For gold prospectors and mining claim holders
Know where to dig, before you dig.
Stop guessing about gold ground. Start with better information.
Before you buy a mining claim or spend money exploring, see what historic mining records, geology, satellite maps and public land records say about an area. Paystreak brings that research together in one place, so you can decide where to look first and know what you still need to check in the field.
What Paystreak does
The research you'd do yourself, without the months of digging through records
The information that helps you judge gold ground already exists. It's spread across geology maps, federal mine databases, satellite archives, BLM claim records and reports printed 50 to 150 years ago. We collect it, check it, map it and explain it in plain English.
Spend less on bad ground
See what the geology and mining history say about an area before you pay claim fees, buy a claim or haul equipment in.
Know who controls the land
See who manages the ground and where mining claims are already filed, so you don't plan around land you can't work.
Start with the record, not rumors
Every historic fact links to the government report and page it came from, so you can check it yourself.
How it works
From scattered records to a short list of places to check
Gather the record
Old USGS and Bureau of Mines reports, federal mine databases, geology maps and stream-sediment chemistry for the district.
Look from above
Satellite maps that help pick out mineral patterns, and detailed terrain maps that can reveal old placer workings under the trees.
Score it with the Paystreak Engine
Our proprietary scoring engine weighs all of it together and ranks every 100 m square of the district for further investigation.
Add land status
Who manages each area and whether it's already claimed, from BLM and other public records, dated so you know how current it is.
A high rank means "worth a closer look," not "proven gold." Only sampling on the ground can show what's actually there.
Under the hood
The Paystreak Engine
Behind every ranking is our proprietary scoring engine. It stacks 11 layers of evidence for each square of ground, from rock types and fault lines to stream chemistry, satellite mineral signatures, lidar terrain and more than a century of mining records. It combines them into one score for every square, separately for each kind of gold. Then it checks itself against hundreds of mining claims, mines and historic records it never saw, and we publish the scorecard.
Evidence layers scored for every square of ground
Facts pulled from historic government mining reports, each cited to its page
Scoring resolution, about the size of a city block
Gold 101
Two kinds of gold, two different maps
Hard-rock gold
Gold still locked inside solid rock, usually in veins of quartz. Miners call it lode gold. It's mined with tunnels, shafts and open pits.
Gravel gold
Gold that weathered out of the rock over thousands of years and washed into creeks and gravel. Miners call it placer gold. It's the gold you pan, sluice or dredge, and what most small-scale prospectors go after.
Gravel gold comes from hard-rock gold upstream, so the two maps help each other. The Paystreak Engine scores them separately because they show up in different places.
What a report will include
A preview of a Paystreak district report
Paid reports aren't available yet. The example below shows how they will be laid out, using real public information from our free Alma–Fairplay guide. Final reports may change.
Area
- Middle Fork South Platte River (HUC-10 1019000101)
- About 650 km² around Alma and Fairplay
Mining history
- 191 mineral sites in the USGS database, 118 of them listing gold
- London vein system: “nearly $8,000,000” produced by 1932
USGS Bulletin 911 (1941), p. 2
Geology
- Hard-rock gold sits near the bottom of one rock layer, close to the London fault
- Gravel gold in glacial deposits and stream gravels of the South Platte valley
USGS Bulletins 911 (1941) and 955-D (1950)
Land status
- About 53.6% private land, which needs the owner's permission
- About 35% National Forest and BLM land, with 121 active mining claims on record
Ranked areas
- Areas ranked for further investigation, each with the evidence behind its rank and its land status
- How well that kind of ranking has tested so far
Limits and next steps
- What the research can't tell you, such as gold grade and how deep it is
- What to check in the field and at the BLM before you stake or dig
Who it's for
Pick the question you're trying to answer
Thinking of buying a claim
What's the mining history, what does the geology suggest, and who else holds claims nearby? Check before you pay.
Already hold a claim
See how your ground compares with the rest of the district and what the old reports recorded near it.
Looking for ground to prospect
Areas ranked for further investigation, with land status, so you can spend field days in better places.
Exploring a historic district
Cited history, geology and land status for a gold district. Browse district guides →
Why trust it
We test our maps against records they never saw
In the Alma–Fairplay pilot we built a version of the map with every known mine location left out, then checked where independent records landed on it.
Hard-rock mining claims on BLM records (current and closed) fell in our top-ranked 10% of public land 3.4 times as often as chance.
Mines, veins and prospects described in historic government reports fell in our top 10% of ground about 5 times as often as chance.
Gold operations registered with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration sit in the top 8% of our gravel gold map. This is a softer test, because that map does use known gravel mine sites.
Where it's still weak
The map is good at finding the mineralized district. It can't yet tell a rich spot from a barren spot inside that district. Within stream gravels, the gravel gold map does no better than a coin flip at picking the gravels people chose to claim. Fixing that takes field samples, which start in the 2027 season. See every test, including the misses →
District guides
Free gold district guides
Alma–Fairplay, Colorado
Park County: 191 recorded mineral sites, cited historic reports and land status.
Read the guide →
More districts
We're adding districts one at a time, each checked by hand. Tell us yours in the form below and it helps us choose the next one.
Questions
Common questions
What is Paystreak?
Paystreak is a research service for gold prospectors and mining claim holders. We pull together geology maps, historic mining records, old government reports, satellite and terrain maps, and public land records for an area, so you can decide where to look first and what still needs checking in the field.
Does Paystreak guarantee I'll find gold?
No. Our research points to ground that deserves a closer look. It can't tell you how much gold is in a given spot or whether mining it will pay. Only sampling on the ground can tell you that.
Can I buy a report today?
Not yet. Our research reports are in development, and the first district is Alma–Fairplay, Colorado. The free district guide is available now. Join the list and we'll email you when reports open for your area.
What will a report cost?
We haven't set pricing yet. People on the list will hear first.
If land is public, can I prospect there?
Not automatically. National Forest and BLM land can be closed to mining, and much of it is already covered by someone's mining claim. Surface ownership and mineral rights can also belong to different people. Always check current BLM claim records and ask the land manager before you dig.
How accurate is it?
We test our maps against records the model never saw, and we publish the weak results too. The hard-rock gold map tests well. The gravel gold map can find gravel ground but can't yet tell rich gravel from poor. The full results are on our How we validate page.
Early access
Get notified when reports open for your mining district
You'll hear first when reports open, and the districts people ask for help us decide where to go next.
We'll email you when research reports open for your area. One or two emails, no spam, never sold or shared. Privacy