Other counties in the slate belt where gold was mined include Guilford, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Randolph, Stanly and Union. In the western Piedmont, mines were located in Caldwell, Catawba, Davie, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Wilkes and Yadkin Counties. In the Mountain region, mines and prospects were located in Ashe, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Henderson, Jackson, Transylvania and Watauga Counties. Copper mines in Ashe and Swain Counties produced byproduct gold. Amateur prospectors are looking for the coarser gold found in streams and quartz veins.
Streams flowing through former gold-producing districts offer the best opportunities for panning.
Although these streams were prospected many times, much of the fine gold was lost during earlier activities. It is also possible to find gold in quartz veins exposed at the surface of the ground. Although there are many quartz veins, it is rare to find one that contains gold. The best place to find gold in streams is where they begin to widen or change in velocity, such as along the insides of bends or in slow-water areas below rapids. Gold also tends to work its way to the bedrock and often accumulates in crevices, depressions, and potholes in rock underlying the streams.