Prospecting in my basement?

[Dconcb]

Really?
Maybe...
I’ve lived here for 20 years. My damn well filter always plugging up with sediment.
Always looks like gold specs in it. Ever thought much about it.
But a recent purchase of a property with a nice stream got me thinking, there HAS
To be gold in that stream. Small water falls, big boulders ect.
So I found and joined this site. I’ll be buying a pan kit and soon Enough a sluice box to play with in the river.
Then I realize I need to change my well filter again.
It’s black sand. Littered with gold specks. As always.
What’s the best way to separate this POSSIBLE flour gold?
If it is gold, Ive got a constant supply of black sand concentrations. Maybe a quart a month from my almost 400’ deep well.
Dammitt! I’ve e got the fever!!

 

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[placertogo]

A lot of gold veins in Maine bedrock also contain pyrite. Don't get discouraged as the pyrite may mask some gold.

 

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[b3y0nd3r]

Could be mica?

 

[Capt Nemo]

Could be mica?

STOP USING FOUR LETTER WORDS!

 

[Capt Nemo]

I always run the Brightness on my phone really low to conserve the battery, I just turned it up, and magnified the photo...
Now I’m excited! View attachment 1696419

That looks REAL good for a crappy cell pic! I'd pan that!

 

[Dconcb]

There is definitely mica in there but also plenty of brighter more yellow specs. Find out soon!

 

[Tahoegold]

There is definitely mica in there but also plenty of brighter more yellow specs. Find out soon!

Use a saute pan and get back to us! He he he! Get the gold! Heck, almost anything can work just to check!

 

[Tahoegold]

And DONT get rid of the material if your not up to snuff on your panning ability ! Get some help with learning how to pan that small stuff ! And good luck !

Russau is correct. I kept stuff that I was sure I had screened it correctly with 20 50 and 100 screens. When I made a cleanup sluice with Gold Hog washermat, I ran those 2 gallons of material and got a little more out. I ran it 3 times until all I had was 7 pieces of sub 100 mesh. So, don't throw it out until you have fiddeled with it. If you do find it's gold. You can use that same material to perfect your technique. It doesn't take long and it's really fun. You may litterally be sitting on a gold mine LOL! ME THINKS YOU HAVE THE FEVER! There is no cure. But, you possibly have it in your own back yard. Please, use a flat bottom pan of any kind and let us know what ya get!

 

[Dconcb]

Well, the pans came in early so I just spen about two hours playing with them. I don’t know... it shines in light and shadow but it’s just so darn fine that I can’t tell. Or separate it. I used a 160 and 120 micron mesh because that’s what I had available. Warm water with a few drops of jet dry. Hoping this video will attach...nope. Here’s some pics
Note the shadow sparkle as well.

 

[Dconcb]

 

[Dconcb]

I’ll save it for another time! I found a pile of old stuff where I dump the filter behind my bushes! If by chance it is flour gold, it’s not easy to separate. I tried the tapping the pan on your palm for quite a while with no luck.

 

[placertogo]

Probably more gold in Massachusetts that people realize. Not all glacial either. Most everywhere I have read is that Rhode Island does not have gold. My great grandmother's sister married a man who had a farm in Foster, RI, near where Massachusetts, Connecticut, and RI meet. There was a vein of gold with silver in an outcropping on the farm. In the the late 1800's it only yielded a few hundred dollars at $20.67 per fine troy ounce, but it was worth blasting and processing. No doubt there is more gold in southern New England. The Laurentide Ice Sheet which receeded about 12,000 years ago no doubt broke away much gold at the higher levels of the bedrock but there is certainly still gold deep down that is accidentally hit by drilling artesian wells. Keep looking.

 

[Tahoegold]

View attachment 1697229
I’ll save it for another time! I found a pile of old stuff where I dump the filter behind my bushes! If by chance it is flour gold, it’s not easy to separate. I tried the tapping the pan on your palm for quite a while with no luck.

