small specks of gold, are they worth going after?

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

were i live the richest spot turns up only fine specks around 5-6 constantly per 1/3 pan (15 in pan) unclassified material. i am new to prospecting and am wondering if it is worth spending any more of my time on?

 

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[russau]

it all depends on how much it costs you to get that! is it close to your home? then travel expenses wont be hi! did you have fun doing it?

 

[JT1080]

15 per pan? That sounds like a good spot to me!

The small stuff adds up fast. If you're running 8-10 5 gal buckets per day, that could potentially be a GREAT haul. I would be a happy camper with 15 specs, even fly poop, per pan... just sayin.

 

[Jason in Enid]

If you can see them, and there are 15 to a pan, you are in a great spot. You just need a fast way to process material, such as a sluice, highbanker, or dredge if possible.

 

[johnnysau]

Home made calculator

1 grain of gold per 20 LB pan = .2083 troy OZS PER TON just over 1/5 OZS PER TON @ 80 % purity = $289 PER TON
or
1 grain of gold per 20 LB pan = .2916 troy OZS PER YARD just short 1/3 OZS PER YARD @ 80 % purity = $404 PER YARD

thats per my home made calculator. Should be pretty close.

Figure how many grains ya got in those specks and multiply.

This thing is pretty handy for figuring ORE MATERIAL , i can change price, purity, or the amount of ORE MEASURED ,
to get PPM or PPB, GRAMS per ton, OUNCES per ton, or YARDS per ton and dollar amounts.

Gotta find some AU now !
its crazy what some numbers show, but id say yours are RICHER then most if you can move the material.

johnnysau

 

[63bkpkr]

BLG,
Your question is an interesting one and the answers/questions/suggestions given so far have pretty much covered the possibilities. You live in an interesting geographical location, one with unusual weather conditions and extremes that most of us do not have to worry about. I would assume you are only able to prospect during your summer season and that that season is short. Your title suggests that you are at or near a large lake though where you are finding the gold may be a stream and you've mentioned panning your finds to date. As Jason indicated getting the gold faster is the right idea, the more gravel/dirt processed per hour increases the possibility of the take. This is the right idea, the more dirt processed the more gold one is likely to find, however be careful to not make a scar on the landscape. Where ever possible reclaim your prospecting site.

Processing larger amounts of raw sample is usually aided by having faster moving water in the form of a river or a gas powered water pump pumping into a dredge or highbanker. These things are more expensive than a pan but they save time. If you have fast moving water available and if it is not so deep or swift that a typical sluice box will not be swept away then this could be a wise purchase or home built item IF you have the wood available. Another hot topic right now is the Bazooka Gold Trap Sluicebox as it will hold onto fine gold which, you've talked about, while processing raw sample without requiring that it be classified (sorting to remove the larger particles). At today's price of gold any amount of the raw stuff starts to add up quickly in weight and value, then you've got to have a place to sell it at without being ripped off and that will likely be a sticky spot for you in your location. Good success with whatever you decide to do.........63bkpkr

 

[KevinInColorado]

Also, if you are seeing 15 specks per pan when you are out in the field, I bet there is twice that much in total with the rest hiding in the other heavies in your pan. Take the heavies home to carefully pan in a dark room under a bright light to find the rest! Then keep the remaining heavies to process again 'someday' when you get access to a Miller Table or similar. Good luck!!

 

[Aurabbit79er]

Maybe you need to use a beach box.

 

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

too russau-
its around 3 miles by atv. it takes around 20-30 min. to get there trail is super rough, but improvement are being made to the trail out there every year. my only expense is gas for my atv which goes for 9 dollars a gallon, which might sound crazy but i dont even think about it every time i fill up because out here everything cost more when you have to fly in in. and to answer the part about am i having fun, well i caught gold fever this last summer and i'm loving every minute of it

 

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

too 63bkpkr---

there is no moving water where the gold is at so i am planning to buy a pump and turn my keene A52 into a highbanker, but i will not be able to start processing material until some time in may of 2013 at the earliest. i am also wondering will my A52 catch all the specks and fine gold or would i be better off making my own beach box with some deep V rubber matting or something similar to the keene beach box?

 

[russau]

for fine gold you wont need any riffels!but you will need somesort of classification. maybe even two screenings will be needed.one at your dig hole and another screening before you run your material.id say the beach box would be a better choice of equipment than just the sluice.i made one similar to Keenes beachbox with Veranda carpet (by Shaw)in it but i sold it to a guy that ran Mississippi River bank material through it and got fine gold.he was happy.

 

[63bkpkr]

Finding a few specks of gold

Morning BLC,
You've already gotten the answer on what works best for fine gold but IF you still want to turn the A52 into a highbanker, check out casluicebox.com for the highbanker add on. I bought mine from them and then I bought the A52 legs and frame from Keene and the two purchases came to about $150.00. I/We totally understand about catching "the gold fever", after finding the first speck one just gravitates to finding more. The best of success to you in 2013.....63bkpkr

PS - I would appreciate your posting some pictures of where you live at and the countryside around you. This is the heavy forest out in some of the wilder places I go to play in. Even has gold and a few nice Rainbow Trout and of course bear, deer, rattlesnakes and more than likely a few mountain lions though in almost 50 years of backpacking the area I've never seen one.

 

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

this is during the summer in the winter it looks the same just under a few feet of snow ice and frost

 

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

too russau-

when using the veranda carpet in the sluice do you use anything else with it, deep v matting, expanded metal? what exactly is the setup when using veranda carpet? i do have flat expanded metal, also the expanded metal that comes with my keene a52, and access to some very thick expanded metal kinda looks like the stuff used in the sluice boxes in that show beiring sea gold

 

[63bkpkr]

BLG,
thank you for the pictures and the smile about what it looks like in the winter! Tundra, some forest and streams and I'd guess in the summer the bugs just about carry a person away. Bears, Yak - what kind of animals and birds??

thanks for the share..........63bkpkr

 

[Lanny in AB]

too russau-
its around 3 miles by atv. it takes around 20-30 min. to get there trail is super rough, but improvement are being made to the trail out there every year. my only expense is gas for my atv which goes for 9 dollars a gallon, which might sound crazy but i dont even think about it every time i fill up because out here everything cost more when you have to fly in in. and to answer the part about am i having fun, well i caught gold fever this last summer and i'm loving every minute of it

I'm glad you're having fun. If you've got that attitude, whether you're getting little specks or nuggets, you'll always be happy. For me, the mystery, the history, the beauty of the outdoors, and the chase for the gold make the whole thing fascinating.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[BIG-LAKE-GOLDPANNER]

63bkpkr,

the bugs are horrible for most of the summer and even worse around any water source. as for the animals there are moose, bears(brown and black), wolves, fox, rabbits numerous smaller animals, as for birds there are eagles, grey jays, swallows, King fishers, owls, hawks, and also many more, there are quite a few species of ducks geese, cranes, swans. yeah alot of wild game, but next spring i'm not only taking my rifles out into the woods i'll have a gold pan as well.