MY HOME MADE SLUICE BOX.

[Golden-1]

this is my home made sluice box made out of a plastic rain gutter, expanded metal, some regular carpet with ridge pattern, a nugget catcher made out of the things off of a cooler (not sure what they are called), under that there is some rubber with riffles, and i have main riffles made out of thin aluminum. i have a auto parts washer that i prop it up in and it makes the perfect wash plant NO MESS! so far i have found a few nice flakes and i catch a lot of black sand but i feel i need improvements any ideas or complements would be great. Really need improvement ideas

 

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[Golden-1]

yea i scraped it with a sharp dental pick it is solid

 

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[wild eyed willey]

too bad, but don't get discouraged, the fun is in the search.

 

[Golden-1]

huh? thought if it dident chip then it was gold??

 

[davidb]

Most likely you have gold then if it didn't chip or flake away

 

[wild eyed willey]

gold is soft, it should bend or allow the point to enter. it should dent easily

 

[Golden-1]

yea it put scrape marks in it just tested it with more pressure so i guess i got GOLD!!! time to get to crushing thanks guys

 

[DesertNuggets]

I doubt its gold. Can you post a better shot of it?

I'd still crush it for the fun and practice.

 

[Golden-1]

i have a bunch of it in a vial and looked at it through a 700x power camera and there is no crystal structure like that of pyrite i can post a pic of the gold dust i gathered out of the quarts rock once i get a good pic of it

 

[Golden-1]

here is a pic of the dust i gathered so far if needed i can dump it out in a black pan and get a better pic just let me know...i did a lot of studying and am sure this is gold

 

[DesertNuggets]

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=869925"/> here is a pic of the dust i gathered so far if needed i can dump it out in a black pan and get a better pic just let me know...i did a lot of studying and am sure this is gold

Some type of iron sulfide. Pyrite. Fools Gold.

You call tell by its color. Pyrite is brassy while gold is buttery delicious.

 

[wild eyed willey]

try panning it out, gold will act a certain way in your pan... you may want to get some real gold and pan it to see how it acts for comparison.

 

[Sick4gold]

I thought we just went through all this?!

I understand your excited but every time someone offers an idea of what it most likely is you seem unwilling to accept it.
If your so sure it's gold then why keep posting pics?
I believe when you do find gold there will be no questions as to what it is.

I'm trying not to be harsh as I can appreciate your just starting out and excitement but spend some time reading about the minerals common and uncommon even in your area. Get your hands on a mineral sample kit or rock collection on eBay and you'll have a better understanding of what your seeing. I also highly recommend reading about iron sulfides, the types and how they react with other minerals.
A good prospector is also a part time geologist. Knowing your minerals will not only help with what your seeing but also may help you to locate gold.

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

try panning it out, gold will act a certain way in your pan... you may want to get some real gold and pan it to see how it acts for comparison.

Mash up some lead shot with pliers and pan that with it. Lead and gold act almost identical when panning.

 

[DesertNuggets]

I believe when you do find gold there will be no questions as to what it is.

Amen.

I thought everything was gold when I was new. The day I found real gold was a lightbulb moment. There was no question what I had found.

Study gold pictures and watch YouTube prospecting videos. Buying some gold paydirt on eBay to practice with wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[Golden-1]

I thought we just went through all this?!

well if you notice i posted a pick of the rock and by saying "let me know what yall think" i was going for a right on or a way to go or something i was not asking for advice this time. i did some studying of pictures on gold veins in quarts rocks and some of the pics looked just like what i had right in my hand. so yes there was excitement and i felt happy to share. i am willing to except information/ideas. no offence taken to your post and thank you for the information

 

[Golden-1]

i apologize for all the sharing of "Fake Gold" i will make sure i wait till i find the real stuff and have better pics to post. thanks guys

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

i apologize for all the sharing of "Fake Gold" i will make sure i wait till i find the real stuff and have better pics to post. thanks guys

Don't take it to hard. Your prospecting! And your doing it just like the 49ers did, they made their own equipment and they got out there till they got the gold. You're doing great!

 

[Golden-1]

Don't take it to hard. Your prospecting! And your doing it just like the 49ers did, they made their own equipment and they got out there till they got the gold. You're doing great!

thank you that makes me feel better about a lot

 

[wild eyed willey]

You are doing it right, but seriously, bid on some small gold flakes on Ebay and pan them out... Best advice you will ever get. There is no substitute like seeing the real thing and you can score some fines for cheap dollars. It is well worth the few bucks you'll spend.. by the way, Lead shot does act very much like gold and when I am slucing I find lots of lead in the same places I find gold flakes. heavy's collect in the same places. If your finding lead in your pan, your panning correctly. By the way you should also know that gold can float under certain conditions.

 

[wild eyed willey]

I was just wondering how things were going? Haven't heard from you in awhile...