and his geology class from the University of Connecticut discovered gold that assayed as high as 6 ounces per ton in the shaft of the old cobalt mine in Cobalt.  The discovery was made in the quartzite that overlies the cobalt deposit.  The assay work was done by the USGS.  The old time miners cut straight through the quartzite with no idea the gold was even present.

Dr. Philpotts got the credit for being the first discoverer of gold in Connecticut in modern times several years before that the author working with Newmont Mining that had a lab for assaying ores in Danbury, Connecticut found gold in the city of New Britain as an assessory mineral in a rock cut at the Columbus Avenue exit from Route 72.  The sample also contained several other metal sulfides including copper, lead, zinc and cadmium. The assay was performed at Newmont’s assay lab in Danbury.

Gold in Quartz, this is similar to a specimen that came from Leadmine Brook in Thomaston, Connecticut
Photo by Rob Lavinsky 

In the period starting about 1968 to present the author has sampled most of the streams in western Connecticut and is found virtually all of them contain gold. The quantity of gold discovered in the streams is small, and not enough to make a living at, but they do contain enough gold so you can see what it looks like.

Winthrop's alleged success has caused virtually every part of the state of Connecticut to be explored and dug into by some would-be prospector who is absolutely confident he would find a rich deposit of gold. One of the many traditions of course concerns a lost mine, but a very rich deposit of gold in the town of Ridgefield. On Mt. Carmel in Ridgefield there is an excavation that reportedly has had gold taken from it, and our Mt. Sanford in the same town there is a man who swears he has a gold mine in his backyard.

In at least two or three cases there have been companies formed that sold stock, but apparently no gold was ever found. In 1886 one prospector by the name of August Prehn picked up a piece of quartz on Mill Road in West Haven upon which he got an analysis that showed traces of gold. On the strength of this report Mr. Prehn’s son quit his job in Pittsburg and returned home where he organized a mining company that sank three shafts.. The stories differ about the amount of ore those taken from this mine, or even if any was taken at all. The only thing the townspeople can agree on was that after a short time all mining efforts at the mine were abandoned.

This is interesting because on the bedrock geological map of Connecticut this area is mapped as having contained greenstone that is considered by many geologists to be the source for hydrothermal gold deposits where the gold is leached from the stone. According to the New Haven register there was another gold rush that occurred in West Haven during the 1930s.

Most of the gold bearing rocks in Connecticut are discovered to the west of the Connecticut River an area in which there are abundant crystalline rock deposits many of which may be the source of gold. There is gold to be found in Connecticut, but it appears that any placer gold is going to be sparse. It is also obvious that although gold is present there probably isn't enough to make anyone rich, let alone make a living.