Finding clay deposits in a mid-sized creek

[monte_rivers]

Hi all! More and more I am learning to appreciate a good clay layer, as the areas where I prospect have deep bedrock and coarse gravel and sand. I have been reading generic info about how clay is formed, but haven't yet found any information on the best conditions for formation or the best places to look in a creek to find it.

Some things I've come across on the web regarding clay: (1) clay deposits form below decomposing rock or above decomposing bedrock, (2) clay is often an indicator of an old sluicing or dredging operation, (3) keep your eyes open for mineralized clay, (4) always test your clay because some is great and some is worthless, (5) clay clods that are a mix of textures indicate the top or bottom of the layer and might be better than clay clods that are uniformly clay, probably from the middle of the deposit.

Any advice? Thanks!

 

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[Ohiogoldfever]

Clay can be a tricky devil. I’ve found that hard chunks of blue clay I find in my area are best dried, crushed, dry panned down to around 20% before finishing off wet panning.

This is the best way I’ve found to test the sticky stuff that’s a nightmare to pan out in the creek.

 

[RTR]

Clay is tough/impossible stuff to process when wet.Best to get samples from different areas in the creek.Label creek location, and bag the samples.Bring home and let the samples dry out good.Then break apart and crush into sand,then pan.