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Prospecting
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Of course, first the prospectors had to find something to
mine. The prospectors looked for rocks they had seen associated
with gold in other situations. In Virginia City, most of the
prospectors were returning from the California gold rush, so they
had in mind a particular type of rock that contained gold. The
first discovery in the area was made by Abner Blackburn near the
present site of Dayton in July 1849. Prospectors and placer
miners followed the traces of gold up the canyons until in 1859,
the Comstock Lode was discovered. Once the prospectors found a
likely area and rock type, the prospectors would dig out some
rock and pan it to see if they could see gold flecks staying
behind in their gold pan. Panning is a quick and primitive way of
assaying the rocks for gold based on the fact that gold is denser
than rock, so the rock will be washed out with water and the gold
will be left behind in the bottom of the pan.
This photograph points out some of the
many prospects on a hill on the northwest side of Virginia City.
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Prospecting
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