What is the difference between placer gold and lode gold?

Placer deposits form downstream and downslope of lode sources, so following placer gold upstream is the classic way prospectors found the veins it came from.

Placer prospecting needs only a pan, a sluice or a detector. Lode prospecting means reading geology and old workings, and usually needs a claim and much heavier equipment.

Sources: USGS publications on placer and lode deposits.

Where is gold most likely to be found? Gold is most likely to be found where it has been found before: in and downstream of historic gold mining districts. In streams it collects where water slows, such as inside bends, behind boulders and in bedrock cracks (placer gold). In rock it sits mostly in quartz veins along faults (lode gold).

What rock is most likely to have gold in it? Quartz is the rock most often associated with gold: most lode gold occurs in quartz veins, especially rusty, iron-stained quartz near faults. Gold is also found in the contact zones between granite-type intrusions and older metamorphic rocks such as schist and greenstone.