Why do I need a pick-ax? And is there any American made prospecting equipment?

[RookieDad]

Super rookie going this weekend for the kids.

So I bought a prospecting kit off the internet and a bunch of pans and a separator. It came with some vials etc. and a real nice small pick-ax.

In my mind, I anticipate digging a hole about two feet, collecting some material, separating it and then letting the kids try panning.
What's the pick ax for? Should I be smashing a certain type of rock?

Also in my rush to get equipment, I just purchased whatever without thinking about where it was made. I should of investigated and been more thorough as I always try to support American businesses.

Can someone recommend a company that makes prospecting equipment in the USA?

The next purchase, if the kids love it and have a great time, would naturally be a sluice.
Is there a good sluice that is made in America?

Thanks for any help. And please laugh at me and my dumb rookie questions, I can take it.

 

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[CA Gold Hunter]

Well shoot I'll mail you all the Yuba dirt you want, lol! No guarantees there's any gold in it though. Just pack up those kids and take 'em to the Yuba instead and do see all the nearby historic mines. Educational field trip for them, vacation for you

Garrett products are made in America and if you get the fever you'll be wanting an American made Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice soon enough.

Lol "if". It's more contagious than ebola haha.

 

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[The Gilded Lens]

Lol "if". It's more contagious than ebola haha.

Hee hee.... We don't wanna scare him off! Sounds like he's already contacted the fever though.

 

[RookieDad]

Great Fun and a very successful trip to the East Fork San Gabriel River.

Thanks everyone, I don't know where to start.

The kids had fun! And the panning didn't last too long after the tadpoles were found, but they came back to do some more panning when the tadpoles got old.

BRING A SNUFFER BOTTLE - -- - I made the mistake of thinking tweezers were going to be enough, no way. Lots of gold seen that just couldn't be collected by a rookie. So we maybe came home with a flake or maybe not.

Panning is hard work, no wonder we started talking about buying a sluice halfway thru. A friend thinks he can build one, he is gonna start researching. I'll purchase one, not nearly skilled enough to try that.

Digging is fun. Kids love to just dig. BRING PLASTIC SHOVELS FOR THE KIDS. I was scared when they had the real shovels, just too sharp for the little ones.

It's hard to pan seriously while watching kids, feeding them, walking them to bathrooms, answering questions, telling them to stop throwing rocks near people for the tenth time, feeding them again, panning for them, putting on sunblock, spraying bug repellant and checking for red ants in their pants!!!!!

SO PRACTICE FIRST. We panned again this morning in the backyard with some pay dirt from the Yuba river I impulse bought. It was actually worth it. We got some nice little flakes that we picked out with the tweezers. The kids got excited again about prospecting and got to see their first real pieces of gold. I should have done this before we went, but was limited on time. I learned a lot too. So much easier to understand the nuances of the gold while watching the little flakes move around in the pan, and I poured all the water and extra stuff into another 5 gallon so I can pan it again and see what I missed.

So after assuring you how good at safety I was, I put on my safety glasses, made the kids stand 10ft back and broke a rock open at their request. "Ow" screamed the little girl when a piece hit her in the leg 10ft away. It was just a knick but them rocks can fly. SAFETY FIRST. There are also some holes dug feed into the sides of the river banks and lots of holes dug everywhere.

Thanks for all your advice, encouragement and assistance. Would not have been successful without your help. I will add some more tomorrow.

Hitting a trail for an afternoon hike. Not going to pan, but I was thinking of filling a quart-sized ziplock of river dirt to bring home. Does this mean I am sick?

 

[dave wiseman]

http://www.estwing.com/

 

[CA Gold Hunter]

You should really check out the bazooka sluices if your thinking about getting a sluice. It's so much easier not having to classify and you end up with more gold at the end of the day because your able to move more material and your back will thank you lol.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Yea I never understood the tweezers..

 

[arizau]

I never use tweezers because I learned that I can pick up gold too small to pick out by hand with a dry finger tip.

The technique is as follows:
First, isolate the gold in the pan then tilt the pan so that the water drains away from the gold.
Second, dry a finger tip and press it onto the wet gold. The gold will stick to your finger tip long enough to transfer it to a water filled vial, jar or whatever. The gold will immediately fall off into the container as soon as it touches the water. Do the transfer over your pan so that if the gold does fall off, you will not lose it.
This is a technique I was shown or otherwise learned about over 45 years ago and one I still use on occasion.

