A wannabe prospector needs help

[gary s fl]

Since gold has gotten over 800/ozt and it's gotten harder to find really good spots for old coins I decided to put the detector down for a while and learn to prospect. I've read some posts, bought some maps, a hand suction dredge, a chisel for snipping, and have a couple gold pans from a previous panning attempt but I still have many questions about other equipment to buy. Most of the questions are of the opinion type. Any help would be appreciated.

Which sluice to buy?.... 2', 3' or 4' long. I understand that the longer the sluice the more gold it's going to catch but do I really need a 3' or 4' sluice if a 2' will only lose slightly more gold? Is the added weight of backpacking a large sluice worth it? I decided on an 8" - 10" wide sluice because of the larger capacity.

Aluminum riffle vs steel.....does it really matter other than weight? Some have taller riffles than others.....is there a min size that should be used and when would you need tall riffles?

Miner's moss vs miner's carpet? Moss catches more gold and cost a little more but does it catch enough to warrant the added hassle of cleaning out the gold. Is minor's moss only necessary if your dealing with flower gold as opposed to coarser gold?

Personally I dislike panning. It's time consuming, difficult to master, and slow to produce results. I saw on a new type of pan (a couple of new ones seem to come out ever year). This one is called a Gold Rush Pro. "Super Pan". It claims that it can process a pan of material in one min and is super easy to use plus because of it's design it catches more gold and black sands. Has anyone used one of these and can verify the claims?

Another item that looks to be a time saver is a device made by Angus Mackirk called the 'Bucket Grizzly'. It a simple device that fits over a 5 gallon bucket that has a metal grate that classifies to 1/2" and the larger rock simply roll off the grate. It looks like it could save some time but it's another thing to carry. Anyone used one? If so, do you think it's worth having or would a couple of stacked classifiers work just as easily and quickly?

I have other questions about what to buy to process the concentrates, i,e, a wheel vs recirculating mini sluice high banker. Hopefully I can find enough good concentrates to warranty the purchase of one of the above. If you have any opinions as to what you feel works the best for processing the concentrates at home, please reply.

Thanks, Gary

 

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[ChrisGa]

Welcome to the world of prospecting !!!

I'd say the best equipment is the pan and the shovel. Learn to pan before going anywhere. You might have fancy equipment but at the end of the day it comes to panning. I suggest buying some concentrates online ( I recomend www.goldgrubbin.com ) and pan and pan and pan again over a wash tub or another pan.

2nd once you learn the panning ins and outs I recomend a sluice as the next step. Learning to operate a hand sluice will help you down the road with a dredge or a highbanker in my opinion. The size you need is all up to where your gonna be prospecting. If its a smaller creek with little water flow get a small 6-8" wide by 24 " sluice. If its a little larger one then get a 10" wide by 48" long. One thing you have to remember about sluicing is dont feed the material fast and classify from the bigger material down to the smaller material. I have a 1/4" classifier I put over a bucket that classify my larger rocks off to. And if time permits I will take it down even smaller to 8 mesh and then run thru my sluice and pan out what is discarded from my classifier. Use a small scoop and scoop it in the sluice one at a time with in 12-15 seconds between each one that way the material has time to work itself loose to let new material and maybe gold replace it. As far as what brand sluice is all up to you. I would try ebay. I bought my 6" x 24" for less than $25 and gets great gold. I got my larger sluice from http://www.buckabillysluice.com for $100 which is 7" by 40" with 20" flare. Great little sluice if you ask me. They also sell smaller ones. Ebay also sells large and small ones.

As far as less panning get a spiral wheel. That will cut down alot on the panning you have to do BUT you will have to pan out the small cup of gold at the end to remove the black sands. They can be bought for $250+ . I run a mini sluice which is 5"w and 24" long with ribbed matting and carpet. Does pretty good. When I run my concentrates thru it and at the end I have whats called super concentrates. Much less to pan from the concentrates in the beginning. Hole set up can run you $100 or less.

Just take your time and have fun thats the key. Gold will come your way. Get the panning down 1st !! Gold is over $900 an oz now and if you have the time and the right claim you can come out good. I suggest heading over to GPAA at www.goldprospectors.org and www.goldgrubbin.com and go over the websites and the website forums and ask questions if needed. There are tons and tons of people willing to help you out. If you have any questions please feel free to message me. Good luck

CHRIS

 

[gary s fl]

Chris, thanks of the info. Perhaps I can hire a skilled undocumented worker (politically correct term) to do the final panning. Gary

 

[JamesE]

