aN a cc au NT oF Ta E D1 s c av ER vI M1 m 1 N G I aND 1 1NT 1N G aF
Department of Natural Resources Georgia Geologic Survey Environmental Protection Division
1889 - 1989
MADELEINE F. KELLAM
Contents G8J.D DISC8YIBID I GIG Bill Story Page
-----~ Gold Discovered in Georgia . 1 Gold Rush Life and Times . 1 RZUN ,,) U.S. Mint at Dahlonega 1 Gold Mining Methods . 1 .,_ ~-/ TBE GOLD DEPOSITS Gold Mining Declines . 1 Future of Mining . . . 1 CCB1 OF (3)) Gold: Value and Uses 2 Occurrence of Gold . . 2 ROITB G£01114 Prospecting for Gold 2 References ...... 2
. Gold Mining Ill Georgia Declines
Gold Mining Methods and Equipment Life and Times in Georgia's Gold Rush Days Early prospectors in the gold region used logically, be derived from sources upstream. simple tools in their search. The swift By following the traces of gold up the The Cherokee Nation mountain streams of the Georgia hills length of a stream, that source could be The discovery of gold in Indian territory yielded the first gold to prospectors located. These new gold finds were not as The Trail of Tears altered the lives of the Cherokee people equipped with little more than a gold pan easily worked as the placer deposits, The forever. Before 1828, settlers had shown and common sense. gold might be found in weathered rock, Auraria and Dahlonega little interest in the mountainous portions Gold is a heavy mineral. The power of called saprolite, but it would not have been of Georgia, which were too steep for cotton rushing water can move it downstream, but washed out by streams. Instead, the gold Coining and Counterfeiting farming. The discovery of gold, however, wherever the flow of water slows, such as particles in the saprolite, because of their made these lands desirable. In 1831, the at the bends of streams, gold and other relatively greater density, would have Cherokee Country was surveyed and divided heavy minerals settle to the bottom. The worked their way downward towards into 160-acre lots, 40-acre lots in the gold gravel in the bed of a stream can be tested bedrock. This, too, caused the gold to It is unlikely that the Cherokee knew of region. In 1832 a lottery was held to for the presence of gold using a gold pan. become concentrated, but tons of waste the rich deposits of gold on their land prior distribute the lands to white settlers. A miner or prospector scoops up a panful material had to be moved in order to to its discovery in 1828. Legends persist The Cherokee residents were given two of gravel and water and swirls it around, extract the gold. of ancient Indian gold mines and lost years to vacate their lands. Some of the allowing the lighter and coarser materials New methods were needed to mine gold hordes, but the Cherokee themselves were Indians left, but there were many holdouts. to be splashed out of the pan. The dark from saprolite deposits. Again, water power relative newcomers to the area. Thus, the The last Cherokees in Georgia were heavy minerals and bright specks of gold, was the answer. Streams were dammed high Indians of north Georgia probably learned rounded up by Federal troops in 1838. The called "colors" by prospectors, are left above the gold deposit, and the trapped along with the rest of America that their forced migration to new lands in Oklahoma behind in the pan. water built up tremendous pressure. The lands would yield a fortune in gold. became known as the Trail of Tears. Four Deposits of gold which have been water could then be aimed at the saprolite Prior to the discovery of gold in their thousand people died en route. transported and concentrated by streams are through large hoses, called giants, or could territory, the Cherokee lived in harmony With the influx of settlers and miners, called placer deposits. Some placers are be released all at once in a flood, a method with neighboring Geor!,>ians. They farmed towns like Auraria and Dahlonega sprang remarkably rich, because they have been called "booming." The rushing water ate and herded, attended their own schools and up and flourished. Auraria, on the Etowah concentrated and reconcentrated. Many of away the weathered rock very quickly, churches, and governed themselves. The River, was settled first. The name Auraria the gold deposits mined in the early days freeing the gold. Water and earth were then capital of the Cherokee Nation was located was derived from the Latin word for gold. of the Dahlonega gold rush were of this directed through a sluice, trapping the gold. at New Echota, and it was there that their Dahlonega, located near the headwaters of Is There a Future for type. These deposits could be worked using Entire hillsides could be washed away using bilingual newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, the Chestatee River, takes its name from a little more than gold pans. One miner these methods. The techniques of hydraulic was published. The paper was printed in Cherokee word, taulauneka, meaning yellow Gold Mining in Georgia? working steadily could move a ton of gravel mining, developed in the gold region of English and Cherokee, using an alphabet money. These \Vere frontier towns, their a day in this manner. Georgia, became known as the Dahlonega devised by a Cherokee scholar named populations composed of miners and their Is this the end of the story of Miners hoping for even bigger profits method. Efficient at removing gold from Sequoyah. families as well as owners of mining-related Dahlonega's gold rush? Perhaps not. Two