In the United States, there are many locations where gold is mined commercially and recreationally. You might be surprised to learn that Texas, the largest state in the continental United States, is not one of the primary sources of gold mines. You’d think it would be with its vast geographical diversity, including mountains and rivers, but no significant gold discoveries have been reported from the Lone Star State. How much gold is in Texas since it’s not a leading source of commercial mines? Let’s find out!
How Much Gold Has Been Found in Texas?
There are two types of gold deposits: lode and placer. Lode deposits are large, solid deposits within the rock, while placer gold is loose pieces on the surface or in a shallow body of water. Lode deposits are not abundant in Texas and have already been exhausted from earlier commercial mines, but placer gold can still be found today through panning. While there is no official record of how much gold has been discovered in the state of Texas, it is not very significant. Most people who find gold while panning only come out with a few minuscule pieces or small nuggets, as seen in the photo above. Panning cannot be done freely and requires a permit, so don’t rush to the Texas wilderness with your gear just yet!
Where to Prospect for Gold
To find placer gold in Texas, you can’t go just anywhere. Specific locations have been found to have the highest concentrations of minerals and precious metals. The Central Texas and North Texas regions have many of these sites due to the rivers and streams in the areas. The best locations are Llano River, Bull Head Creek, Honey Creek, Heath, Fredericksburg, Walnut Creek, Bonanza Gulch, Presidio, and Gazley Creek.
How to Prospect for Gold
Panning is one of the easiest methods of looking for gold along riverbanks and beaches, but there are other methods that are more likely to find gold. One of the more professional methods is using a sluice box, a machine you place into the water and channels the gold into the bottom of the machine by disrupting the natural current. In some areas where gold is more commonly found along the beach, a metal detector can be used to find gold. If you’re lucky enough to find some, check the price of gold to see how much your discovery is worth!
Is There a Gold Mine in Texas?
Currently, Texas does not have any active commercial mines. However, some inactive mines are still visited regularly for amateur prospecting.
Most commercial mine production occurred between the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the last reported production in 1942. The Presidio, Hazel, and Heath mines produced approximately 8,277 ounces during this time. While most of the ore mined was essentially silver and copper with gold by-products, this is the largest amount of gold ever mined in the state of Texas.
The Texas Bullion Depository
In 2015, the 84th Texas Legislature created the first state-run bullion depository called the Texas Bullion Depository to provide the citizens of Texas with a safe and secure place to store precious metals. In 2020, a 40,000-square-foot facility was completed with the capacity to house 12 million ounces of gold, platinum, or palladium in a Class III vault (the highest class of security) and a separate secure area that can hold 17.5 million ounces of silver. The only other Class III vault is in Fort Knox, where the United States Bullion Depository is based.
While the state of Texas does not currently own any bullion, it has in the past. Between the University of Texas and Texas A&M, it once held more than $860 million in gold when the Depository first started, but it has been liquidated since then.
Any U.S. citizen or resident, be they an individual or a business, can store their bullion in the Texas Bullion Depository. By 2021, the value of all deposits was approximately $129 million. Today, the Depository processes an average of $550 million in daily deposits.
We may never know the actual amount of gold currently in Texas, but with the addition of the Texas Bullion Depository, it’s certainly more than there used to be. The Depository plans to expand its bullion storage to international customers and gain authorization from the Internal Revenue Service to establish individual retirement accounts. These advancements will significantly increase the possibility of storing bullion in the depository, leading to even more gold in Texas.
