are there any gold mines? I need gold ingots for smithing. I can find every other ore but that dang gold.

Best method to get gold is to get the spell that transmutes iron ore to silver and then to gold if you need gold.

This mine has gold veins and is right near Markarth: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Kolskeggr_Mine


I can usually find a few gold ore/ingots just by traveling around to the city smiths, but it can be time consuming.

go to Markarth .........and head towards Kolskeggr Mine its loaded with gold,

also there is a small quest associated with it called Clear out Kolskeggr Mine given by Pavo Attius you can find him just outside of Markarth at the Left Hand Mine (Iron Ore)

or you can go to Lost Prospect Mine close to the Black-Briar Lodge but its depleted has only one vain left

if your using transmuting spell ..........then there is a silver mind down the road at Karthwasten called Sanuarach Mine

or go to Fenn's Gulch Mine (silver but has only one vain left)

or like Erzherzoghans says hit the Iron Mines and transmute to silver then to gold

Sometimes, silver ingots rise your smithing faster because most gems you find are for silver jewelry. Creating jewelry without gems is quite slow and you use a lot of gold ingots. It's faster to create dwarven bows than gold rings/necklace, so keep i those iron ores and only transmute them to silver/gold when i have the gems.

Thanks everyone!

Kolskeggr is the only mine afaik and there is a lot in there, you'll have to fight a tough bunch of Forsworn for it though. There are random veins scattered about here and there mostly in inaccessible and odd places.

Transmute is the easiest way to acquire gold and ups your Alteration skill too.

Yep, 54 hunks of ore. Stop by Left Hand Mine on your way, and pick up the quest to clear Kolskegger - once you've done that and turned in the quest, be sure you speak to Gat (the orc) - he'll give you a free pass to the strongholds....

I never realized he did that. Thanks for the hint

I was going to suggest that quest, too

Yah, it's taken me until just about a month ago to find that out - and it was totally accidental: I turned it in to Pavo like normal, and "mis-clicked" on Gat instead of the door when I got ready to leave. Jaw-dropping moment.... the things you never knew!

Oh, btw fantasyjunkie, there's one gold vein above and slightly to the right of Battle-Born Farm; there's some tumbled hunks of wall, quicksilver and corundum veins - and then if you continue on from them and go up a bit, there's a gold vein, and then down beside some other hunks of wall, a novice-locked chest. It's before you get anywhere close to the Eastern Watchtower, so if you get that far you've missed them.

Sorry, got to disagree with this. If you go see Pavo first, he may be locked in the miner's dorm when you return. It's better to clear the mine first, so he's accessible.


And http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Gold_Ore#Gold_Ore Notice how Kolskeggr has 17 veins, and the next best only has 4!

*shrug* I've had Pavo be locked inside. If you wait through the day, the door is usually unlocked toward evening. Failing that if I'm not interested in waiting, I just console unlock it. I didn't know you could actually turn in the quest if you didn't talk to him, and if you do, can you still talk to Gat to get the "friend" thing from him?

Helping any orc will give the same result for the strongholds. I've recieved that same thing from the College.