need help

[wyalusing jim]

first off, I'm a total newbie to gold prospecting. if I sound dumb, it's because I am.

I have a source for a nice quantity of paydirt which seems to have a fair amount of fine to super fine gold in it (nothing in a 30 screen, lots in the 50, 70 and 100 screens). I have tried the blue bowl with some success. I bought a miller table which so far has yielded nothing but a few flakes, it all washes off the table with the sand. now I am panning the classified material with better success.

I think that the problem with recovering this gold is that the flakes are not only small, but very thin and flat. any water current lifts some of the flakes and they flutter like leaves in the wind.

my question to you guys is, what is a good method to get this gold out of the sand at a decent rate of recovery?

I think a logical question you might ask is, am I sure that it's gold? I have had my dirt analyzed using x-ray spectroscopy and the analysis showed that my sample contained 5.56 ounces to the ton which I think is worth going after.

I'm working at this, but thought that maybe someone would be willing to advise or even help figure out the best method of recovery or at least concentration. I would be willing to give someone some of my material to try, if they would share their results with me.

I am located in northeast pa., so if anyone close by wants to try it we could meet, or I could mail some dried dirt to someone with experience with fine flakey gold.

thanks, jim

 

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[wyalusing jim]

You know, there's something that just keeps gnawing at me. In the OP, these things were stated:
"I have had my dirt analyzed using x-ray spectroscopy and the analysis showed that my sample contained 5.56 ounces to the ton"
"I am located in northeast pa"
Post #11 states: "no assay has been performed yet"
Something HAS to be flawed with the spectroscopy!! The best method of assaying is by fire assay, but you don't assay raw material - ONLY finished concentrates. All placer miners run their material multiple times. Each time gets the material more and more concentrated. Being in Pa., I doubt seriously you would have found a spot that held 5.56 ounces/ton. But the primary thing is, how can you know HOW MUCH gold is there without an assay?!?!?

Post #4 states:
"there is no mica in my dirt, the process which produces my dirt would destroy it"
Post #14:
"there is an abrasive aspect to the process by which this material is produced. I do not think that mica could survive except in microscopic sizes."
Unless the material is all going through some sort of complex crushing circuit, you're not likely to destroy the Mica.

Sorry, I'm totally a naysayer on this one.

My very best and most solemn advice is to go back and read the Gold Prospecting sections of this forum. For even more info, I'd also recommend visiting GPEX.com and ICMJ.com as well, as there is tremendous knowledge in the archival threads there. nevada-outback-gems.com, NuggettShooter.com, GoldGold.com, etc, etc, etc.

Yeah, I know...not supposed to refer folks to "the competition", but you GOTTA admit, this time is warranted!

thanks. this is probably good advice.

out of deference and respect to you more knowledgeable guys, i have begun referring to what i recover as "gold stuff" instead of gold.

i do intend to have a concentrated sample analyzed when i have enough to do so. now that i am panning, it shouldn't take long.

until then, I'm gonna keep plugging away and trying to learn more about the process. and if/when other guys have seen this stuff they too might be better able to identify it.

thanks again,
jim

 

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[kcm]

Hey Jim, don't get discouraged. There's still LOTS of gold out there to be found!!....!! And as gold rushes opened up out west, working mines in the east were abandoned, so I "KNOW" there's still a lot there! Unfortunately, the Federal Smotherment has made getting much of that gold all but impossible. Also, much of the land is privately owned.

As technology gets better and prospective areas get taken away, there does tend to be a smaller amount of gold to be had. Also, with the interest in gold nowdays (thanks to NON-reality TV), lots of folks are trying to leave the hustle and bustle to make it on their own. Just like in the days of yore, a very few will make it - maybe not big, but will make it none-the-less.

If this is your passion, then by all means follow that dream and make it come true!

...THEN, come back here and post a map so we can come, too!!

 

[arizau]

I like the fact that, as a newbie, you already get it that classifying makes gold much easier to recover from concentrates. I would save the classifying to smaller size procedure until after some preliminary concentration though. You are on the right track. By the way, a pyramid pro pan (https://www.google.com/webhp?source...US576&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pyramid pro pan) is an efficient, inexpensive way to quickly concentrate a fairly large volume of feed material in a day. I think it would probably help you with the clay problem (break the clods up in it) and you can use it on site if there is water close by.

 

[wyalusing jim]

thanks everyone. I did get some requests for this material and I will be mailing some out next week.

I appreciate the encouraging words, but as I said earlier, this will not be a long lasting hobby for me, just a passing interest. were it not for the volume and the fact that it's free, I wouldn't be doing this I'm sure. I certainly wouldn't be investing money into equipment. likely if there is any success, I will pass along the equipment, knowledge gained and access to the material to someone younger.

off topic, but I am having a great deal of trouble logging into this forum and even more trouble viewing this thread. for some reason for the past hour or so posts have been appearing and disappearing when I view it as a guest. any suggestions as to what I may be doing wrong?

also, if I answer a personal message, does this forum show me my answer? I cannot find any evidence that I have actually responded to anyone.

hey! I'm old and technologically challenged, gimme a break. just kidding.

arizau, thanks for your kind words and good advice. I have taken my dirt to a friend who does prospect. he showed me how to classify and stressed its' importance. we ran the material in his blue bowl and he was convinced that it is gold. I've seen lots of mica. but I've never seen a shiny gold colored mica that glitters with no direct light when it is dry. guess I could be about to learn something new.

thanks all,
jim

 

[ecmjamsit]

Try using some detergent in the processing. If there is any oil whether mineral of vegetable it can cause the small gold to float, or fly over the riffles. Sometimes the clay will absorb oil and disturb the clean up process. Post some pictures if you can!