 

[Goldwasher]

Tweezers are for getting gold out of cracks that are hard to reach with fingers and hard to suck up with a snuffer

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

Pickaxe is designed to make you feel wholly inadequate about your manhood by creating small indentations in caliche.

 

[goldhog]

Yea I never understood the tweezers..

Mole hairs.......
Wife won't leave the house without them.
Vital....

 

[RookieDad]

Well, not a lot of money around to get a sluice.

But then I can just sacrifice a snowboard since I rarely go.
I got one should fetch at least $150 on a bad day.

Bazooka seems to be the favorite.

 

[RookieDad]

I never use tweezers because I learned that I can pick up gold too small to pick out by hand with a dry finger tip.

The technique is as follows:
First, isolate the gold in the pan then tilt the pan so that the water drains away from the gold.
Second, dry a finger tip and press it onto the wet gold. The gold will stick to your finger tip long enough to transfer it to a water filled vial, jar or whatever. The gold will immediately fall off into the container as soon as it touches the water. Do the transfer over your pan so that if the gold does fall off, you will not lose it.
This is a technique I was shown or otherwise learned about over 45 years ago and one I still use on occasion.

Well

I want to learn to finger gold too.

I think.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Do that sort of final work at home...on a surface where you can find the gold if it falls off your finger. Out in the field just dump all the good stuff in a container for final separation later.

Also most use an eye dropper to pick up fine gold not their finger.

 

[arizau]

Do that sort of final work at home...on a surface where you can find the gold if it falls off your finger. Out in the field just dump all the good stuff in a container for final separation later.

Also most use an eye dropper to pick up fine gold not their finger.

Kevin,

The dry finger technique I described was not a suggestion for exclusive use but it is a viable alternative in the absence of having a sucker bottle, etc.

When I learned the technique (1968 or 1969) sucker bottles were not commercially available and some prospectors were using restaurant style catsup squeeze dispensers to suck the gold up. I learned quickly the gold must be emptied each time after suction since they were prone to losing the gold back to the pan because they did not have the tube insertion that acts as a baffle to prevent gold from falling out or being squirted out when the dispenser is again inverted for reuse. I never even knew about the tube insertion innovation until they started selling sucker bottles some years later. All the current info available at the time was word of mouth and maybe a magazine or two. Remember, that was more than a few years before Al Gore invented the internet. Even if you have a sucker bottle or an eyedropper and your cleanup pan has only one or a few colors in it (who here hasn't seen that?) you can skip a step by doing a direct transfer of gold to a vial (fingertip pickup method) rather than snuffering it then transferring it to the vial. The result is the same; pretty gold magnified by water for you, your friends and family to ooh and aah over.

Heavy pans.

 

[goldog]

Not sure what kind of turn this thread is taking...

If you are interested RD, I'm in the area and I've got a Bazooka and a little (old) Keene sluice. Not sure where in LA you are but if you'd like we can do a local outing. Try 'em both before you buy.

 

[arizau]

Not sure what kind of turn this thread is taking...

If you are interested RD, I'm in the area and I've got a Bazooka and a little (old) Keene sluice. Not sure where in LA you are but if you'd like we can do a local outing. Try 'em both before you buy.

An offhand way of offering a little history with a reference to previously submitted friendly advice on an alternative cleanup method (original poster mentioned he originally had a problem in not having a snuffer bottle).

PS: I would take goldog up on the offer.

 

[PurpleGold]

back to your original question, I've found quality equipment and great prices at Royal Manufacturing out of Santa Ana, California. I bought their powered 54" Stream sluice kit and it rocks! They also have really quality picks at good prices. They also have a mini highbanker kit for about $380 and I want it. http://www.royalmfgind.com/index.php/products/category/sluice-boxes-and-stands

 

[goldog]

I got that AZ. I was just kidding. I'll help get RDad set up for his initial bout of 'fever. Whatever he chooses.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I am with ya arizau and I use the finger technique from time to time too

Hardest part about finding info back when I started (1989) was the lack of info so I'm with you there too. The internet makes this pursuit soooo much easier!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Calvin Bunker's "Hermit Pick" BunksArizonaProspecting