Question on Panning a Creek

[cali209]

Hi All,

Im thinking of buying some land up in Amador County (near Fiddletown) and it has a seasonal creek on it...its about 400 ft of creek.

I moved some rocks around today and dug a little (with a rock) and hit first brown dirt then black dirt. Both were like thick mud/clay.

Im new to panning so Im wondering if it sounds like there might be gold in this creek.

Hard question to answer but Im wondering about seeing what looks like clay after removing rocks...

(Im a fresh newbie)

Thanks

 

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[cali209]

Oh Yeah, according to a map I bought from Goldmaps.com, there was gold found on this creek before but it was a lot higher up on the creek (probably 20 miles higher).

Also, if it makes a difference...I dont see much smaller rocks, like gravel, in the creek...mainly bigger rocks, non rounded.

 

[kuger]

Pretty much every waterway in the Mother Lode carries gold.Some more than others.Sample,Sample,and Sample some more.Your gold might concentrate on top of the clay,or might be under it also.Dont fool much with the overburden,get down to bedrock and clean out those cracks and crevices,when you think you have them cleaned out...... clean them some more,break them open.Good luck

 

[Eu_citzen]

Yeah sampling/panning is the only sure way to tell.

 

[Hoser John]

Panning takes WAY too much time. Use a detector and check out just about a cubic foot a second!!Tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[Eu_citzen]

Or a combo of detector and pan.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Cali209…I spent a lot of time in that area. I found most of the good gold when I worked the cracks in the hard black bedrock. Most of the granite bedrock in that area is soft with few cracks and tends to fog you out when you try to work it….Art

 

[cali209]

Thanks for all the replies...

Im still debating on which property I want to buy...now Im looking at one in Drytown with Dry Creek running through it.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Are you looking close to Dry Town or over by the Plymouth Road? In that area the major gold strikes have been under 3200 feet. I have dredge above 3200 feet and found gold but not a lot of it….Art

 

[Willy]

Using just a detector will lead to nothing but frustration in areas where the gold is relatively fine. Pan and detector are the way to go . ..Willy.

 

[cali209]

Are you looking close to Dry Town or over by the Plymouth Road?

I'm looking anywhere up in Gold Country really. The property in Drytown I was looking at is at about 1300 ft.

I was originally planning on buying some land for various rec use but got struck with gold fever so now looking for a river or stream to run through the property to add gold hunting to the list of things we can do.

Im driving myself nuts.