“Gold Hunting in Italy: Where to Search and Regulations”

There are still gold hunters in Italy? Finding gold in Italy is not easy, but not impossible either. The percentage of gold in rivers is still quite high, especially in some specific areas, but it is above all for solitary prospectors. However, as legislation requires, it is not possible to use industrial machinery to search in most areas where gold has been reported. Among these are the banks of the Ticino, along which it is easy to come across gold seekers who, as in the past, collect gold with boots, pan and sieve.

for thegold mining a regulation is envisaged, which belongs to the individual extraction areas and it is the duty of the gold seeker to inquire about it. In fact, unlike paleontological assets, protected at national level by law n.1089 (Protection of things of artistic or historical interest) approved on 1 June 1939 (Official Gazette of 8 August 1939) and subsequent additions, there is no reference legislation for minerals valid for all of Italy.

Is there gold in Italy? Where to look for gold and how

Gold cannot be found in all Italian rivers. Some areas are still considered places suitable for gold digging, while others have either dried up entirely or were never suited to such a hobby or craft. In Italy there are gold deposits, such as the one discovered on Monte Rosa, but theextraction is expensive and it is not convenient if the concentration is not higher than a certain percentage.

Unlike companies, those who do it as a hobby may find research in these areas pleasant. Places where to look for gold in Italy, near the rivers that descend from the Alps, they are: Ticino, Orco, Elvo and Olba.

The list includes the rivers where the presence of gold is most concentrated, but it is also possible to find it in other places. But how to do it? Once you have identified the river you have to do exactly as you see in certain films, or try to separate the sandy parts and stones from the bottom of the river. What remains inside the sieve may just be gold. Specifically the method of mining gold is as follows:

• Rough the bottom of the river bed with a net to catch the sandy parts and stones to be discarded;
• gold is heavier than other elements and the remaining dust could be composed of this;
• with a canal, the wooden instrument placed in the water with grooves, the powder is allowed to flow;
• at the bottom is deposited magnetite, pyrite and, if there are, even flakes of gold.

Regulation for gold miners: what the law says about it

Is prospecting and mining for gold legal? According to Italian law what is found underground is owned by the state, but there is no specific reference to gold sands. However, there is no regulation valid throughout the country.

On the contrary, there are local regulations, such as that of the Lombardy Region (regional law of 10 January 1989), that of the Valle d’Aosta (regional law of 23 February 1981, n. 15) and that of the Piemonte region (regional law 4 April 1995, n.51) which reads:

The collection is bound to a maximum of 5 grams of alluvial gold per person per day. The use of mechanical, electrical and explosive tools is prohibited. Mostly the activity must be done manually. Potholes need to be filled. There are no pre-emption rights. Amateur gold seekers must proceed to request registration in the register (free of charge) from the mining district in the Region.