fools gold

[Fishermandan]

G'day all, New here and a N00b prospector, I have a 40e on a lease and have been collecting samples due to some unforeseen time restraints and just bought a panning kit and took the sample to practice panning now LOL first pan of dirt i noticed it was loaded with what i thought to be mustard gold like shockingly loaded like every scoop its what i would describe as glistening dull mustard coloured swilling in the pan as you roll back the water it pools like gold coloured slurry some specks glisten in the sun but for the most its a dull slurry.
my question is am I processing fools gold as I have been panning into a pollen bag then dried out on cardboard as per pictures
any advice would be appreciated

 

[BigWave]

You'll know gold when you see it as it has the same colour as seen from any direction.

 

[Investigator 2]

Hi Fishermandan. Have you tried using a x10 hand lens /magnifying glass to see close up the specimens you collected? If its gold it should be soft if you press down onto it with a screw driver on a hard surface.If its fools gold it will be brittle & break apart.Also check your quartz rocks with a hand lens to see if theirs any iron pyrite `fools gold` or real gold amongst them. Hope this helps .

 

[Fishermandan]

Hi Fishermandan. Have you tried using a x10 hand lens /magnifying glass to see close up the specimens you collected? If its gold it should be soft if you press down onto it with a screw driver on a hard surface.If its fools gold it will be brittle & break apart.Also check your quartz rocks with a hand lens to see if theirs any iron pyrite `fools gold` or real gold amongst them. Hope this helps .

thank you for your reply, I have looked at the slurry with the loop that came with the kit and i do think its gold with fools gold but its so so fine not big enough to use a tool to press on it, i just don't want to waste it and thinking of future meltdown as there is so much of it per green scoop.
because I'm green and new to this panning I'm like no way this is gold with one scoop and first panning lol.
i hant looked over the bigger bits yet

i took the samples from an open shaft from the 1900s just looked for stuff that looked mined for the sample

ill do a few more pans tomorrow and take some better pics

 

[Fishermandan]

You'll know gold when you see it as it has the same colour as seen from any direction.

it is so fine though, I'm thinking most would just pan it off and too hard to deal with, my point is that so much of it seems worth dealing with

thank you for your reply

 

[Harald Hardrada]

Dan,

There is nothing on that cardboard that resembles gold in the slightest.
Sorry, but I think you should get someone to
A. Teach you how to pan properly.
B. To recognise gold when you find it.

Clearly you are in WA as you mentioned having a 40e, I would suggest going on one of the training days/camps that are available.

 

[DataGlasses]

You will learn the gold is heavy and the shine will stand out as the materials fall away from the pans' inner edge as the gold remains still or with little movement. Gold wants to be found when in the pan, once you get your first piece you will soon learn the way it "acts in water' and start to allow for that aspect as you swoosh the pan. Of course it doesn't hurt to pan/swoosh twice once the material has moved down from the inner edge, as sometimes you may miss some on the first attempt. Good luck!

 

[Fishermandan]

Dan,

There is nothing on that cardboard that resembles gold in the slightest.
Sorry, but I think you should get someone to
A. Teach you how to pan properly.
B. To recognise gold when you find it.

Clearly you are in WA as you mentioned having a 40e, I would suggest going on one of the training days/camps that are available.

don't think that's going to happen for some time due to my location in the upper great southern ill keep watching youtube and keep practising

thank you for your reply

 

[davsgold]

G'day Fishermandan

Remember that gold is about 19 times heavier than water and the rocks and gravel and sand in your pan are about 2.5 - 3 times heavier than water.

So gold is the the heaviest thing in your pan and the last thing to move when swirling the water back over the concentrates in the pan.

Also add some dishwashing rinse aid or any surfactant to the water your panning with to break the surface tension and stop the fine gold from floating.

This is what gold looks like in my pan.

cheers dave

 

[Fishermandan]

You will learn the gold is heavy and the shine will stand out as the materials fall away from the pans' inner edge as the gold remains still or with little movement. Gold wants to be found when in the pan, once you get your first piece you will soon learn the way it "acts in water' and start to allow for that aspect as you swoosh the pan. Of course it doesn't hurt to pan/swoosh twice once the material has moved down from the inner edge, as sometimes you may miss some on the first attempt. Good luck!

thanks, mate for taking the time to explain in fact only done 3-4 pans just using a big tub of water and painfully working the pan, i will get there im not one to give up

 

[Harald Hardrada]

Not trying to be a smart A** but you would learn a lot more from 30 minutes with someone that knows what they are doing than spending a week watching Utube.
Any members in the upper great southern that could help Dan out ?

 

[Fishermandan]

Not trying to be a smart A** but you would learn a lot more from 30 minutes with someone that knows what they are doing than spending a week watching Utube.
Any members in the upper great southern that could help Dan out ?

its all good mate, and thank you for calling out some needed help

 

[Fishermandan]

davsgold

2nd picture is what I'm seeing except its finer also I'm having issues with the dirt (fines)sicking to the bottom of the pan, when i first add water to fresh dirt in the pan and swish and rotate the swirl you can see the gold (assuming)cloud up and sparkly in the sun and it flows down the riffles in the pan

 

[Moneybox]

Dan it sounds like you have pyrites but I'd be just storing it in a bottle anyway.

