Okay, question...I'm working and area not very well known for producing gold and took some sand/gravel from a new part of the area. Worked 4 pans this evening and found small flake in each and every one...very excited to say the least!! All I have is a pan at the moment and the problem arises when I actually found some of the flakes in the tub I'm panning into. Luckily, I classified with my Gold Fever buckets and got rid of all of the silt prior to panning. I used jet dry to help with the "floaties", but this stuff seems so light and flaky that I'm having some issues keeping it in the pan. Any suggestions? All help will be appreciated!!
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Some of the gold I find in the old dredge piles on N. Clear Creek is very flattened, but jet dry or eve dish soap will make it drop...if jet dry doesn't work, it probably is mica, which fits into the phyllosilicate class...it occurs in layers like phyllo dough.
Try to smear it with your finger, that'll tell the truth!
Preston I think we have all been there A beutiful pan at first glance ! Sure right up too close inspection If It Dosn't Act Like Gold It Probably Isn't Gold so in my case I sample a new spot ! and when you do find gold KEEP DIGGING !!!
It figures! Just my luck!! Thought I made have found a nice-sized flake for a change. Oh well, maybe next time. LOL Thanks for the info everyone. I definitely need the boss to loosen the purse strings so I can get some better equipment. And thanks for the websites, Dennis...I already have and will continue to check them out.
Its just bad stuff to work with. To be honest if it stays in drop riffles while the material is constantly turning and doesnt float out it isnt about the equipment. Its just the nature of the material in the specific location.some places its better or worse. I dont pay much mind to it as its usually gone when the the blonds go. I gaurentee when your finishing and pulling the black sands away from your gold there wont be any there. Pan and sluice is plenty good for equipment. Just like my pic, dig the gold line. Sometimes its not always where you think. The rule is sample, sample, sample sample and when you think your done keep sampling. A couple days prospecting is what dials you in to the exact spot digging. Then there is luck. I had guys right next to me with lots of gold in the pan and me nothing 10 feet away. And its been the other way around many times too. Prospect first for a while and once you have several spots then go back and dig on them. Sometimes i dig holes and everything looks great only to go back and find i pretty much got everything sampling. then sometimes i go to a weak spot just because i know there is some and find it runs far better than i ever thought because my sample holes lack a couple more inches. The gold line usually wont let you down if you have your sampling work done.
Just to make sure I'm on the right path, if it's nice and bright, shiny yellow, and you squeeze it with tweezers and it breaks up into small flakes that are just as shiny yellow if not brighter than before...it's mica, right? Gold wouldn't flake like that would it?
Correct gold is a metal. The mica's rough edges allow it to hold on even while concentrating your cons down but once you go to smaller pans then it floats loose and rinses off Gold is hard like the little leftover chunks of lead when you solder. Take a knife point or pointed tweezers and poke mica hard and it falls apart into small flakes. if small flakes of it are in your fines you can push down hard with your finger and drag it and it will make a mark on the pan bottom and disappear usually unless its a bigger piece. fresh mica from crushing quarts rocks down doesn't hold on as well and washes away easier. its the stuff like the pic spur added where the edges de-laminate that holds on in your cons. These will stick in drop riffles as well.
Mica
Spur...I understand what you are saying but this stuff is too small to pick-up and look at...and I don't have a jeweler's loop. All I know is that it really sticks out like a sore thumb when it's mixed in with the rest of the stuff in the pan. And it is definitely bright, shiny and yellow. I know that all that glitters isn't gold...but if this is mica, then I fear that's pretty much what I've been finding all along. This is one of those times that I wish I had a microscope to look at it closer.
I know exactly what you are describing it sure is pretty and ther is an abundance try and poke it with a stickpin see if it bends or brakes. smash it in your fingers.Put some spit on your fingger it will help pull it out of the pan.. Call A & B order a catilog they will have your loop for cheep http://www.abprospecting.com/ .. If you are DryWashing I would go with one from http://www.rosewindmining.com/ .. It is best to work the material the way it comes out of the ground (Dry/Wet). Classify to size that will help a lot. Take some sand paper to your new pan they have a wax that needs to be removed plus it gives a bite.. Dennis
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