often added another piece of technology to weathered rock, this method was also highly enterprises. Merchants and smiths, tavern major factors may eventually combine to placer mining, the sluice. A sluice, or sluice destructive of the countryside, and in 1927, keepers and ministers swelled the ranks of alter the end of the tale. box, used the power of the stream to it was banned in Georgia. the gold seekers. For a brief time, Auraria From the time of the coinage act of separate the gold from the worthless gravel. Gradually, even the saprolite deposits even boasted its own newspaper, the 1792, until March of 1933, the price of gold Of simple construction, a sluice was a long became depleted. Rich gold veins still Western Herald. was established by Congress. This changed wooden trough, open at each end and on remained to be mined, but they were One profession that was not represented in 1933, when the price of gold was first top. The bottom of the sluice was covered enclosed in solid, unweathered rock. in the early mining days was banking. The allowed to float. The price rose to $29.62 with burlap or another rough fabric, or it Underground mining methods, rather than first bank was not established in the gold per ounce, from its previous statutory price was fitted with slats of wood, called riffies. open pit methods, had to be employed to district until 1834. Merchants in the rough of $20.67 per ounce. By 1934, the price had The sluice was either placed in the stream reach these veins. The veins were followed and-tumble frontier towns sold goods for risen again, to $35 per ounce. Gold prices channel, or water from the stream was by digging tunnels, either vertically (shafts) cash or gold only; no credit was extended. were rising while production of gold in directed across it. The rough materials of or horizontally (adits). The digging of In a region with many merchants but no Georgia was reaching new lows. the sluice's bottom slowed the flow of water tunnels and removal of ore were done using bankers, transactions were often carried out Gold prices eventually levelled off, and across them, trapping the heavy minerals hand tools and explosives. in unminted gold. Gold dust and bars were they remained constant until the 1970's, available but inconvenient. Currency was so when they suddenly went through the roof. scarce that Spanish coins were circulated Unprecedentedly high prices were set on the legally until 1857. world market for gold, as high as $800 per The lack of banks and currency in the ounce. gold region prior to 1834 inhibited In the years since gold production ceased commerce, but it opened the door for in Georgia, gold-mining technology has individual enterprise. During this time, made enormous strides. Soaring prices have private citizens were not prohibited from led to the development of new methods for coining their own money. Such coinage was processing even the lowest grades of ore. not considered counterfeiting. One private Mining companies today can extract coiner was Templeton Reid of Gainesville, amounts of gold so small that they cannot who began minting coins in 1830. These even be seen with the naked eye, and the coins were stamped with Reid's name and cost of producing that gold is dropping. An with their value. Oddly enough, because ounce of gold that cost $236 to produce in these coins were worth more than their face 1984, could be produced for $200 an ounce Sequoyah, Cherokee Indian leader and scholar. He devised the Cherokee alphabet and published a bilingual newspaper, the value, Reid's private coins were frequently in 1988. Very large mining operations can Cherokee Phoenix. (Library of Congress.) counterfeited. bring their production costs even lower by processing huge quantities of ore at one time. So the end of the tale may not have been Placer mining at the White Path Gold Mine, Gilmer County, Georgia. (After McCallie and King, 1896.) told. Many gold mines in Georgia were United States Mint Established at Dahlonega abandoned due to factors that no longer and gold. In this way, the sluice mimicked Because of the difficulty of extracting apply today. Reduced labor force, high the action of the stream. Another method gold from unweathered ore, the methods of Auraria and Dahlonega were both towns The U.S. Branch Mint at Dahlonega was capital outlay requirements, and techno of collecting the tiny particles of gold was separating the gold from the worthless founded on gold mining. A rivalry grew up in operation for 23 years, from 1838 until logical limitations all played a role in the with the use of an amalgam plate. In this material, called gangue, were elaborate. between the two towns over which should 1861. During this time it minted $6,115,569 demise of Georgia's gold mining industry. method, a metal plate coated with mercury First, the ore had to be crushed. This was have preeminent status as the capitol of the in gold currency, mostly in quarter- and But rising gold prices and declining caused the gold particles to cling to it, done in a water-powered mill, called a gold region. The establishment of a branch half-eagles, and a smaller amount in silver. production costs might make a second look allowing their later removal. Either way, a stamp mill. Heavy weights were raised and of the U.S. Mint at Dahlonega, in 1838, The coinage of the Dahlonega Mint was not at Georgia's gold region both practical and sluice allowed a miner to move much more dropped repeatedly, crushing