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A California man recently dug a spectacular gold nugget weighing 5.17 ounces in the
mother lode region of Mariposa County, California. The gentleman who found it made
his discovery while using a metal detector to look for gold nuggets in an area
previously worked by the 49ers. The finder valued his amazing chunk of gold at
approximately $10,000 because of its beautiful specimen quality. The nugget was
resting beneath about one foot  of soil, and was recovered in late April of 2007.
Several friends have been working this area with excellent results, and a good
number of valuable finds have been made. Only a few weeks before this most recent
stunning find, another nugget, over three ounces in weight, was recovered only about
50 feet away from the spot the five-ounce nugget was found. The location is on
private property, and is not open to the public. Locations containing concentrations of
large nuggets like this one are known to prospectors as "nugget patches", and
finding them is the goal of prospectors everywhere.

Modern metal detectors are proving to be quite a boon in recovering large gold
nuggets, as the old time prospectors had no tool in their arsenal that was anything
close to it. Although there is work and special skills required to find this type of big
gold, experienced prospectors in the western US and Australia are having some
considerable success finding rich nugget patches missed by the old time miners of the
1800s. The recent increases in the price of gold, now standing at nearly $700 per
ounce, has spurred the interest of many in pursuing the recreational art of
prospecting for gold, and many are still heading to the hills to see what they can find.

Mariposa County is a historic location in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain
range at the southern end of California's Mother Lode region. The town of Mariposa is
a popular tourist attraction, touted as the "gateway to Yosemite Valley". There are a
number of other popular family oriented tourist attractions in the area as well,
including California's State Mining and Mineral Museum. The collection contains mining
artifacts, rare specimens of crystalline gold in its many forms, as well as beautiful gem
and mineral specimens from California and around the world. This includes the Fricot
nugget, a 200-ounce crystalline gold specimen from California, thought to be one of
the most beautiful pieces of natural gold in the world. The town also allows gold
panning in Mariposa Creek, which runs through the town.

A photo of the five ounce nugget can be viewed at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Natural_gold.htm

Basic information on Prospecting for gold, including how to get started, can be found
at: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/basic_prospecting/Basic_placer.htm

About the author:
Chris Ralph writes on small scale mining and prospecting for the ICMJ Mining Journal.
He has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Mackay School of Mines in Reno. He
has continued his interest in mining as an individual prospector. His information
page on prospecting for gold can be viewed at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/chris_prospect.htm
Spectacular Gold Nugget Found in Mariposa County, CA
Author: Chris Ralph