I started prospecting for gold around 2000 - 2001.
    I really like prospecting for gold, it gives me the chance to be outside, enjoying GOD's country and all it has to offer and the thrill of never knowing what your going to find next.
    I enjoy looking through all the rocks almost as much as I like looking for the gold, Almost. Finding the gold is just icing on the cake.
    Gold has been commercially mined in 48 of the states, Kentucky and Virginia are the only two states that have not.
    The biggest nugget found in the state of Indiana was a 2.6oz nugget in Sugar creek, Montgomery Co. in the late 1800's.
    Indiana is also known for having diamonds in and around stream beds.
    Below is a list of gold weights and measurements.

Weights and Measures

• 24 grains = 1 pennyweight (abbreviated dwt)
• 20 pennyweights = 1 troy ounce
• 480 grains = 1 troy ounce
• 12 troy ounces = 1 troy pound

• 1 troy ounce = 31.104 grams
• 1 pennyweight = 1.552 grams
• 1 grain = 64.8 milligrams
• 1 gram = .543 pennyweights

• 24 Karat = 100% Pure Gold
• 18 Karat = 75%
• 14 Karat = 58%
• 12 Karat = 50%
• 10 Karat = 42%
•   8 Karat = 33%

Gold Pan :
    The gold pan is the most versatile mining tool you can use.
    They are very portable so you can move around sampling different spots till you find an area that has some gold.
    When you get good at it, panning will save more fine gold than most other mining equipment.
    No matter what other equipment you use you will probably end up panning the concentrates at the end of the day.
    There are many different kinds of pans - metal and plastic; some with smooth sides and some with riffles; some with smooth bottoms and others with gold traps.
    There are many books and videos on the subject and if you are just starting out, it is a good idea to get one or two.

Sluice Box :
    The next step in the progression of the fever is usually a sluice box.
    Once you start panning, you will soon realize that if you are getting a certain amount of gold from the material you are working, the only way to get more gold is to move more material.
    Sluice boxes will generally move about ten times more material per hour than a pan.

Gold Dredge :
    Most gold mining today is done in small operations, one or two men working at a time, often with the use of suction dredges.
    A suction dredge is a powerful underwater-type of vacuum cleaner. It sucks up streambed material (rocks, sand, gravel, silt, gold and other minerals), passes it up through a suction hose, and runs it across a recovery system floating at the surface.
    Pieces of gold, which are very heavy, are separated from the other streambed materials and trapped, as the gravel and other material wash through the recovery system and are then washed back into the stream.