The places listed below are user submitted gold prospecting locations. Things change over time - these places may or may not still be open. Be sure to fill your holes, pick up your trash and don't trespass. We are losing good spots all the time.
We really need more info on this state! If you know of any other prospecting locations in this or surrounding areas, please fill out this form. What we need here are fairly specific places like "downstream from where Highway 20 crosses Dry Creek". There are lots of books that say something like "The gold belt runs through ABC & XYZ Counties" or "Gold has been found in ABC River and some of its tributaries". That really doesn't say much about where YOU can find gold, private property issues or Forest Circus rules etc. Please use this form only for suggesting fairly specific places to be added to this page where new prospectors or folks visiting from other areas have a good chance of finding gold. Thank you
There is some more good info on the Alabama Gold Page
From James A. Mallonee - VP-Montgomery Gem and Mineral Society
Well, I have visited some of the gold sites in Alabama, however there are quite
a few that I haven't been to. The ones that I have visited that are listed are...
Chulafinee: Curvins Cow Pasture recreation area along Arbacoochee Creek, classic location and unfortunately best only for those with dredges. The Gold Prospectors Association of America has a site near Curvins, just watch out for base balls. I panned a little bit of flake gold from a small stream on the south side of the creek, but nothing important. Someone else might have had better luck.
Reel Town: Sougahatchee creek (sp?). Fine gold, not a lot of it, but each pan will get a little color if you look. Larger flakes than some places in Alabama. The water is fairly swift flowing in the winter and spring. Deep in places. Deeper gravels have more garnets and heavy minerals, but I like hitting clay. Clay collects the gold and black sand and the blue clays are the best, because they have been undisturbed the longest. I have found small pyrite cubes and other interesting minerals in the blue clay.
Lake Martin - Dadeville Side: Turn west off of Highway 49 onto Alabama Highway 34. Go approximately 5 miles and you will see a paved road to the left (south). It may or may not have a road sign, but the name of the road is suppose to be Gold Mine Road. The whole area has exposed schist and rocks and the trees are not as large or full as in other areas in Alabama. Go south approximately 3 miles and the road forks. The "main" road curves to the right (east) and the "branch" road continues straight (south) it is still paved. You will see that there is a lot of exposed road cut and a wide turn off to the right (west). You can pull into the road cut and drive up a short distance to a very poor road to the Blue Hill mine. The Blue Hill still has tunnels, most of them filled with water almost to the brim. However, there is the site of the old stamp mill on a small seasonal creek. There is a LOT of FINE flour gold along this creek, some of it coated with mercury. If you get a funny looking lump of silvery metalic looking liquid... it's mercury almalgamated with the gold. Further down toward the lake is a small bridge across the creek and the water does flow a little, just not enough to run a dredge or a sluice box unless you dip it with a bucket. There are several hills with mine tunnels in this area, and some of the tops of the hills themselves have been cut down. The gold comes from quartz stringers in graphite schists, which you can see in the mine itself. Unfortunately, although I was able to pan some gold directly from the mine, it took forever to wash out the black schist. I do not have a GPS, however here is the section numbers S 33, T 21 N, R 22 E. Maps for Tallapoosa County can be purchased from the Alabama Highway Department for between .50 and $1 each and contain the roads as well as section markings. During the winter, when the water level of the lake drops, panning the banks of the lake near the mines might work well, since the waters lap along the edge all summer long... like a gold pan. If you stay here long enough, you will see people pulling up in boats and walking up to the mine, it appears to be a minor tourist attraction.
Rockford: Tons of different minerals, a tin mine or two and some gold. There is a Keene dealership in town, and the guy loves to talk and show his gold. He has dredges, pans, tools, and some of the Geologic Survey handbooks. I have panned a couple streams in the area, but have not found any gold, he uses a 4 inch dredge and has some nice color. Of course he is close lipped about exactly WHERE he found his gold. Hatchet Creek is listed as having gold, and it is just below the town further down Highway 231, however it has a lot of water even during the summer. I would not trust myself in that water after a heavy rain.
Talledega Creek: Near Talledega. Not a bad area, water is deep and flows pretty good even during the summer time. I have seen a 1 1/2 ounce nugget produced from a site along the creek, but the guy had a 6 inch dredge. If you can get down into the bottom of the creek bed, you should be able to get some nice course gold. Lot of flour gold and lead as well.
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