Hey hey! Good to have you around. I live in Los Lunas. According to the old USGS survey and information, Placitas does have gold in the gravels. I've wanted to try those hills for a long time, but you'd have to know where you could actually access the land legally or get written permission. Trespassing (especially on reservations) is a big no-no. Not too sure about Santa Fe, I did pan some in the Pecos river back up near the wilderness area there but saw no color. To the northwest of Santa Fe I think are a couple of old mining ghost towns that I think were very rich, one of them polluted a stream/river pretty badly and basically initiated the environmental lockdown that we have today. Best area near Albuquerque is around Golden, in the San Pedro and Ortiz mountains on the other side of the Sandias. Very heavily claimed, but historically very rich and still produces well. Best bet over there is to know a landowner or claim owner. The local club, NMGPA, has three claims in that area with varying difficulty of access (easy 2WD, hard 2WD, and 4WD only). There is good gold in the state, but those are the only areas nearby that I know of.

Nice I actually am gonna join the NM gold prospecting club and also gonna check out the gpaa claims here haven't heard much on how the gold is guess I'm gonna find out. So what's you're advice to prospect placitas, call someone in government on the minerals? 

Also are you part of the nmgpa?

I am part of the NMGPA, yes. Good group of folks, very much worth it. Prospecting the placitas - first step is figure out who owns the land you want to go to. If it's BLM or NFS, check to see if it's already claimed. If it's private (or tribal), contact the landowner to see if they will give you permission in writing. It's going to take a fair amount of detective work. As for the GPAA claims, you can probably find the write-ups on some of them here on the forums. Here is what I know:

Little Jo - close, in Socorro. Haven't been there yet, but would like to check it out.
Greyback Group - Two and a half hours for me each way. Best one I've been to so far. Always find gold, it's not microscopic, and it's nice to see 10-15 colors in a pan.
Royal Flush - old hard rock mine, close to Greyback. I guess a fair amount of very small gold (I didn't see any) in a greenish colored ore.
Against the Wind - Long drive. Found nothing. Did find a fair amount of very small gold further up the mountain.
Gold Skye Seven - Couldn't find it.
Oro Grande - Never been there. Heard good things, seen pics of 1/4" nuggets. Would really like to spend a week there. Long drive.

Hi guys,
Subscribed to this thread.

Im hoping to prospect those northern NM mountains this spring as the snow receeds. May see you there

nice so how do i join the local club go to the meeting every month? I appreciate the feedback on the claims im going to join in a couple months and also gold prospect

you havent ben to placer creek 2, 3 in the claim book?

Never went to Placer Creek - it's a pretty long drive for me, and it sounds like access is pretty rough. I don't have a 4WD vehicle. Would like to work something with an actual stream, though, instead of packing water all the time, and that's the only one in NM at this time that I know of. The restrictive access (June - August only) on that one has me shaking my head, though. Seems pretty heavy-handed.

To join the NMGPA, you have to attend one of their monthly meetings. I think it's $55 a year, there is one very good claim about an an hour and 20 minutes from Albuquerque and several other marginal ones.

Sorry for the late reply!