"Stan Grist's resources for gold prospecting, treasure hunting and exploration- The Ancient River of Gold"

Ecuador: Meet Stan Grist, Treasure Hunter
Interview by Neil McIver
June, 23, 2006

Stories of Andean gold date back almost 500 years, and might go much further except that Europeans apparently valued the yellow metal much more than the natives of the time. Much exploration of the Americas was financed by European aristocrats with hope of enriching themselves with vast amounts of gold and other treasures.

It was the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro who may have landed the biggest gold haul in history. With a company of soldiers, he managed to capture King Atahualpa, Incan ruler of a very sizeable populous, perhaps numbering in the millions. Accounts vary on details, but knowing Pizarro had a keen eye for gold, Atahualpa made a ransom offer Pizarro couldn't have possibly resisted. Enough gold to fill a room some 17' x 20' as high as a man could reach, and twice that amount in silver.

As the story goes, his subjects faithfully delivered, filling the room with whatever crafted metal arts that could be collected or donated from the Incan people. His ransom was not honored, however, as Pizarro either surmised that King Atahualpa would order an attack against his vastly outnumbered men shortly after his release, or simply didn't have room for a King Atahualpa in his future plans. Pizarro drummed up numerous charges against Atahualpa and orchestrated a trial. Of course found guilty, Atahualpa was formally executed, though spared a heathen burning in favor of strangulation as part of a deal for a last minute conversion to Conquistador-style Christendom.

Pizarro escaped with his ransom, which may have been as much as 24 tons of gold. It was melted into ingots, transported to the coast, loaded onto his awaiting ships which sailed off to Spain. Once in royal hands, it likely made its way thoughout Europe, perhaps by direct international transactions, but without doubt entered general circulation to raise armies and construct fleets and palaces. Today, Atahualpa's gold could be everywhere, and if you own any gold yourself, it's entirely possible some portion of your private treasure was once part of Atahualpa's ransom.

Though rumors of a vast hordes of gold buried by pirates and conquistadors (if there's a difference) or spiteful Inca warriors may well be false, according to one self professed treasure hunter, Stan Grist, it doesn't mean substantial amounts of gold can't be found today. According to him, the Andes, Ecuador in particular, abound in gold. Knowledge of geologic forces behind the erosion and movement of gold is the key to finding it. Armed with this knowledge, he says when he pans for gold he almost always finds at least a tiny amount of gold in his pan. The only real question for him is "how much?"

Mr. Grist lives in Quito, Ecuador. A former private detective, he changed his work from solving domestic legal riddles to something much more adventuresome. A 1950's account of a gold prospector risking his life amidst hostile Ecuadorian natives in got his attention, and knowing today's natives were much more amicable to foreigners, he set course for the Ecuadorian wilderness to see if he could safely find some of this legendary gold.

After reviewing his web site (stangrist.com) I emailed Stan for more information, and he kindly invited me to visit with him, and several weeks ago I rang his doorbell. Stan lives in a very spacious, high ceiling home with a grand view of Quito. Skylights far above cast very pleasant lighting.

He's a very kind gentleman and very accommodating. With his introduction he asked me what I wanted to know and talk about. Gold is merely one of his interests, but dominated our discussion as it is an essential ingredient to an honest monetary system, one of my favored subjects. How much gold is in Ecuador? Stan says lots, far more than he could ever hope to profit himself -- his reason for openly advertising it on his website.

The obvious doubts: If there's so much gold in Ecuador, why hasn't it already been mined?

Stan's answer: Much of Ecuador is still untamed wilderness. Local natives have been quite hostile and dangerous to outsiders as recently as 50 years ago when christian missionaries were massacred here, a climate which has changed only somewhat more recently. Stan believes he has met the nephew of one of the participants of that massacre. Many natives, at least until recently led a simple life absent the usual lust for wealth. Perhaps like their ancestors of Pizarro's day, they were largely content with the simple needs of food, clothing and shelter.

The Andes are without question the source of vast amounts of gold. In Pizarro's account, King Atahualpa's subjects seemed to fill that room with gold almost as easily as firewood. They obviously had a very good quantity source. "La Compania" Church sits in Quito. Constructed by Jesuits, it holds a sanctuary adorned with 7 tons of gold. Where did the gold come from? Most likely that much gold did not come from very far away. Also, if the ancient Inca's did not put an exceedingly great value on gold, it seems likely it was because it was much more plentiful for them.

Today, Stan says gold can be bought in towns near gold bearing rivers where locals have learned to pan for a few grams as the needs arise. Stan says they are well aware of the going spot price for gold and will sell their naturally less than pure product for somewhat below spot price. I ask if it would be feasible to purchase gold from these locals on a continuing basis for profitable resale, but he says prospects of setting up any kind of regular trafficking from such locals is not too feasible and must include caution, as it's not safe to be too predictable in carrying around large amounts of cash. "Large" in these parts being several hundred dollars. Local gold panners might also be reluctant to knowingly sell to a middle man -- further reasons why much Andean gold may remain untapped.

Where can I get a gold pan? In North America. Prospecting supply stores exist in the United States, but not in Ecuador. Here my best bet at a gold pan is to buy a wooden "batea" that locals make for themselves. I think to myself that a lack of prospecting shops is one indication that any significant gold reserves here are largely untapped.

Stan showed me around his home. He proudly shows off his top rate metal detector. "This will detect a gold nugget this size 3 feet underground" he says, holding up closely spaced fingers. A couple gold pans sit nearby. "The small one fits in the back back and is good for sampling". Nearby is a small library with books geared to his treasure finding research. He offers to loan me books from his collection to study, and study he does. Stan says he spends about 2 months researching for every month in the field actually "turning over rocks".

In another room one wall is a huge topographical map of Ecuador (I've found decent road and other maps here very difficult to find). He points to a six-inch flexible hose attached to some piece of equipment and explains that dredging a stream down to the bedrock (perhaps 10 to 15 feet) is one way of prospecting. Over time gold nuggets, being much more dense than stones and gravel, settles beneath just about anything else in the streams. "Once you get down to the bedrock you can see the nuggets sitting there and you just pick them up". Scuba or similar underwater breathing equipment is part of the deal.

Gold is just one of Stan's interests. There are numerous other treasure subjects: Ancient sculpted artifacts "eroding out of the hills", seven "lost cities" (which he concedes are actually "communities" and not major metropolises) near the Peruvian border. A field of diamonds in Venezuela "just under your feet". Even meteorites. Fossils of giant humanoids are also mentioned -- one subject that raises this authors eyebrows, but he cites many sources that claim such finds.

One of Stan's favorite areas for gold prospecting is near the small city of Tena, Ecuador, located several hours from Quito and considered the "Gateway to the Jungle". The rivers there, he says, are among the richest gold bearing in the world. He gets there every few months and loves it, and I'm hoping I can accept his kind invitation to go visit the region with him the next time he goes. I did pass through the steamy city last year on a solo week-long trek. I got a guided tour through a stream-bored cavern which included swimming at one bridgeless point, but didn't know the general area was a "gold mine".

Stan's basic idea is to live a life of adventure and discovery. He promotes his lifestyle of treasure hunting to those with whom he comes in contact. He is the bane to a humdrum 9-5 boring work week and he seeks to appeal to those stuck in it. It's not for everyone, of course, and like anything else, his lifestyle takes long term dedication and effort to make it work. Certainly room has to be made for disappointments.

Before I met with him I was thinking of asking him how much he would charge for a map of Ecuador that had dotted lines leading from his house to prominent X's that marked buried treasure. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

Neil McIver
www.cjmciver.org

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