Contrary Creek, VA- First Gold Prospecting Trip

[eannis6]

Hello again everyone!!

I took my first trip to Contrary Creek in Virginia today. I must say I have been bitten by the gold bug. Gold panning is not as easy, and gold is certainly not as plentiful as I had expected. I do believe I found one gold flake after searching today amidst millions of pieces of pyrite. Thank you for looking, can anyone confirm this as gold from my image taken through my microscope? Thanks for looking and being so welcoming here.

Blessings,
Ethan Annis

 

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[russau]

Do a streak test on the back of a piece of unglazed tile and hopefully you'll see a gold line from your effort. poke it with a pin and see if it wont crack apart when poked. It looks good to me as-is !

 

[RTR]

Looks like gold.Don't give up on Contrary . How far downstream from the bridge did you make it ?

 

[No gold in NY]

I'd say it is gold. It has that rounded/eroded look. You may have noticed how it acted differently than the pyrite in your pan.

 

[63bkpkr]

See how it reacts while under your scope, a two handed situation, one hand with something to hold it down and another pointed thing to see what happens when you try to drag the pointed item across your sample. IF the pointed thing creates a line with raised edges then likely gold but if the sample breaks up into pieces then likely not gold. The color and shape look good. Welcome to Tnet..…………….63bkpkr

 

[eannis6]

Do a streak test on the back of a piece of unglazed tile and hopefully you'll see a gold line from your effort. poke it with a pin and see if it wont crack apart when poked. It looks good to me as-is !

I will try this, thanks for the help!!

 

[eannis6]

Looks like gold.Don't give up on Contrary . How far downstream from the bridge did you make it ?

Thanks a lot! I was with my cousin who did not have waders like me, so we only made it I’d say 150 yds from the bridge or so! I found this flake in a hole about a foot deep

 

[eannis6]

I'd say it is gold. It has that rounded/eroded look. You may have noticed how it acted differently than the pyrite in your pan.

Thanks for the help- this was my thought as well...the pyrite has extremely rough angular edges under the microscope, and this flake maintains its shine even when there is no direct light.

 

[eannis6]

See how it reacts while under your scope, a two handed situation, one hand with something to hold it down and another pointed thing to see what happens when you try to drag the pointed item across your sample. IF the pointed thing creates a line with raised edges then likely gold but if the sample breaks up into pieces then likely not gold. The color and shape look good. Welcome to Tnet..…………….63bkpkr

Neat, I’ll give it a try, thanks for the help!

 

[RTR]

Thanks a lot! I was with my cousin who did not have waders like me, so we only made it I’d say 150 yds from the bridge or so! I found this flake in a hole about a foot deep

Thats cool ! Looks like that one pix. was taken under the bridge.

 

[eannis6]

Thats cool ! Looks like that one pix. was taken under the bridge.

I think it was, after panning, we explored the creek and I found a small slightly broken arrowhead!

 

[RTR]

I think it was, after panning, we explored the creek and I found a small slightly broken arrowhead!

Lets hook up sometime.I'm ready for a Contrary run.Drop me a PM .......I'm just finishing up a Miller table build.

 

[eannis6]

Lets hook up sometime.I'm ready for a Contrary run.Drop me a PM .......I'm just finishing up a Miller table build.

That sounds really great!! We will have to do that sometime!

 

[smokeythecat]

Sure looks like gold! Nice job. That place is a hard place to go to. Were you in one of the spots that smells like sulphur in the air?

 

[Darth Placer]

Hi eannis6... yes that is a speck of gold you found. When you look at it under the scope you should see some micro pitting on the surface. There is no mica there... tons of pyrite depending on the section your in. The pyrite will have one or more straight lines... more cubic in shape.... the gold wont.

Please fill in any holes you make down there.

 

[eannis6]

Sure looks like gold! Nice job. That place is a hard place to go to. Were you in one of the spots that smells like sulphur in the air?

Thanks a lot! Actually I did not smell much, it was raining which masked any smells though! XD

 

[eannis6]

Hi eannis6... yes that is a speck of gold you found. When you look at it under the scope you should see some micro pitting on the surface. There is no mica there... tons of pyrite depending on the section your in. The pyrite will have one or more straight lines... more cubic in shape.... the gold wont.

Please fill in any holes you make down there.

Thanks for the help! I sure will. Also I love the name lol

 

[brianc053]

Hi eannis6... yes that is a speck of gold you found. When you look at it under the scope you should see some micro pitting on the surface. There is no mica there... tons of pyrite depending on the section your in. The pyrite will have one or more straight lines... more cubic in shape.... the gold wont.

Please fill in any holes you make down there.

Hey eannis6, Darth is a great guy and spends time down in VA - listen to what he has to say. I’ve spent time with him down there, and he knows what he’s doing.

Darth, good to see you on tnet. I miss our dredging trips and really want to get out more in 2019. Let’s keep in touch.
- Brian

 

[Darth Placer]

Hey Brian... yeah it's been a horrible season for me only got out for one trip down in NC (group outing for another site)... found one speck <----- that was my whole season.

Between weather and work I haven't had a shot at getting out. New job now with better hours... next season will be good. Hope you and Andrew can come along.

I miss dredging at CC .... when I was heading out last year I drove the atv through a deep hole that someone didn't fill in... missed it in the glare of the setting sun. Came an inch from flooding the snorkel.... that was my parting memory. Hence my comment.

eannis6 all I can say is it's there you just have to work for it.. hone your skills.
Get in them crevices... natures sluice box holds the best stuff. If you get a sluice next .. get a ABS drop riffle sluice... they don't need much water flow to run... in the warmer months at times the water runs backwards at CC, a traditional sluice won't cut it.

 

[eannis6]

Hey Brian... yeah it's been a horrible season for me only got out for one trip down in NC (group outing for another site)... found one speck <----- that was my whole season.

Between weather and work I haven't had a shot at getting out. New job now with better hours... next season will be good. Hope you and Andrew can come along.

I miss dredging at CC .... when I was heading out last year I drove the atv through a deep hole that someone didn't fill in... missed it in the glare of the setting sun. Came an inch from flooding the snorkel.... that was my parting memory. Hence my comment.

eannis6 all I can say is it's there you just have to work for it.. hone your skills.
Get in them crevices... natures sluice box holds the best stuff. If you get a sluice next .. get a ABS drop riffle sluice... they don't need much water flow to run... in the warmer months at times the water runs backwards at CC, a traditional sluice won't cut it.

That’s aweosme, thanks for the advice!!