KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: Gold Prospecting Alive and Well in Las Vegas Valley
They search it, they smell it, and they have it in their veins. Gold prospectors are trying to cash in on a frenzied market. Recreational prospectors are hard at work in the Las Vegas valley, and in big numbers.
It doesn't take much more than a pick axe, a bottle of water, a pan, and some patience, but gold prospecting in Las Vegas is possible. Some serious searchers use amazing equipment you don't just find anywhere.
If it is true what they say, the path we travel is the treasure we seek, it must be asked somewhere along the line, is there gold in them there hills?
Carl Richwine and his merry band of gold searchers say yes, you just have to know how to find it.
Start with the dusty deed of dry washing. Hooked up to a battery, the system knocks away useless rocks.
John "Cooter" Sears however, sticks to his detector. Anything could be sitting tucked underneath the caliche and dust. One issue though is his new metal hip. "Got to be careful the detector doesn't pick it up," he said.
Fred Zajac gets help from a mountain goat. It's actually a $700 goat-sized reverse helix trommel, gently washing away impurities until those flecks of dark yellow begin to appear. "That's some real McCoy gold," said Zajac.
"The usual word is ‘eureka!'" said Nick Johnson. He's the young upstart of the group. "When I first joined, I was like, ‘Oh, come on. Where is it?' And I was digging a hole six feet deep going, ‘I'm there, I'm there, where is it?'" he said.
Since then, he's learned the path to treasure takes a calm, steady hand. But when you find something the emotion comes quickly. "Stunned. You can't say a word, just, ‘Oh!'" he said.
Just good friends and good finds, even if your favorite dig site stays a secret. "I know where it is if my memory serves me right," said Carl Richwine with the Gold Prospectors of Southern Nevada.
It's the passion of the path while finding some treasure along the way. Most of the gold pieces found, even with prices as high as they are, are maybe worth $5 to $10.
The Gold Searchers of Nevada organization always wants to recruit more members -- others who share the gold fever. They say about $50 gets you started with basic gear. You can do just fine with a good plastic pan and a jug of water.