Hi Gary, Panning actually goes pretty quickly once you get your technique down. Most new guys worry too much about losing gold while they develop confidence. It's actually really pretty hard to lose anything out of the pan once you have learned the right way to do it, and it part of prospecting you can do sitting down after shoveling all day.
Steel riffles are usually in dredges that take alot of rocks hitting them constantly. Keene had steel in their hand sluices also, don't know if they still do. I prefer ribbed and expanded mesh to moss beause I think it sits tighter to the sluice tray. Generally the first couple riffles catch most of the gold, depending on how fast the flow and slope and how you feed it. I'd advise you you to get the wide flare because there's a lot of times you need all the water you can get through the sluice, and if the creek's too fast you can put a rock in front to slow the flow.
I think if you get the hang of panning, a better investment would be a small pump like http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95123
for power sluicing as it lets you set up no matter what the slope or away from the water and saves time and carrying buckets back to the water.
Something else I used alot was a 36'' extension to my 36 X 10'' sluice, with spray bars on the edges I can dump a bucket the length of it and it self feeds as the water washes away the 'pile'.
I think there's pics of it in the test forum still, or if there gone PM me and I'll repost them.
jim

 

[oroh2o]

If you are in gold country, there will be a full prospecting shop near you. I don't mean Joe's feed store/metal detecting shop in North Dakota! (I love N.D. for relics and coins btw). A good store will help you and steer you in the right direction for equipment and places to go. I have found that the prospecting fraternity is very helpful to newbies. I work for a shop in Quartzsite,Az and there is good gold in the area. If you get to southwest Az. stop in at the Gold Miser in Qtsz. and ask some questions. If you don't purchase anything, you will still be pointed in the right direction. One can find tons of info on the 'net, but you'll need a B S sifter. May your pan be golden...............................

 

[JamesE]

What oroh2o said is right on, but then, people who used to be friendly and open at $200 oz. might be a little (or a whole lot) less so at $800 oz. I saw that in N CA when I was there last.
Is that invite good for everybody? I've got no experience in desert prospecting, spent my time in CA and OR, zero in deserts, and new to MD'ing too. Could stand some mentoring. Any clubs you could recommend. Are there any wet placers in AZ? or mostly dry? or seasonal? Meaning, should I even bring my pump and sluice (in the Winter)?
I have never researched gold in AL, was there enough found to make prospecting a better bet than MD'ing the beaches or ghostowns and other sites? Not trying to throw cold water, just a consideration. jim

 

[kuger]

Gary,all the info above is valuable and helpful,but panning is the basis to all prospecting\mining,it is the most important part from start (sampling) to finish (working concentrates)it is not that hard and once you get the hang of it and a pan can be worked fairly quick.Personally I would not get too involved in buying all the gadgets right off,many a miner went broke doing that!Run a "poormans",operation meaning buy what your finds pay for.In the end the gold has to be there to find it and no contraption is going to change that!On an ending note, last year afellow was dredging upstream from me and came down to introduce himself and see what I was finding.He was running the same size dredge I was (4")only his was newer.He took a look in my box and seen the couple of pickers and about a half ounce of smaller stuff.He was upset.I explained to him that I had done extensive research and an extreme amount of sampling to choose the spot I was in,not to mention I had just hit a rich crevice.Well now to my point,this guy went out and payed $3500 for a 5" dredge because he had heard you would find twice the gold as the 4".The truth is you can move twice the material which can mean more gold if......the gold is there!!The gold wasnt there and last I seen that fellow he sold the dredge for half what he had paid and quit the game!Start slow and basic!!

 

[gary s fl]

Hey guys........thanks for all the input.

Jim, that extended box you made with all that expanded metal is impressive. I'm still researching ghost towns and hope to combine some old mining town detecting with some prospecting. We've only been in B'ham a couple of years and probably won't be here in a couple of more. I sure miss finding the processed gold off Miami Beach.

OROH20, I may just take you up on that offer the next time I get out to see my dad in Mesa. I would really like to detect for some nuggets out there.

Kuger, good advice. Looks like I have to pay some panning dues and hopefully I'll make some wise decisions on what I need to start off with.

 

[ChrisGa]

Sense your from Alabama I would get a GPAA membership for $75 and it comes with a pan and a claims guide to get you started. Im waiting on my GPAA membership and we could meet up at the Buchanan GA GPAA claim and I'd be glad to get your started panning or even running one of my sluices.

Or head over to Alabama Gold Camp in Cragford AL near Lineville. Panning and sluicing is just $5 all day and they rent equipment like dredges and highbankers. They might even loan you a sluice and teach you a few things about prospecting. I have got a good bit of gold out of their small creek and their larger creek. Jeff the owner is a pretty nice guy. When Lonnie ran it I would sit there till night time listening to him and I gained a ton of info off him. Again good luck and once you get that little flicker of gold in that pan your gonna get hooked so beware !

 

[JamesE]

There you go, Gary, really good advice from Kuger, Oro, and Chris.
That's the way we all did it, with a club or a buddy. or both.
BTW, the sluice is store bought, the extension is a modern version of the old 'long tom', but the perforated is just laying there when the pic was taken. (this one is new cuz the old one walked away in CA) and I need to spend time with new photo editing program, I hate it.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Learn to pan....That is where you always end up. There is no short cut...Art