Prospecting For Gold In North Dakota: Has It Been Found Before?

Have we ever had a gold rush in North Dakota before?

As a typical kid who grew up in North Dakota before the internet and spent a lot of time outdoors, I, of course, collected rocks. I still remember the rush when we found a sparkly gold rock and wondered if it could be gold.

The Black Hills in South Dakota had a reputation for gold when I was growing up.

I remember on a family trip to the hills, we even got a chance to pan for it. Needless to say, this was more of an opportunity to see how they mined for gold back during the gold rush days, than actually finding real gold. It still seemed pretty exciting when you were 10 years old.

As it turns out, North Dakota has had a gold rush before.

Over the years, there have been 3 different areas in the Peace Garden State where minor amounts of gold were mined and found.

According to an article I stumbled upon from the North Dakota Geological Survey, it's believed that any gold that has been found in North Dakota was the result of glaciers moving gold from the Black Hills of South Dakota and glacier meltwater in Canada.

There have been THREE gold mines in North Dakota over the years.

The Griswold Mine in Ransom County was the first.

The earliest gold rush began in 1884 when gold was discovered in the Sheyenne River Valley, 6 miles north of Fort Ransom. This gold rush lasted about two years, since the material being processed did not contain sufficient gold to make the operation profitable.

The Eldorado Mine-Denbigh Deposit in McHenry County.

This gold was first discovered in May of 1908 and is believed to have occurred with the glacial Lake Souris in McHenry, Bottineau, and Pierce Counties. It's believed this gold was derived from rocks of the Canadian Shield to the north in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Once again, the search for gold was short-lived and mostly unsuccessful, and did not continue long. All companies that were formed soon ceased to exist.

The Sleight Mine-Bentley Lake Deposit in McHenry County.

It was reported that gold was once mined near Bentley Lake, near the town of Drake in McHenry County. At the time, this lake was known as Brush Lake, but was changed to Bentley Lake to avoid confusion with Brush Lake near Mercer in McLean County.

The gold found here was known as "flour gold", which is very fine-grained gold with the consistency of flour or gold dust. An attempt to mine it took place at the same time as the Denbigh area back in 1908.

It's believed the gold that occurred here had the same source as the gold found near Denbigh.

What are the chances you could find gold in North Dakota today?

According to the article, very, very unlikely. However, the fact that even small amounts of gold have been found in the state has helped to maintain at least some interest over the years in prospecting for it.

There have been other reports of gold being found in the state as well, including along the Missouri River.

The bottom line: North Dakota doesn't have the right kind of rocks associated with gold-bearing deposits. This makes it unlikely that significant amounts of gold will ever be found here.

So, you are telling me there's a chance?!