Don't get frustrated with your panning. It must be about six or seven years since I first bought a pan but I'm only now learning to use it properly. We don't have the water so don't get to practise that often and some find it easy and some of us don't. I use a pan several times a week at the moment and practise makes perfect. I can now pan until all the black sand and lead goes and just leaves me clean gold if I want to persist although I usually don't. I find it easier to finish the last bit in the kitchen using a breakfast bowl and tea strainer while Mrs M is out. My fines just go with the last of the black sand into a bottle for processing later.

 

[Fishermandan]

Dan it sounds like you have pyrites but I'd be just storing it in a bottle anyway.

Don't get frustrated with your panning. It must be about six or seven years since I first bought a pan but I'm only now learning to use it properly. We don't have the water so don't get to practise that often and some find it easy and some of us don't. I use a pan several times a week at the moment and practise makes perfect. I can now pan until all the black sand and lead goes and just leaves me clean gold if I want to persist although I usually don't. I find it easier to finish the last bit in the kitchen using a breakfast bowl and tea strainer while Mrs M is out. My fines just go with the last of the black sand into a bottle for processing later.

yes mate that's a great idea been drying it out and keeping it in a jar just as you said processing it later, just been watching a dude in the U/S smelting black sand and even he gets surprised at the return.

how long does it take you to pan down to gold?
tomorrow only 25 so will wash up the quartz stone chips and have another shot at panning

cheers mate and thank you

 

[Adrian ss]

Yeah mate I do not see any gold in those pics. Doesn't mean there is none there but.
You might run a magnet over the dry stuff and see what happens. Magnet will not attract gold.
Also if you have dried enough of it out you could test it for conductivity with an ohm meter. A simple multimeter from bunnings or even maybe a reject shop will do the trick. Should be able to get one good enough for about 10 bucks. Gold is very conductive. pyrites and fools gold is not. You might have a bit of tin there but can not really tell from a pic.

This vid will give you some clues as to how to dish a bit of gold in a bucket or tub,

https://www.instructables.com/How_to_Pan_For_Gold/

 

[davsgold]

davsgold

2nd picture is what I'm seeing except its finer also I'm having issues with the dirt (fines)sicking to the bottom of the pan, when i first add water to fresh dirt in the pan and swish and rotate the swirl you can see the gold (assuming)cloud up and sparkly in the sun and it flows down the riffles in the pan

I'm not sure what you mean by the "(fines) sicking to the bottom of the pan", if you mean sticking then it must have a fair amount of clay in it, just push it around with your hand to get it moving, an use a few drops of rinse aid type of stuff, and this also helps counteract any oil from you skin in the water as this oil also makes the small gold float.

I don't know what you mean when you say you can see gold and sparkly in the sun, and it flows down the riffles, gold does not sparkle and is the last thing to move in the pan as it is the heaviest

You need to put up a picture of your pan after you have panned it down and have what you say is gold and the gravels separated like I have in the pictures I put up of the gold and the sand separated, then we might be able to see what you are actually doing and actually have in your pan :goldpan:

cheers dave

 

[Fishermandan]

99% sure its fools gold so been fooled by fools gold lol here are some pics of some rocks i flashed up seems the dirt is loaded with it

 

[Fishermandan]

Yeah mate I do not see any gold in those pics. Doesn't mean there is none there but.
You might run a magnet over the dry stuff and see what happens. Magnet will not attract gold.
Also if you have dried enough of it out you could test it for conductivity with an ohm meter. A simple multimeter from bunnings or even maybe a reject shop will do the trick. Should be able to get one good enough for about 10 bucks. Gold is very conductive. pyrites and fools gold is not. You might have a bit of tin there but can not really tell from a pic.

This vid will give you some clues as to how to dish a bit of gold in a bucket or tub,

https://www.instructables.com/How_to_Pan_For_Gold/

mate thank you for that my friend and the clip helped heeps and now using the smaller pan that came in the kits and im 90% better than i started few more hrs and ill be an expert so thanks :Y:

 

[Fishermandan]

davsgold

2nd picture is what I'm seeing except its finer also I'm having issues with the dirt (fines)sicking to the bottom of the pan, when i first add water to fresh dirt in the pan and swish and rotate the swirl you can see the gold (assuming)cloud up and sparkly in the sun and it flows down the riffles in the pan

I'm not sure what you mean by the "(fines) sicking to the bottom of the pan", if you mean sticking then it must have a fair amount of clay in it, just push it around with your hand to get it moving, an use a few drops of rinse aid type of stuff, and this also helps counteract any oil from you skin in the water as this oil also makes the small gold float.

I don't know what you mean when you say you can see gold and sparkly in the sun, and it flows down the riffles, gold does not sparkle and is the last thing to move in the pan as it is the heaviest

You need to put up a picture of your pan after you have panned it down and have what you say is gold and the gravels separated like I have in the pictures I put up of the gold and the sand separated, then we might be able to see what you are actually doing and actually have in your pan :goldpan:

cheers dave

seems like fools gold by new pics my friend but i have learnt so much from all this so thank you for going out of your way for me :gemstone: