What the crap is on my gold?!?

[rkenerson375]

So I was out at sixes creek, in Canton, Ga, the other day and doing pretty good. I usually pan down to about a cup or two, then backwash and check out what I have and then dump it in my 5 gallon bucket to be processed later. So with that beng said, out on the creek I saw some good coarse gold and made me a little motivated. So I kept going and kept dumping.... Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, it all looked like good yellow gold.

Well today I was doing my final clean up and I got to my coarse gold again, but this time it looked a lot different....



It was normal in my pan out on the creek now it looks almost tin-foilyish or silver. On some the pieces its completely silvery, and other pieces its like it only covers half the flake in silver and the other half is gold. I have no clue what it could be, acts the same as gold in my pan and everything just looks way different. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance! Also, how do I get it off?

 

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[xr7ator]

It's mercury. It is in all the gold area waterways as the old timers used it to catch fine gold. It will continue to move and cover all the gold if you leave it together.
BE CAREFUL and get some advice from a pro.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Put it in a metal pan on some hot coals and stay well away (up wind) for a while. the heat will drive off the tiny amount of mercury coating it.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Yup... Mercury will stick to gold like a tick to a hound dog. Heating is the easy way to get it off but be sure to do your research into the properties of mercury BEFORE you proceed. Just remember that any pans that come into contact with the mercury can never be used for cooking food again!!! So don't get yourself in the doghouse by using one of the kitchen pans! Your wife/girl friend may not like that.

 

[Fullpan]

Nice Georgia gold! - Have to ask, whats up with the deep scratches in your pan?

 

[rkenerson375]

Haha the scratches act like little ditches when I backwash. Assuming you understand what I mean when I say backwash, then the gold will get caught in the ditches and the lighter black sand will wash past when I tilt the pan rearward if that makes sense. This allows me to go a little faster. One of the more experienced fellows I go out panning with recommended it. What do you think?

 

[Hoser John]

 

[spillercanyon]

I think it would mess with the way my dirt would move around in my pan and hang the gold up high on the bottom of the pan when I dip the pan forward where it could be washed out rather than letting the gold work itself to the bottom crease of the pan and out of the way of material I'm washing out.

 

[Fullpan]

Haha the scratches act like little ditches when I backwash. Assuming you understand what I mean when I say backwash, then the gold will get caught in the ditches and the lighter black sand will wash past when I tilt the pan rearward if that makes sense. This allows me to go a little faster. One of the more experienced fellows I go out panning with recommended it. What do you think?

Yes, thought that was what you did - a little too much imo, but whatever, no problem - keep getting that Georgia color!