 

[Jeff95531]

"arizau, thanks for your kind words and good advice. I have taken my dirt to a friend who does prospect. he showed me how to classify and stressed its' importance. we ran the material in his blue bowl and he was convinced that it is gold. I've seen lots of mica. but I've never seen a shiny gold colored mica that glitters with no direct light when it is dry. guess I could be about to learn something new.

thanks all,
jim"

Well I'm here to tell ya, mica can and DOES! You should have seen my face when all my "gold" (.5 grams) flew off the end of my Miller Table.

 

[wyalusing jim]

Try using some detergent in the processing. If there is any oil whether mineral of vegetable it can cause the small gold to float, or fly over the riffles. Sometimes the clay will absorb oil and disturb the clean up process. Post some pictures if you can!

cool video. mine doesn't float like that. for the most part, they stay on the bottom of a blue bowl, and mostly under the sand. I can only see them as the sand washes away in the swirl of water. if as the bowl clears out, a grain of sand happens to bump one, it gets caught up in the swirl. if it is close enough to the outlet, it will leave the bowl, if not it settles back to the bottom of the bowl. this occurs as the bowl is cleaning out and the material is rising up the cone in the middle of the bowl.

I always use a couple of drops of jet dry whether using the bowl, pan or table. I did do a couple of blue bowls before I had bought the jet dry though and there wasn't much difference.

jim

 

[wyalusing jim]

"arizau, thanks for your kind words and good advice. I have taken my dirt to a friend who does prospect. he showed me how to classify and stressed its' importance. we ran the material in his blue bowl and he was convinced that it is gold. I've seen lots of mica. but I've never seen a shiny gold colored mica that glitters with no direct light when it is dry. guess I could be about to learn something new.

thanks all,
jim"

Well I'm here to tell ya, mica can and DOES! You should have seen my face when all my "gold" (.5 grams) flew off the end of my Miller Table.

View attachment 1300513

I have to admit that you guys are convincing me that I do not have gold. a little disappointing I suppose, but mainly I was trying to find a way to make it work. I never hoped for this to be a profitable venture for myself.

for better or worse, the truth wins every time.

jim

 

[arizau]

I have to admit that you guys are convincing me that I do not have gold. a little disappointing I suppose, but mainly I was trying to find a way to make it work. I never hoped for this to be a profitable venture for myself.

for better or worse, the truth wins every time.

jim

Your description of the material in the blue bowl and how it acts suggests that it is gold. You mentioned in an earlier post that it pretty much stays buried and that other sand washes away and reveals them. Those are pretty clear indications that it is gold. One thing though........You have never mentioned whether they are black sands (you refer to it as just "sand"). Black sands are usually the closest in specific gravity compared to gold and are usually the last to exit and leave gold in place.

 

[wyalusing jim]

Your description of the material in the blue bowl and how it acts suggests that it is gold. You mentioned in an earlier post that it pretty much stays buried and that other sand washes away and reveals them. Those are pretty clear indications that it is gold. One thing though........You have never mentioned whether they are black sands (you refer to it as just "sand"). Black sands are usually the closest in specific gravity compared to gold and are usually the last to exit and leave gold in place.

I just spent half an hour typing a detailed explanation and I couldn't post it. this forum is very frustrating.

there is mostly blonde sand, some black, some black ferrous stuff and the mica. the mica moves with the black in the pan and is difficult to separate from it. obviously a magnet pulls the iron out though.

jim

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I just spent half an hour typing a detailed explanation and I couldn't post it. this forum is very frustrating.

there is mostly blonde sand, some black, some black ferrous stuff and the mica. the mica moves with the black in the pan and is difficult to separate from it. obviously a magnet pulls the iron out though.

jim

You spent so long typing post it timed out. Type long posts in word or copy your post before you hit enter then repost it after you hit enter and it times out..

 

[arizau]

I just spent half an hour typing a detailed explanation and I couldn't post it. this forum is very frustrating.

there is mostly blonde sand, some black, some black ferrous stuff and the mica. the mica moves with the black in the pan and is difficult to separate from it. obviously a magnet pulls the iron out though.

jim

I often get timed out since I try to detail some of my answers with explanations and it takes a while to compose them.

