My brother wants to start Gold prospecting with a sleuce, would like advice please

[EmptyPockets]

My brother is interested in prospecting for gold. He has no experience.

Anyway, he has identified a sleuce box he wants to try and plans on going to the South Fork of the American River or Merced River, here in California.

Before he starts spending money on equipment, I was wondering if anyone has advice for him? i.e. brand and type of sleuce box, minimal equipment, avoiding claim sites and etc...
I know he will need at least a sleuce box, shovel and a bucket...not to mention his brain and some knowledge on where to find gold.

Thanks for your input, it's greatly appreciated.

-Joanne

 

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[Vance in AK]

good idea on the paydirt! Have him pan it into a tub. When he's done he can put the gold back in the dirt & do it again. And again.... HAVE FUN!!! That's what it's about!

 

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[Grizzled old Miner]

Hey there! Sluicing is fun! Just get a shovel and start digging. Just make sure that the angle is right and the flow good, start dropping in your pay dirt. Buy a cheap sluice at first (you can upgrade later), a five gal bucket, small shovel, garden hand trowel, gold pan and sniffer bottle, and a hat!

 

[chowe]

Hey there empty.so it takes time to learn and lots of it with your head down busting your butt.to make a living it is by far one of the hardest jobs there is.for a good hobby in the outdoors well you cant beat it especially once you get the bug.it boils down to sampling and production as to what the end result is.starting out go cheap, and let the gold pay for things as you two figure it out more, then upscale but always make the gold pay for it.you dont want to spend 10, 000 in equipment just to find out ot was a bad idea.good luck and well keep your head down

 

[TheNewCatfish]

Have your brother run that paydirt through the $5 dollar "poop tube" sluice i mentioned, (make sure and have a catch pan/ safety pan at the bottom). 3 or 4 inch diameter cut in half. He'll be surprised how well it works. I've used one myself. Advantages = it's super lightweight, flexible (you can bend it to fit around boulders in a creek), disposable, cheap (never heard of anyone stealing a piece of plastic sewer pipe). Disadvantages = You won't look as cool as someone with a sluice costing hundreds of dollars more. To make one rigid, you'll have to drop it in a piece of PVC pipe cut in half. Don't go crazy with the thickness of the PVC pipe wall, 1/8th inch works just fine.

 

[TheNewCatfish]

It's true, panning is an essential skill. It takes a long time to perfect. He'll need to learn "basic" panning (swirling motion), speed panning (rocking forward and backward primarily using the trap on the side of the pan), and a technique called "fine" panning (inwhich he'll learn to tap his fingers on the rim to vibrate flour gold out of the black sand). This all takes time and practice. Even if he owns a sluice Yup. That's what you do with the concentrate from your sluice clean-outs. YOU PAN IT.

 

[Grizzled old Miner]

Hey there empty.so it takes time to learn and lots of it with your head down busting your butt.to make a living it is by far one of the hardest jobs there is.for a good hobby in the outdoors well you cant beat it especially once you get the bug.it boils down to sampling and production as to what the end result is.starting out go cheap, and let the gold pay for things as you two figure it out more, then upscale but always make the gold pay for it.you dont want to spend 10, 000 in equipment just to find out ot was a bad idea.good luck and well keep your head down

You make it sound to much like work, sure if that's your JOB. What if your just a kid looking to have some fun. He can worry about the "hard work" after he decides if he likes it or not, then he can buy upgraded equip!

 

[chowe]

I didnt mean to come off like that.its great to go dig and have a good time.