Equipment checklist.

[vasquez109]

As a newcomer. Just wondering what equipment you all have? What is basic core equipment and what are optional extras.

I currently have: Not very good metal detector, Small powerful neodymium magnet, Large gold pan, small gold pan, trowel, garden sieve and a small bucket. I very quickly established that after a visit to my local river (no gold in it, but using it to practice getting down to the black sand) that I needed wellies!

So need to add wellies to the basic kit! After seeing YouTube videos, I saw people using varying size/grades of classifiers, crevice scraper thing and snuffer bottles etc.

Havent got into sluices and expert equipment yet. What kit should I be looking to get?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

David.

 

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[SchoolOfHardRocks]

Looks like you already have the meat and potatoes... A gold pan, trowel...maybe add a spoon or a flat head screw driver for crevicing... A sluice box is nice for moving high volumes of pay dirt, but you must first find just that -Large volumes of pay dirt.

A golden quote that I learned early on is: Let the gold dictate the tools.

A lot of people enjoy the equipment and gadgets of gold prospecting, but if you are there for the gold -the golden quote stands true!

 

[firebird]

Pickaxes are a must. The area I'm getting gold in is impossible to dig with by hand, it's full of large rocks where the gold sticks on top of it. Might be different in other areas but from my experiences the more sandy and the less rocky the gravel is, the less likely it is to have any gold at all. The gold flakes I'm finding are often getting stuck in between or on top of larger river rocks that got deposited here in some huge flood untold eons ago. Also I just use river sandals instead of boots, easier to put on and off to get to the water.

 

[et1955]

6ft. pry bar is a must if possible but a #2 shovel will work too, I need something long when I have to deal with the black bears I run into, this Sunday I ran into 2 black bears and all I had to do was clap my hands and they went running reluctantly .

 

[russau]

My trailer was referred to (from my friends ) as a rolling tool box ! and I was asked why I carry so much stuff...............Remember that I usually drove across several states to do my dredging.......and who did they come to if / when they needed a certain part or tool !

 

[Capt Nemo]

I generally wear a wetsuit while prospecting, and I don't have to care how wet I get. For the beach, I generally wear a pair of high waist pants, or a John, as I have to wade into the lake to get water. For wetsuit boots, I like the Deep See/Aqualung Echo Zip boot. For streams, I wear a John or jumpsuit, as I kneel in knee deep water to make panning with a Flow Pan easier. A surface sports wetsuit is useful, as they are a John and Bolero jacket. For wetsuits, go with either blindstiched or flatlock seams. Flatlock seams will let in some water, but they don't make heavy pressure lines. Overlock seams let in a ton of water and get uncomfortable after wearing for long periods. Wetsuits also cut down bug problems!

Underneath the wetsuit, wear Speedo's! Stay away from the jammer (bike short) style suit, as they can cause blood clots in the legs. For the gals, one piece that won't come off unless you take it off! Bikinis are a no-no, unless you like being naked in a parking lot! Dive skins and heavier Polartec suits will help keep you warmer and make donning easier. Polartec suits should be worn with hot water suits to keep steam bubbles off the skin.

 

[A#1]

I'd get some bug spray, and a really good magnifier.

I found a lot more little gold flakes when i got a usb microscope.

 

[Duckshot]

Plastic pipettes for getting small gold from pan to vial.

 

[et1955]

Another tool I find so useful is my electric bike, not considered a motorized vehicle in my state so I can go into areas that are gated with signs stating no motorized vehicles allowed.

 

[A#1]

Another tool I find so useful is my electric bike, not considered a motorized vehicle in my state so I can go into areas that are gated with signs stating no motorized vehicles allowed.

I've been wondering about that exact thing in Michigan

 

[vasquez109]

After watching some more YouTube videos, washing up liquid for that really small gold is a must too!

 

[N-Lionberger]

As was stated before a good pick is really handy I have two I carry around, mine were made for nugget shooting and have magnets mounted to them to pick up iron trash while detecting. They are much burlier than what is available at the hardware store but those will get the job done no problem. I have found the best is the type with a point on one end and a flat digging hoe on the opposite. I also suggest getting a snuffer bottle they are quite handy for quickly getting the fines out of your pan for finishing later. You don't need a fancy detector to help find gold, though not great for pinpointing little pieces a basic coin shooter will work fine for locating iron trash in the stream banks, wherever your iron trash is dropping out is a likely place for gold to drop out as well, though in origin hard rock terminology it also holds true in placer gold wears an iron hat, or gold rides an iron horse.

 

[et1955]

Tools needed to mine a specific river is determined by mining it and learning it, no river is the same. Take home your concentrates and learn what the indicators are that were with the gold you found. Time in the field is precious, don't waste time sucking your gold into a snuffer bottle, pan to the point that you know you are on the gold and the bag it to take home and keep digging. Number one tool for finding gold is your mind and experience will always be your best tool. N-Lionberger If I am finding black sand on the richest river I mine I am off the gold and we are talking up to 1/2 inch flakes, no black sand around but as I said there are other indicators that should be observed.

 

[N-Lionberger]

I'm not talking about black sand, I'm talking big pieces of metal, nuts bolts, spikes, nails, car parts, rusty hardware that kind of thing.

 

[Capt Nemo]

A little lesson on black sands.

 

[Clay Diggins]

A little lesson on black sands.

Not a valid comparison. That's not a rocker box. The collection mechanism on a rocker box is the sag. No sag = not a rocker box.

What they are using there is a small hand watered sluice that rocks side to side. Much like an old boot it's bound to catch most heavies but it has nowhere near the retention of a rocker box.

I would love to see a competent comparison of retention with a real rockerbox.

Heavy Pans

 

[et1955]

I'm not talking about black sand, I'm talking big pieces of metal, nuts bolts, spikes, nails, car parts, rusty hardware that kind of thing.

Also if you put gold in a snuffer bottle. guess what it floats and I have seen several miners make that mistake, gold gone floating down river

 

[N-Lionberger]

I was about to say the same thing about rockers Clay. et1955 I'm sorry you've had bad luck with losing all your snuffer bottles I still have all of mine, I have even managed to keep the screw caps for those that came with them. A lot better track record than flask funnels, scoops and binocular lens caps.

 

[et1955]

I never use a snuffer bottle at the river and never lost gold at the mining site, I learned from the Old timers and from the least experienced too, one guy brought his dredge down to the river and found a large nugget and placed it on a rock and when he came back up from dredging it was gone and another guy who dredge the same area found some nice nuggets and placed the in a snuffer bottle, somehow while moving out his equipment the bottle was lost and while I was down there with my buddies, one of them came to me and asked if I lost something, I sad no and he showed me a snuffer bottle with the same nuggets the dredger had found. I could go on and on about people losing gold while up on the river, the point is put it in a safe place and take it home to do your final cleanup. Also most of the gold I find is to big for a snuffer bottle.

 

[N-Lionberger]

So if putting your gold into a bottle isn't safe what do you use?