the ore to settled the question of priority forever. the total extent of gold production in profitable. Georgia's gold fields, mined long gravel each day than was possible with gold gravel. Chemical methods, such as Gradually, Auraria began to decline, leaving Georgia, however, as much gold was still ago, using methods primitive by today's pan and manpower alone. chlorination or treatment with potassium only a few weathered buildings to mark its sent to the Philadelphia Mint, or went for standards, may not have yielded all their Eventually, all the placer deposits were cyanide, or mechanical methods, such as location. Dahlonega, the town that uses other than coinage. The Mint ceased secrets. The miners of Georgia's first gold either claimed, or were beginning to play flotation with oils, could then be used to eventually gave its name to the gold belt, operation when seized by the Confederacy rush may have left behind enough gold for out. Miners had to look further for new extract the gold from the unweathered still thrives today. during the opening days of the Civil War. a second. gold deposits. Gold carried in streams must, ore. 4N 4 CC 0 UN T OF TB E V4 LU E AND OCCURRENCE OF
Department of Natural Resources Georgia Geologic Survey Environmental Protection Division
1889 - 1989
Educational Series 2 MADELEINE F. KELLAM
Gold: Its Value Through the Ages and Its Uses Today The Geology of Gold Occurrence 1n Georgia
Gold has been a means of monetary Gold is prized for its beauty. It's yellow Gold can be found, in small quantities, The most significant gold-bearing rocks exchange since antiquity. It is the standard color and metallic lustre are unique among nearly everywhere. Even sea water contains of the Dahlonega area are metamorphosed against which modern currencies are metals. Gold does not tarnish, so its minute amounts of gold. It is only rarely volcanic rocks. Volcanic processes probably measured. Even in unstable economic times, brilliance is never dimmed. The ease with that gold is found in sufficient concentrations contributed higher than normal amounts of faith in the value of gold never wavers. which it can be worked, along with its to make it mineable or even detectable to the gold to the rocks as they were deposited, But why is gold valuable? The answer may beauty and durability, makes it a natural naked eye. and when these rocks were metamorphosed, lie in its unique properties. for personal adornment. The jewelry-making The crystalline rocks of the Appalachian the gold was further concentrated. The Gold is a metal. Many metals are valued industry is one of the largest consumers of Mountains yield gold, in varying amounts, faulting and folding that the rocks of the for their conductivity, malleability and gold in the world. In many parts of the from Maine to Alabama. Only in the gold region have undergone provided ductility. Because gold is highly conductive, world, large caches of gold jewelry serve as southern portion of the Appalachians, in pathways for the emplacement of gold. it can transmit heat or electricity with little portable savings accounts for their owners. Virginia, the Carolinas, Alabama, and Hydrothermal solutions (literally "hot-water" loss of energy. The extreme ductility of Finally, gold is rare. Although it is mined Georgia, has gold mining had economic solutions) containing the dissolved gold allows it to be drawn out into very fine in many places in the world, its overail importance. Gold has been found in almost components of common minerals such as wire. Gold is also malleable. It can be abundance is low. Scarcity increases the every Georgia county underlain by crystalline quartz and calcite, as well as rare minerals shaped easily by hammering or pressure. value of gold. Although seldom used today rocks. Over 500 such occurrences have been such as gold and silver, flowed along fractures Sheets of gold, called gold leaf, can be made for coins, demand for gold continues to ri se. reported in the State. Some, such as the and foliations in the rock. Complex chemical so thin that light passes through them. Governments hold reserves of gold to back Dahlonega gold belt, are extensive; others are reactions between these solutions and the Because of these physical properties, gold is currency or to conduct international more local in nature. enclosing rocks caused quartz and calcite to always in demand for such uses as printing transactions. Individuals want gold jewelry The Dahlonega Gold Belt was the primary be deposited in vein-like deposits. In Georgia, and electrical circuitry. to wear and gold coins or bullion as a hedge gold-producing region in Georgia. The gold many of these veins also contain mineable Gold is a native element. It occurs in against inflation. Industry is continually belt is a narrow, northeast-trending band that quantities of gold. The gold-bearing veins nature in its pure, or nearly pure, form. devising highly profitable new uses for gold. extends from the Alabama border in Carroll are called lode deposits. Although often found alloyed with silver, It appears that the production of gold will and Haralson Counties, to the North Carolina The weathering and stream transport of tellurium, or other metals, Georgia's gold never outstrip the demand. border in Rabun County, a distance of about the material contained in lode deposits can be as much as 98% pure. Because gold The value of gold then, is a complex 152 miles. The belt varies in thickness, from produce