Nevada Focus: Modern-day prospector hunts for gold

As the convoy stops about 40 miles northeast of Lovelock, Chip Privet of Reno steps out of his truck and announces we're close to a likely gold-panning site, just over a little hill in a dry creek bed.

There are several holes in the side of the hill, dug years ago by prospectors, along with a small, fallen-down mining shack. There's hardly a sign of life, but Privet is right at home.

"I always liked adventure and the desert, and the allure of gold," says the modern-day prospector, who hangs on to a dream that was a catalyst to populating Nevada almost 150 years ago.

In the spring of 1849, prospectors from California struck gold in Nevada, on the eastern slopes of the Sierra. That led to the discovery of nuggets at the mouth of what is now called Gold Canyon, near Dayton.

The miners' hard life is lost in the past for most Nevadans. But a few keep the dream alive. Privet, who has been prospecting for about 15 years, cautions that the dream can be a nightmare for those who get "gold fever."

"I've seen people that it has messed them all up," he said. "They got into buying equipment before they really knew what they were doing."

But if done right, he said, prospecting can be a great pastime.

"It's the hunting for it," Privet said. "It's one of the finest hobbies in the world."

Even with new gadgets available, Privet likes to prospect the old-fashioned way - with pick, shovel, a hand-operated drywasher and pans.

Dirt is piled on the drywasher, a wooden box covered with a large screen that catches the large rocks and allows the smaller materials to fall into the box. From the bottom of the box, the dirt drops onto a piece of cloth.

Underneath the cloth is what looks like a bellows, pumping air that causes the lighter dirt and rocks to bounce off. The heavy material, hopefully including gold, stays on the bottom.

The potential pay dirt is then placed in large plastic pans that are dipped into clean water and swirled carefully so heavier materials can sink. As the lighter materials wash away, gold flakes are left in the pan.

This time, several small flakes of gold are left sparkling in the pan.

"See, I know how to pick a place," Privet says.

Privet usually uses his gold flakes in jewelry. When he is lucky enough to find larger nuggets, he keeps them and then sells them when the price of gold is right.

His biggest find was a nugget worth about $1,000. Nowadays, gold is selling for about $300 an ounce.

Privet prospects mostly in California, but there are a few places he tries in Nevada.

"Gold in Nevada has a lot of silver in it, so it is not as valuable," Privet said. But you never know what you'll find, he adds.

He enjoys prospecting so much that a year ago he started selling metal detectors, a popular tool with today's prospectors.

"It's a hobby business," he said. "The business really boomed before I got into it in the early '80s when the technology grew by leaps and bounds."

Privet also belongs to the Silver State Detector Club in Reno. The group has about 40 members who try to educate people about prospecting and metal detecting.

State archivist Guy Rocha says gold may have been found first in Nevada, but silver became the state's most famous precious metal - even though few early miners recognized it for what it was.

Today, most big mining operations in the state are looking for gold.

"If Nevada was the silver state because more silver was mined than gold, then Nevada is the golden state because we mine a greater portion of gold now," Rocha says.

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