I found gold in a stream near a major UK city – I'm going back to find MORE treasure but I'm keeping the location secret | The Sun
A PROSPECTOR who claims he struck gold near a major UK city is keeping the treasure's location secret.
Andy Brooke, 37, said he found specks of the precious metal in a stream to the south of one of Britain's biggest cities in January.
Now he plans to go back to see if he can find the source of the gold, which could be worth a fortune.
The stream to the south of Birmingham was listed in the British Geological Survey report as having signs of gold.
After scouring the river bed Andy claims to have found specks of the heavy metal, raising his hopes of a serious find.
Brummie Andy has been prospecting for four years, although it took two before he found anything.
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Now he is eager to return to the stream – and is keeping its location secret.
Although there are plenty of goldsmiths in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, the metal has not been found near the city before.
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But any significant finds would belong to the crown estate as ‘mines royal’ and would have to be declared.
Andy said: “I went to the river in south Birmingham just before Christmas to check it out.
"I was only there for about an hour and did a couple of test pans.
“I went back and posted a video of ‘gold in the secret Birmingham stream’ four weeks ago and found more.
"I found a few specks of gold at the bottom of the river.
“I am going to go back again to the top of the stream.
"I want to see if I can locate the source, where the gold is actually coming from.”
Andy, who used to be in the army, and guarded the Queen as part of the Irish Guards, has been prospecting across the country and has found gold in Wales and Scotland.
He explained it is mostly found in quartz veins and there was a lot of quartz in the south Birmingham stream.
Andy said: “I am always ecstatic when I find a little speck.
"Even more so in south Birmingham where no one has ever found any. I have got gold fever.
"When I go out prospecting it’s just gold I look for, although I did find silver in the Peak District near Derby.
"If you find any, it belongs to the crown.
"If I was to find a big amount, a lot of gold, you’d have to report it to the landowner and the crown.
"Little specks are tolerated. I just do it as a hobby.
"If I did find a big nugget I don’t know what I would do though.”
Andy works as a water treatment engineer as his day job, panning rivers in his spare time.
Always fond of the outdoors, he got into prospecting after watching the Gold Rush series on the Discovery Channel.
Andy said: “When I started I was a novice – it took me two years to find anything.
"The last two years I have done quite well.
"I have learnt how to do it myself by reading books and watched YouTubers, many are Americans.
"Every time I go now I know my spots.
"When I first started I went to any river – but I got a book the UK’s Gold Prospector’s Guide.
"There are also mineral reconnaissance reports.
"In the 90s with the British Geological Survey they went all around the streams and checked them.
"In one report it said they found specks of gold in a Birmingham stream in the 90s.
Andy at first made his own sluice – ‘like a riverbed’ – to filter the gold from the riverbed muck.
He said: “What I would do is collect a lot of gravel, either with a shovel or hand dredge.
“Anything bigger than half an inch – check it out, then panned it out.
"Then the gold will fall to the bottom.
"That’s how I found the specks of gold in Birmingham.
“In Wales, I got a few nice pieces.
"I went to Derby the other day and found a few little silver specks.
"To do it all you need is a shovel and a gold pan."
He added: "I want to travel the UK and aim to have a vial of gold from as many places as I can.
"I have got a little bit of Scottish, quite a bit of Welsh and a bit from Birmingham!
“I am perhaps the only gold prospector in Birmingham.
"But there are lots of metal detectorists. I would say if anyone wants to get outdoors and have a bit of fun, I’d recommend anyone go and does it.
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It comes after a metal detectorist who thought he found one "lucky penny" was stunned to dig up a haul worth £200k.
Tony House stumbled across a single coin, but uncovered 570 Henry II coins when gut instinct told him to keep digging.
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