what is known as a placer deposit. does not combine readily with other elements, equation. Purity, permanence, rarity, almost 6 miles wide to approximately one Placers are frequently much richer than the it is enduring. Iron, which combines easily usefulness, and beauty all combine to make half mile wide. veins from which they are derived, due to with oxygen, will eventually rust, but gold gold valuable. Understanding these factors, The gold belt is roughly coincident with the effects of stream action. Streams is permanent. It will never rust away. The however, is not enough to explain the In 1958, the dome of the State Capitol waa covered with the rocks of the New Georgia Group. These concentrate heavy gold particles by washing nonreactive nature of gold, combined with Georgia gold. The 43 ounces of gold, donated by the continuing allure of gold through the ages. citizens of Lumpkin County and the city of Dahlonega, were rocks are metamorphic; meaning that they away the lighter rock material that surrounds its workability, makes it useful in dentistry Somehow, the mystique of gold transcends sent to Atlanta by covered wagon. In 1981, the have been altered by extreme heat or the gold. Placer deposits are often the first and for specialized uses in the chemical deteriorating surface of the dome wu restored to its former explanation. brilliance with a new application of gold leaf. pressure. The major rock types of the gold type of deposit discovered in a gold-producing industry. belt are schists, meta-graywackes, and region, and they are often the prospector's amphibolites, along with some gneisses and clue to vein deposits further upstream. Placer iron-bearing rocks. Over time, these rocks deposits accounted for the majority of gold Prospecting for Gold In Georgia Today have been faulted and complexly folded. mined in the Dahlonega region. Where to Look Permits Required for Prospecting in Georgia Prospecting Tools and luster, the ways in which it fractures percentage of gold in the sample. Tests or cleaves when struck, and the color of the such as this can be performed quickly and What rules and regulations apply to For National Forests in Georgia contact the Identifying Gold streak it leaves when rubbed on a porcelain at no cost. With practice they can be quite searching for gold? North Georgia is not Lands and Minerals Unit of the U.S. Forest streak plate. All of these properties, taken reliable. the wilderness it was during the Dahlonega Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Assays together, need to be considered when Prospectors during Dahlonega's gold rush Gold Rush days. A would-be prospector 1720 Peachtree Road NW; Atlanta GA 30367 making an identification. days were probably familiar with such cannot simply begin panning for gold (Phone 404-347-4592). Everyone has dreamed of finding a Almost everyone has heard of fool's gold. simple assay methods as panning. When anywhere in north Georgia. Once you have nugget of pure gold. But can gold be found Pyrite, a mineral composed of iron and more accurate results were needed, however, identified an area in which you want to in North Georgia today? The answer may sulfur, is a shiny metallic yellow color. It they might have had their ore samples prospect, you may need to obtain permission For National Parks in Georgia contact the be yes, if you know where and how to look. is frequently mistaken for gold by the tested by means of a fire assay. To perform to do so. Private property should be National Park Service, Southeast Regional Where are good places to look for gold? inexperienced prospector, hence its a fire assay, the sample is ground into a respected at all times, and it is best to obtain Office (U.S. Department of the Interior) 75 Streams which have their origins in gold nickname. Relying on color alone to fine powder and mixed with certain other written permission from the owners before Spring Street SW; Atlanta, GA 30303 (Phone bearing geologic formations or which cross identify this mineral can lead to mistakes. compounds, including lead oxide. This engaging in any prospecting. Although 404-331-5187). such formations are some of the best places But look at the following chart. When all mixture is then placed in fire clay crucible prospecting is allowed without a permit on to search. As these gold-bearing rocks are the physical properties are examined, and heated in a furnace. Upon melting, some public lands, such as many highway weathered and washed into streams, gold identification becomes much easier. any gold or silver in the ore sample rights-of-way, permits are required for most For state owned lands contact the Real particles are released from the rock that combines with the lead oxide and sinks to public lands. For state or federally owned Estate Unit of the Georgia Department of surrounds them. Gold particles are heavy, the bottom of the crucible. All the other lands, the following agencies may be contacted Natural Resources, East Tower, 205 Butler and they can be moved downstream only materials in the crucible form a layer of for up-to-date information on any necessary Street SE; Atlanta, GA 30334 (Phone 404- where the current energy is very high. In PYRITE GOLD slag, which can be discarded after it permits. 