Questions on panning for gold

[Hunter101]

When panning, how do you know if it's gold or that shiny stuff in granite? I'm new at prospecting and confused on what gold is.

 

[audigger53]

Normally if you can push a pin into it and it doesn't shatter but does go in, then the odds went up on it being gold. If it shatters, then it is most likely Iron Pyrite. Also the weight of gold (SG 19.2) is more than lead (11.7). Is it heavier than a piece of lead the same size? Time for excitement.lol

 

[Hunter101]

I'll see if that works. I've noticed the same thing on larger pieces of granite that have shiny pieces of gold like colors.

 

[audigger53]

You can crush a small piece of it and pan it down. If the flakes shatter or see it go from gold to balk as you turn it in the sunlight then it is more likely Iron Pyrite. Many people have been fooled by Fool's Gold. Both ways. LOL Some times Iron Pyrite has had some gold content. In granite it may well be Iron Pyrite, but all my hunting has been out in Arizona and New Mexico. The highest gold has been ever found was Cripple Creek Co. .999 fine The lowest gold has been found was 50%. It can be red (copper), Brown (Iron), and once Green (Arsenic). The Green Gold Mine has been found more than once, but the people that went back for a second trip never came back. They were told it was gold and went back before finding out everything about the Arsenic. Some where in Northern California. Arsenic is nasty can actually go through the pores of the skin and well as breathing it.

 

[flinthunter]

There is a gold panning forum here on Treasurenet. You should ask there also.

 

[austin]

The stuff in the granite is mica. Does fool some, but is soft and easily broken. Pan yourself a bunch of yellow and then go try and buy something. They'll tell you what you have...

 

[bobw53]

Once you see it you'll know it, and you'll never forget it.... A good loupe never hurts, Doc from GoldHog just posted up this morning about his
favorite loupe, less than $4, down in the Prospecing Forum...

Go buy some paydirt.. You don't need to buy a big $300 bag or anything, and you aren't going to make money on it, and you aren't going to even break even.. But
what you will get, you will get to see what GOLD looks like, and you will see how GOLD behaves in your pan..

Once you see it, you'll know it...

The Prospecting Forum here.. You can spend days and days just going through and reading all about gold... I've been working on it for a year and haven't made it all the
way through yet... Then after I learn something new, or something else peaks my interest, I'll go back through looking for threads on that topic... Then I learn something
else new, and I have to start all over again...

I warn you... DO NOT buy pay dirt... You WILL get the disease.... GOLD FEVER is no joke, its not something that was made up.. Its Real. Best "fever" I've ever had,
but I'm just warning you.

 

[Hunter101]

Once you see it you'll know it, and you'll never forget it.... A good loupe never hurts, Doc from GoldHog just posted up this morning about his
favorite loupe, less than $4, down in the Prospecing Forum...

Go buy some paydirt.. You don't need to buy a big $300 bag or anything, and you aren't going to make money on it, and you aren't going to even break even.. But
what you will get, you will get to see what GOLD looks like, and you will see how GOLD behaves in your pan..

Once you see it, you'll know it...

The Prospecting Forum here.. You can spend days and days just going through and reading all about gold... I've been working on it for a year and haven't made it all the
way through yet... Then after I learn something new, or something else peaks my interest, I'll go back through looking for threads on that topic... Then I learn something
else new, and I have to start all over again...

I warn you... DO NOT buy pay dirt... You WILL get the disease.... GOLD FEVER is no joke, its not something that was made up.. Its Real. Best "fever" I've ever had,
but I'm just warning you.

Too late on the gold fever... I took a trip and found this. It's about 1 to 1 1/2 millimeters in diameter. Found a couple others just barely smaller. I'm hooked. Going back with some real equipment for memorial weekend. Boy do I hate gold fever sometimes lol.

 

[Jeffrey Harris]

I hope I'm not violating any rules with this advice, check out "Ask Jeff Williams" on youtube. He is an auto mechanic and expert gold prospector, covering every aspect of gold prospecting. Also Chris Ralph's 'Fists Full of Gold' is an excellent book. Join a gold prospecting club. And of course the various gold prospecting forums on this website. Good luck, get some shiney!

Jeff