columbia river gold

[Zed_Yer]

Last summer I took my 10yr old down to swim in the river and we saw black sand bands on the bank and TONS of sparkle. So, the past several months we bought classifiers, buckets, pans, blue bowl, pumps but cannot get any of the gold separated from the sand. Then, we built a miller table using slate paint (we couldn't find real blackboard slate locally) and other advice from treasurenet (an example link included below). No matter what, we cannot get the gold to stick and the sands to go. If I turn the flow up, the gold washes away and the sands remain. We are using jet dry. I am currently awaiting samples of neoprene to figure out which ones I want to test on the miller table.

I am thinking this might be pin head gold and just too small to go after without chemicals, so attached a pic for some advice. There's a few little flakes below the dime, but most of the gold is the lighter colored specs throughout the picture. Yes, it bends and does not break.

Lastly, most of our dirt was right off the top of the bank, so we went down and started to dig thinking we might get some bigger nuggets, but it was all the same down about 2-3 feet. Wondering if there is a rule of thumb as to how far up the river the main source might be and whether we might find some bigger nuggets there?

Thanks,

Zed

UPDATE after pro shop visit: Most(all?) of it is mica, but they sold me a 50 mesh and suggested running it through the blue bowl again since most of the stuff on the river is much smaller.

UPDATE 1-23: Sifted a 5GAL (from top of beach) through the 50mesh and then ran it through my blue bowl. Ended up with 2 microscopic pieces where you could hardly see them. Good news is my blue bowl did what it should have, so ready for next hot spot. You guys were all right on the mark. Where I was it's all sand and slow moving.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/sluicing/289242-flour-gold-recovery-options.html

 

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[oldbrundogg]

I should probably let the experienced people on here comment. But From one newbie to another, I don't think there is any gold there just sand, the shiny stuff you're seeing is probably mica, and the reason it washes off first is because it is lighter than the other material and flaky like dried skin. Just an opinion from a newbie I'm sure the folks on here who " get the GOLD" will have something to say.

Good luck however it works out keep the kid interested .

OBD

 

[Zed_Yer]

Thanks OBD. Whilst out at the prospecting store buying stuff, the owner knew of the location and confirmed an area we were at had some gold. I just mentioned the river, and he told me so and so beach did have gold. And, that was exactly the beach we were at! And the flakes bend and do not crack, so I think it's real.

 

[oldbrundogg]

Hope it is. Didn't mean to sound negative, maybe you need to move a lot of material till you get enough fine stuff to concentrate up.
OBD

 

[spillercanyon]

Don't want to burst your bubble but that is not gold. Gold won't be on the top of the beach. If you dug 2-3 feet down and you're still hitting sand (no cobbles), you are in an area that deposits as the river recedes. If the only thing being deposited is sand, the river is not moving fast enough when it is depositing in that specific area to carry gold at the time. Not to say there isn't gold in that area, just not where you are digging. Find an area with cobbles and boulders, that shows the river is depositing in that specific area when there is enough force to carry gold. Though it may be difficult to seperate from the heavies, you should be able to see the gold, even real fine gold, when panning. My two bits.

 

[Zed_Yer]

Here's where I am: Camas - Washington Gold

I looked at the flakes under a magnifying glass, and bent the flakes with tweezers. Is there maybe something I can do to be more sure about whether it's gold or not. Well, I think this weekend I am going to bring some of it down to the prospecting shop and have them take a look at it.

Thanks, all, for the great support and quick answers! To me, it's really about getting out with my son and doing something fun. For my son, though...its all about the gold!!

Oh, and I will definitely try to find those boulders, cracks, and other areas. I watched enough video's to get a good sense of what to look for, so thanks for the idea of steering me elsewhere. I suppose I was overly committed to those sand bars thinking I really had gold there.

 

[oldbrundogg]

Sounds like a good plan Zed, if the folks at the pro shop are good they'll want you to find gold and keep coming back to buy more stuff. Your son should maintain interest as long as you do, with help from just a little bit of YELLA stuff.
Happy Hunts!

OBD

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Don't want to burst your bubble but that is not gold. Gold won't be on the top of the beach. If you dug 2-3 feet down and you're still hitting sand (no cobbles), you are in an area that deposits as the river recedes. If the only thing being deposited is sand, the river is not moving fast enough when it is depositing in that specific area to carry gold at the time. Not to say there isn't gold in that area, just not where you are digging. Find an area with cobbles and boulders, that shows the river is depositing in that specific area when there is enough force to carry gold. Though it may be difficult to seperate from the heavies, you should be able to see the gold, even real fine gold, when panning. My two bits.

