Ever wondered where gold is from? Gold's origin is extraterrestrial: it is formed in supernovas and in collision of two neutron stars. It is believed that the gold we are now searching on the ground has arrived to Earth with meteorites. Here, the geological processes have hidden the gold for the gold prospector to find!

Alongside with gold, a gold prospector can find also beautiful stones and minerals. All minerals which could be cut into jewelry stones are called gemstones. However, only four stones may be called precious stones: diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. In Lapland a lucky gold prospector can find ruby, sapphire and various gemstones. The most common gemstones found with gold are garnets, hematites and epidotes.

With luck, you might spot in a rock some golden grains. If they are soft and easy to scratch with a knife, it is gold! More likely the grains are brittle and hard to scratch with a knife: sulphide ore. Only a chemical analyses could verify, if they contain gold. More likely the ore is weathered into rusty iron or green copper minerals.

Mark the location of interesting rocks in a map and send a sample to Geological Survey of Finland for investigation. Who knows, sometimes it is gold – but isn’t copper also something?