656-5165). places where streamflow slows down, such hardens. brass yellow golden yellow as along curves, gold and other heavy Color to iridescent The next step in the fire assay is to take minerals drop to the bottom. The sand and the remaining mixture of lead, silver, and Selected References and Further Reading gravel bars at bends in streams are excellent Luster metallic metallic gold, called an alloy, and remove the lead places to look for gold. from it. This is done by again heating the How does one look for gold? As a Hardness 6 - 6.5 2.5 - 3 alloy; this time in a porous cup made from Boyle, R.W., 1979, The geochemistry of gold Jastram, R.W., 1977, The golden constant: prospecting tool, the simple gold pan is bone ash. The walls of the cup absorb the and its deposits (together with a chapter The English and American experience Streak greenish black golden yellow hard to beat. Lightweight and inexpensive, lead, leaving the gold and silver behind. on geochemical prospecting for the 1560-1976: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. it is nevertheless an efficient sampling Cleavage indistinct none The name dore metal is applied to this element): Geological Survey of Canada New York. device. With a little practice, anyone can mixture of gold and silver. The dore metal Bulletin 280, 584 p. learn to separate the heavy minerals, Fracture conchoidal, hackly, is weighed, and the silver is dissolved using Jones, S.P., 1909, Second report on the gold including any gold, from the sand and brittle malleable nitric acid. The gold can then be weighed, Chavis, D.W., 1977, Southern gold: Vantage deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geologic gravel of the streambed. By using a and the weight of the silver can also be Press, New York. Survey Bulletin 19, 283 p. swirling motion, and plenty of water, a Suppose you do find a bit of real gold in calculated. prospector mimics the action of the stream your gold pan. Does this mean that your Other methods of performing assays Coulter, E.M., 1956, Auraria: The University Martin, H.H., 1977, Georgia: A history: in carrying away the lighter weight sand, fortune is made? How do you_ know when combine fire assay techniques with complex of Georgia Press, Athens, 149 p. W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York, while leaving the denser heavy minerals in further time, effort, or money might analytical methods such as atomic 212 p. the bottom of the gold pan. A show of produce significant quantities of gold? One absorption, neutron activation, or optical Crickmay, G.W., 1933, Gold in Georgia: "colors," as the tiny gold particles are called way to determine whether an economically spectrography. Analytical methods such as Georgia Department of Forestry and Pardee, J.T., and Park, C.F., 1948, Gold by prospectors, indicates success. More significant proportion of gold is present in these are performed by experts, and they Geological Development (Forestry deposits of the Southern Piedmont: serious prospectors may wish to construct a streambed sediment or an ore sample is are a science in themselves. Geological Review), v. 3, no. 4 and 5. United States Geological Survey a sluice box. This tool can be made quite to perform an assay. Will you ever need to have an assay Professional Paper 213, 156 p. easily from inexpensive materials. Although There are several types of assays, some performed? Probably not. Most of Georgia's German, J.M., 1989, The geology of gold not as portable as a gold pan, the sluice can quite simple, others employing highly readily available gold was mined prior to occurrences in the west-central Georgia Wilson, R.A., 1934, The gold deposits of handle a larger volume of stream sediment complex scientific methods. The simplest 1934. Any gold that remains will require Piedmont: The Carroll County gold Georgia: Georgia Department of at one time than is possible using a gold method of all is to use a gold pan to sophisticated exploration and mmmg belt and the southwestern portion of Forestry and Geological Development pan. determine the percentage of gold in sand, technology for its recovery. But there are the Dahlonega gold belt: Georgia Information Circular 4. Is that shiny mineral in your gold pan gravel or soil. A given weight of a sample other reasons to take up gold prospecting. Geologic Survey Bulletin 107, 48 p. really gold? How do you tell? Color alone is placed in a tin can or other container It offers close contact with nature, Yeates, W.S., McCallie, S.W., and King, F.P., can be misleading. Geologists use the and heated overnight in a fire. The opportunities to observe natural geologic German, J.M., 1985, The geology of the 1896, A preliminary report on the gold physical properties of minerals to make oxidized material that remains is then processes, and the thrill of potential discovery. northeastern portion of the Dahlonega deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geologic correct identifications. These physical panned. A count of colors, gold particles, Whether or not you strike it rich, prospecting gold belt: Georgia Geologic Survey Survey Bulletin 4-A, 535 p. properties include the mineral's hardness can then be made to estimate the relative for gold can be a very rewarding hobby. Bulletin 100, 41 p.
EXPLANATION
0) ~ OJ ~ Gold Production Shows the estimated total, in ounces, Q) If~ ~ 900 of Georgia gold produced in each five- ('") 65,000 ·;::""' 0) year period. ~ 13 C/) (.) 60,000 - t:: 800 0 <:: "0 0) Gold Price Index The price of gold in each year as a :::> 0 ·-0 55,000 (!) "'OJ 0) percentage of the price in 1930. - 0 ~
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ('") (() ('") ('") ~ ~ (()