It is possible still that some or what you have separated out is gold..IF.. it was hanging out with the black sand and they were left after most or all of the blondes were washed out. Without practice using proper panning techniques gold is difficult to pan in the smaller mesh sizes but the method demonstrated here will help you.
Even if that doesn't work for you the question about gold or not gold could be mostly confirmed if the material was brought down, by panning, to a concentrate first (very little blonde sands). The best way to pan the smaller mesh sizes is in quantities of only about a tablespoon at a time and I use as little as 1/4 teaspoon sometimes for minus 100 mesh. If there appears to be gold in the concentrate and it hangs out with the black sand in the pan then it probably is gold.

Any way, best of luck to you.

 

[Jeff95531]

You spent so long typing post it timed out. Type long posts in word or copy your post before you hit enter then repost it after you hit enter and it times out..

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What TH said. Doing it in Word then copy/paste when done goes a long way to rid yerself of un-needed stress.

 

[ecmjamsit]

Is there anybody close by with a Falcon Gold Probe? That would at least prove if it was a metal. If you want you can mail me a sample and I will examine it. I build portable assay smelters as a hobby. I even own the URL portablesmelter dot com

 

[wyalusing jim]

Is there anybody close by with a Falcon Gold Probe? That would at least prove if it was a metal. If you want you can mail me a sample and I will examine it. I build portable assay smelters as a hobby. I even own the URL portablesmelter dot com

not close by, but a friend has one and it indicated gold on 7 little pickers that we picked out with tweezers.

I mistakenly called it a pin pointer in a previous post, but that's what it was.

jim

 

[wyalusing jim]

I often get timed out since I try to detail some of my answers with explanations and it takes a while to compose them.

It is possible still that some or what you have separated out is gold..IF.. it was hanging out with the black sand and they were left after most or all of the blondes were washed out. Without practice using proper panning techniques gold is difficult to pan in the smaller mesh sizes but the method demonstrated here will help you.
Even if that doesn't work for you the question about gold or not gold could be mostly confirmed if the material was brought down, by panning, to a concentrate first (very little blonde sands). The best way to pan the smaller mesh sizes is in quantities of only about a tablespoon at a time and I use as little as 1/4 teaspoon sometimes for minus 100 mesh. If there appears to be gold in the concentrate and it hangs out with the black sand in the pan then it probably is gold.

Any way, best of luck to you.

ok, been thinking about this and here is where I am at...

I had a test done which (right or wrong) indicated the presence of gold.

with the help of a friend, I may have recovered some gold as indicated by his gold probe (again, right or wrong).

I then mistook these pieces of mica for some real fine gold, which you guys have straightened me out on. (here, I got sidetracked)

bearing in mind that I currently have no way to concentrate, I am panning small (20 pound) raw samples. I am looking for needles in a haystack I think, by looking at pieces of hay one at a time.

so, back to my op...what would be the best way to concentrate a clay slurry containing sands which may have some fine gold in it?

jim

 

[Jeff95531]

Classify. You're gonna need several and likely at least up to 100. When panning, take 1/2 cup samples and use a small bit of Jet Dry in the water. Even small gold is still heaviest in the pan and should come together but not necessarily stick in place. Mica on the other hand goes everywhere except where gold should be. Take what you have left and put in a small new (do NOT scratch it up) finish pan and pan it again. Put those cons in a white ceramic soap dish and see what ya got. good luck

btw, I learned a lot of the above from Kevin in CO but just recently put it to the test with some old ID gold I've had. The cons had rubies, blonde sand, both black sands and the gold ranged from +25 to -200. Man, did I learn alot with that sample so THANKS Kevin!

 

[kcm]

Well, now we're back to what we said before - research. Do some reading on placer mining in general. Also, take a look at the GoldHog website. These guys are in Georgia and deal with lots of clay there, as well. And finally, do forum searches (on Tnet, GPEX, ICMJ, whatever) for dealing with clay. If you're looking to work that much material, you'll be wanting to invest in equipment that can work the general material into concentrates. There is Old School and New School - Old School is using Hungarian riffles and ribbed rubber matting, along with a slower feed rate and as slow of water as you need.. New School is using more aggressive matting, ample water and really scrubbing the material. With lots of clay, it would also be preferable to use a trommel if you could.

 

[arizau]

ok, been thinking about this and here is where I am at...

I had a test done which (right or wrong) indicated the presence of gold.

with the help of a friend, I may have recovered some gold as indicated by his gold probe (again, right or wrong).

I then mistook these pieces of mica for some real fine gold, which you guys have straightened me out on. (here, I got sidetracked)

bearing in mind that I currently have no way to concentrate, I am panning small (20 pound) raw samples. I am looking for needles in a haystack I think, by looking at pieces of hay one at a time.

so, back to my op...what would be the best way to concentrate a clay slurry containing sands which may have some fine gold in it?

jim

Given that your only, known from previous posts, equipment is a gold pan (it is a concentrator for all intents and purposes), various sized screen classifiers, blue bowl, miller table and assorted buckets you have everything you need for small 20 pound samples with the possible exception of a sucker bottle to suck up or store the gold. You are already breaking down the clay and classifying by size and those are two important steps and the last would be panning or using the miller table or blue bowl to separate out the gold or find those pieces of straw from a haystack. Other equipment suggestions have already been mentioned and are more meaningfully used for larger volumes of raw material