A Map of Natural Metal Traps
Under construction
Screen before you go into the field.
- Slope
- Inside bend
- Junction
- Bedrock
Gold and other heavy metals settle where the current slows. We score entire stream networks for that geometry, region by region.
- scored segments to date
- 4,571,723
- streams analysed to date
- ~1,100,000 km
- terrain resolution
- 30 m
How the app works
The same tools in every region: read the terrain, open the catchment, check the score, mark what you find.
See the shape of the groundA dark, quiet base instead of satellite imagery: hillshade and contour lines show the valley, the ridge and the point where the slope breaks. Score colours read at full contrast here; you see which branch comes from where at a glance.
See the whole catchmentTap a segment: the boundary of the catchment feeding it is drawn, every branch inside on one screen. Where the current slows, below junctions, on inside-bend bars and where bedrock breaks the surface — all marked.
See where a score standsThis segment’s place on the colour scale, its rank, source, bed, catchment and elevation in one list. The score is not a promise of gold but a sign of trap geometry — the same card shows what earned the points.
Decide what you seeSwitch layers on and off, slide the weights. You decide what matters; the map recolours instantly.
See the no-go zones before you leaveNational parks, nature reserves and heritage sites are hatched red on the map; the streams inside them drop off the list. No wasted trip to a closed area.
Write it where you saw itDrop a marker on the selected point with one tap: icon, title, date, note, photo. The marker stays on the map; next trip, tap the icon and read your notes.
Take the list with youThe highest-scoring segments in one list; export as GPX or CSV. Download your area in advance and the map keeps working in the valley without a signal.
Mobile
Carry it in your pocket
The same map, the same target list. A downloaded area opens in the valley even without a signal.
Scan with your phonePoint the camera at it; it takes you to the version for your device.Download on theApp StoreComing soonGet it onGoogle PlayComing soon
For now, open it in the browser and add it to your home screen; it runs full screen.
Why South Africa
- Archaean greenstone — the oldest gold-bearing rocks anywhere.
- Escarpment drainages with strong slope breaks: textbook trap geometry.
- Historic alluvial fields along the escarpment, from Pilgrim’s Rest to Barberton.
Where we are
In construction. Mpumalanga’s escarpment drainages are the candidate; we are checking the 30 m elevation base against the escarpment’s steepest gullies.
GOLDONGO is a terrain-screening tool. A score is not a promise of gold, and it is not a licence: check land status and follow local rules before you dig.