It isn't easy at first. If that is gold that is mixed in with the black sands, take a magnate to it. That should reduce some, some wont be magnetic. Pan only a teaspoon at a time. Watch Doc at the Gold Hog web site about panning. There's several ways to get it separated mechanically. However, once you can do it by panning, you will understand how heavy gold is compared to material the same size and just how you need to work the pan. There's a tapping technique that really helps. At some point I usually use my fingers to move the gold away from the bits of black sand then use a plastic eye dropper to pick it up and put it in a pan to dry. Will you be going somewhere like a jeweler that can confirm it's gold? Know any prospector friends? Any prospector clubs in the area? Also, don't tell them what you told us about the pile in the back yard! News of Gold, no matter how insignificant can cause you problems!

 

[dognose]

that is pretty neat if it is gold. I have never heard of such a thing, but you cant beat that with a stick.

 

[Dconcb]

It isn't easy at first. If that is gold that is mixed in with the black sands, take a magnate to it. That should reduce some, some wont be magnetic. Pan only a teaspoon at a time. Watch Doc at the Gold Hog web site about panning. There's several ways to get it separated mechanically. However, once you can do it by panning, you will understand how heavy gold is compared to material the same size and just how you need to work the pan. There's a tapping technique that really helps. At some point I usually use my fingers to move the gold away from the bits of black sand then use a plastic eye dropper to pick it up and put it in a pan to dry. Will you be going somewhere like a jeweler that can confirm it's gold? Know any prospector friends? Any prospector clubs in the area? Also, don't tell them what you told us about the pile in the back yard! News of Gold, no matter how insignificant can cause you problems!

I’ve watched docs videos and try my best to duplicate the techniques, what makes me think it is gold is the color, and the fact that it moves slower than most other material in my pan. But there is this fine whit ish silty stuff that almost acts like...maybe, wet paint. Thick and doesn’t move hardly at all.
The “could be” gold is lighter than this white silty stuff. That makes me doubt it’s gold. I’ll try to screen the material again.
The white stuff went straight through a 120 micron bag. Maybe I’ll use a 73 micron and see if I can seperate it better.
But I’m not sure it’s worth the effort just yet!
I’m definitely going to save it for when I have more time to mess with it.
I appreciate all the help and support.
Great forum you folks have here

 

[Gold Maven]

a pocket microscope might help, you can pick up a 30 power for 10 bucks or so, makes those specks look like nuggets.
good luck.
https://www.amazon.com/SE-MW10084-L...7MTSPNF75HJENAW0DYBD&qid=1554047892&s=gateway

 

[Capt Nemo]

The silty white stuff is probably something you may want to keep separately. One place I go, the gray stuff with the gold is a compressed form of zircon.

 

[Dconcb]

So who here is good with separating “micron” gold?? Maybe I cold send someone a bag and find out if this is worth getting into??
If it is gold, it’s tiny. Really tiny.
Lmk
Thanks

 

[arizau]

To quote you "If it is gold, it’s tiny. Really tiny." Now a suggestion.......This is not necessarily a recovery method but it is a way that you can do some testing on your own (other than panning as has been suggested) to see if you have some gold in the material that you have collected. Access to a loupe or a strong magnifying glass would be helpful. Lightly smear the bottom or just a small section of a shallow container of some type with shortening then add water and sprinkle a small amount of the trap material. Gently swirl the mixture a little while then drain and lightly rinse. Virtually all of what you have added will rinse out but if there was gold in the mixture then some of it will stick to the shortening glaze and you should be able to see it especially under magnification.* For identification, remember that gold does not lose it's color in shaded light. Every thing else that is stuck to the grease, there probably will be a few specks, will darken or stay dark.

*FYI, Gold is oleophilic which means it will stick to grease or oils. You may be able to just eyeball it if there is gold and it is large enough.

 

[Dconcb]

I’ll give that a shot when time allows. Will butter work? I’d imagine so, but not sure.

 

[Capt Nemo]

Only problem with grease is that many times the gold won't stick due to surface tension of the surrounding water. Once the gold gets to -200 it will barely stick if at all. It did catch 80% of what my miller table rejected, so it does work better than a miller table, but it ain't perfect!

Been there, done that.

Fish oil and burlap catching #400.