Actually, the flour gold in both the Columbia, and Snake rivers, does tend to accumulate on the sand, and may be right on top. The gold is so fine, it doesn't go down...it just gets picked up by the water, and moved along. It tends to be in paystreaks on the sand bars. However, the OP's description of sparkly stuff is probably not gold, as gold doesn't sparkle. Gold is a dull yellowish color. The OP should classify the black sand, and then pan the various sizes to see the gold. The majority of the gold will go through a 100 mesh screen.
Jim

 

[Zed_Yer]

Maybe there's hope yet... Anyway, I always like to try to contribute something back to the community if I can.

The attached pic is the cheap Wmart blue bowl I built. The contribution is how I cut that funnel--simply stuck a bolt through it and centered, and then just dropped it right down onto the saw. This will give you a great even cut and made the task really easy. I hope that helps someone.

Now...if the pro shop tells me it's real gold, I will probably be back to my original question!

 

[lastleg]

I think I'm right on this . . . book mica flakes are flexible, kind of like plastic. I saw no gold in your pic. Order some gold concentrate
to pan. Once you see real gold you won't get fooled again/

 

[KevinInColorado]

...or just look at your gold wedding ring, that really is what wild gold looks like too.

No gold in that picture, dig deeper and/or where there are bigger rocks that look like they haven't moved in a while.

Mine it and recycle it!

 

[gordygroover]

I am just downstream from you. Hate to say it but the black sands along the shoreline of the Big C is littered with mica and pyrite.
Try to gather some of the material and put it in a small glass. Add some black sand and water. gently wiggle the glass for a few minutes. The gold colored material you added will probably be sitting on top of the black sand. Gold will be completelly underneath the sand.

 

[Ace2010]

I am just downstream from you. Hate to say it but the black sands along the shoreline of the Big C is littered with mica and pyrite.
Try to gather some of the material and put it in a small glass. Add some black sand and water. gently wiggle the glass for a few minutes. The gold colored material you added will probably be sitting on top of the black sand. Gold will be completelly underneath the sand.

This! hard to tell in the picture but it looks like mica.

 

[TerryC]

The "gold" you are seeing "on the top" is mica. There is often gold nearby mica but never "on top". Always below. Tiny flour gold is also down below. Never on top of sand. The specific gravity of gold assures that it will be below. Even the tiniest of flour gold "goes down". The only time flour gold will be on top is when the turbulant stream causes it to be brought to the surface where it may "float" for a short time. Break the surface tension and it goes "back down". TTC

 

[jcracker]

I live in Vancouver and have done some prospecting around our area. There is flour gold in every creek and river that I have panned around here. If you want to find gold there is a creek that runs in to lacamas lake that's easy to get to and from my experience there is color in every pan there. Not a whole lot but color. HH

 

[63bkpkr]

Zed Yer,
I enjoyed seeing your Black & Decker Lathe! I've completed several projects using similar "Lathe's" and as long as a person is careful they will get the job done. Good on ya for thinking out of the box............63bkpkr

 

[wa-au-nut]

Try Cape Dissapointment state park(formaly Canby State Pk.) at the mouth of the Columbia. Lot of folks getting flour gold there. Gold Cube or Beach box(google) WPMA,Bedrock Prospectors And Prospectot Plus have outings there. Send a PM to Doug Watson and he can give you more Info. Those three clubs are good ones to join. Hope this helps. John

 

[idowa]

Order some gold concentrate
to pan. Once you see real gold you won't get fooled again/

Exactly! I look back to just over a year ago when I first started panning for gold. It took me forever to get through a pan because I was paranoid that I would miss a nugget. Then I would carefully examine what I thought was gold(usually tiny grains of pyrite) and save it for later only to show it to my dad who informed me it was not gold.

When I discovered my first gold in my pan, I was amazed at how it stood out; even the tiny flour specks are easy to spot.

Once you break your cherry, you will never mistake something else for gold again...

 

[gold works]

hi mi name is randy and i can show u how to get gold on the columbia river and most creeks in stevens county panning dredging sluiceing or highbanking evan sniping my hm number is 738-7895 i can show u how to build your boxs and equipment to catch our fine gold and much much more im not good on internet but awsome at geting gold and other presious metals give me a call lets go play

 

[KevinInColorado]

hi mi name is randy and i can show u how to get gold on the columbia river and most creeks in stevens county panning dredging sluiceing or highbanking evan sniping my hm number is 738-7895 i can show u how to build your boxs and equipment to catch our fine gold and much much more im not good on internet but awsome at geting gold and other presious metals give me a call lets go play

Hi Randy, welcome to tnet! Very kind of you to offer to help others in your area...makes me wish I was close enough to come prospecting with you
I'm sure you'll find others interested in doing some prospecting with you and eager to exchange ideas.