Supergene Gold Zone 102 (Module 3) The Gold Enrichment Horizon #enrichmenthorizon

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Discover the secrets of gold prospecting in our latest YouTube Short, "Striking Gold: Find Enrichment Horizons!" 🎬 In just 45 seconds, learn how to identify the crucial enrichment horizon, the sweet spot where dissolved gold reprecipitates just beneath the surface. Watch as we showcase the signs to look for, including color changes in soil and soft, clay-altered rock. From trenching techniques to understanding the layers of the earth, this video is packed with essential tips for every aspiring prospector.

Supergene Gold Class 102 – Module 3: Identifying Enrichment Horizons in the Field

Supergene enrichment isn’t always visible — but its boundaries often are. The key to field prospecting supergene gold lies in recognizing the enrichment horizon — the precise contact zone where metal-rich fluids stopped moving and started depositing concentrated gold.

This horizon typically lies just beneath the oxidized gossan or iron-stained cap. As surface water seeps downward through fractured, sulfide-bearing rock, it leaches metals like copper, silver, and gold. These metals stay mobile in the oxygen-rich zone, but once they reach a more reducing environment — often 5 to 15 feet down — they fall out of solution and concentrate in a relatively narrow band.

Geologically, this shows up as a change in rock texture, color, and chemistry. You may be digging through crumbly red or yellow rock when suddenly it turns more compact, dark, or clay-rich. That’s your sign. Often, manganese oxides will increase, or limonite will deepen in color. This interface is your supergene horizon — and it’s where the best grade often lies.

For the field prospector, there are several ways to identify this zone:
• Trenching along slope contacts and watching for color and texture shifts
• Sampling shallow pits to 3–6 feet in depth where oxidation levels decrease
• Using a geologic hammer to test hardness transitions in host rock
• Noting manganese or copper concentrations that fade downward — gold often sits just beneath them

Old-time miners didn’t always hit deep sulfide ores. Many surface workings stopped right at the enrichment zone because that’s where the richest free-milling gold was found. These are often shallow, oxidized, and perfect for modern reworking.

In desert environments like those of Arizona, California, and Nevada, enrichment horizons are even more prominent due to the climatic balance between oxidation and evaporation. These dry regions tend to hold metals in place instead of leaching them away.

It’s also important to understand the relationship between this horizon and the local structure. Fault zones, breccias, and fractured quartz veins often act as vertical conduits, focusing fluid movement. That means enrichment horizons often widen or thicken near these features.

Don’t dig randomly — dig intelligently. Use natural indicators like slope, alteration color, iron and manganese signals, and rock type to zero in on where gold likely dropped out of solution. A difference of just one foot can separate barren rock from bonanza pockets.

In the next module, we’ll teach you how weathering textures in surface rock tell you if you’re standing above a supergene trap — before you dig a single inch.

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