Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Where to find gold!
Where to Find Gold by Reading Streams and Rivers
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Christopher_J_Walkin]Christopher J Walkin
Many inexperienced prospectors often get frustrated very quickly when they first start. They're expectations are high and they don't have a lot of experience to work with. While there are many skills one must develop to mature into a successful prospector, the one all beginners should focus on immediately is their ability to judge, read, and otherwise locate gold in streams and creeks. It's not rocket science so a good foundation goes a really long way!
Firstly you must realize that gold in itself is very heavy. It has a specific gravity of 19.3, so in other words it weighs 19 times as much as an equal volume of water. That's quite heavy and there's really only a handful of other elements that weigh more. None of which need any concern for now. The principle that gold is heavy is the foundation of all gold panning and placer mining. Gold will settle to the bottom of any turbulent material and it will be the last thing to be washed away by water. This is how the premise of a gold pan works. It's important to know this because once you understand the dynamics and behavior of gold in water, you can begin to predict its behavior in moving water like creeks and rivers.
Now assuming you're working a creek, stream, or river that's known to bare gold - which you should be! - you're going to have to imagine or predict where the gold will be settling as the current pushes it around and deposits it. To do this, Imagine in your mind a thick S curve representing the water flow. If you where to take a piece of string and run it from the stop of the "S" to the bottom you would notice that it cuts the corners much like a race car driver - the path of least resistance. Along this line is where the gold will be deposited. Note that the line is a complete juxtaposition of the creek's faster moving current. Gold will be deposited on inside corners and just off center in long straight sections. Apply this imaginary string idea to the creek or river before you and start digging.
Since it doesn't do much good to run around checking random spots you may think - or hope - have gold, you're going to want to work on your sampling skills. Sampling isn't the most fun since its rather tedious and monotonous. However it can seriously help you hone in on a good pay streak or honey hole.
Start by finding the high water mark and dig up a sample from the ground. I dig down to three different depths or until I hit bedrock, whichever comes first. Once I've panned out the samples and noted how much black sand or gold I've found at the three depths, I then move towards the center of the creek in 3 or 4 foot increments. Continue in this fashion all the way to the center of the creek if you can, all the while noting how much black sand or gold you're recovering. Remember black sand is heavy like gold, but with a specific gravity between 5 and 11. The black sands will be deposited near and around gold. Ideally what you want to look for is the specific spot where the black sand levels drop greatly. It will be nearest the center of the creek because this is where the water moves faster and carries the black sands away. Because gold is heavier this is generally where the gold is deposited or left unmoved. This will be your pay streak and all your work has hopefully paid off. Follow the pay streak longitudinally up and down the creek till it runs out.
So there you have it, two very useful methods of finding gold in most streams, creeks and rivers. Armed with this knowledge you should be able to find at the very least a little bit of gold. That's a far cry better than NO gold and nobody can argue with that! Happy prospecting and good luck!
Visit the complete guide to [http://goldpantips.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-find-gold-reading-streams.html]Finding gold in streams and [http://goldpantips.blogspot.com/2009/07/gold-panning-lessons.html]Gold Panning Lessons if you're interested in learning more!
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Where-to-Find-Gold-by-Reading-Streams-and-Rivers&id=2529201] Where to Find Gold by Reading Streams and Rivers
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Christopher_J_Walkin]Christopher J Walkin
Many inexperienced prospectors often get frustrated very quickly when they first start. They're expectations are high and they don't have a lot of experience to work with. While there are many skills one must develop to mature into a successful prospector, the one all beginners should focus on immediately is their ability to judge, read, and otherwise locate gold in streams and creeks. It's not rocket science so a good foundation goes a really long way!
Firstly you must realize that gold in itself is very heavy. It has a specific gravity of 19.3, so in other words it weighs 19 times as much as an equal volume of water. That's quite heavy and there's really only a handful of other elements that weigh more. None of which need any concern for now. The principle that gold is heavy is the foundation of all gold panning and placer mining. Gold will settle to the bottom of any turbulent material and it will be the last thing to be washed away by water. This is how the premise of a gold pan works. It's important to know this because once you understand the dynamics and behavior of gold in water, you can begin to predict its behavior in moving water like creeks and rivers.
Now assuming you're working a creek, stream, or river that's known to bare gold - which you should be! - you're going to have to imagine or predict where the gold will be settling as the current pushes it around and deposits it. To do this, Imagine in your mind a thick S curve representing the water flow. If you where to take a piece of string and run it from the stop of the "S" to the bottom you would notice that it cuts the corners much like a race car driver - the path of least resistance. Along this line is where the gold will be deposited. Note that the line is a complete juxtaposition of the creek's faster moving current. Gold will be deposited on inside corners and just off center in long straight sections. Apply this imaginary string idea to the creek or river before you and start digging.
Since it doesn't do much good to run around checking random spots you may think - or hope - have gold, you're going to want to work on your sampling skills. Sampling isn't the most fun since its rather tedious and monotonous. However it can seriously help you hone in on a good pay streak or honey hole.
Start by finding the high water mark and dig up a sample from the ground. I dig down to three different depths or until I hit bedrock, whichever comes first. Once I've panned out the samples and noted how much black sand or gold I've found at the three depths, I then move towards the center of the creek in 3 or 4 foot increments. Continue in this fashion all the way to the center of the creek if you can, all the while noting how much black sand or gold you're recovering. Remember black sand is heavy like gold, but with a specific gravity between 5 and 11. The black sands will be deposited near and around gold. Ideally what you want to look for is the specific spot where the black sand levels drop greatly. It will be nearest the center of the creek because this is where the water moves faster and carries the black sands away. Because gold is heavier this is generally where the gold is deposited or left unmoved. This will be your pay streak and all your work has hopefully paid off. Follow the pay streak longitudinally up and down the creek till it runs out.
So there you have it, two very useful methods of finding gold in most streams, creeks and rivers. Armed with this knowledge you should be able to find at the very least a little bit of gold. That's a far cry better than NO gold and nobody can argue with that! Happy prospecting and good luck!
Visit the complete guide to [http://goldpantips.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-find-gold-reading-streams.html]Finding gold in streams and [http://goldpantips.blogspot.com/2009/07/gold-panning-lessons.html]Gold Panning Lessons if you're interested in learning more!
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Where-to-Find-Gold-by-Reading-Streams-and-Rivers&id=2529201] Where to Find Gold by Reading Streams and Rivers
Gold nuggets and what they have to do with gold prices!
Gold Nuggets - What Do They Have to Do With Gold Prices Today?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Macmillan]Joe Macmillan and Irma Mac Millan
Gold nuggets. For years man has chased the pot of gold reportedly sitting at the end of the rainbow. Never has it been found.
There are different configurations that gold is found today. Gold is formed due to extreme heat and chemical reaction deep down in the earth. Under extreme pressure it is pushed up towards the surface and dispersed within rock that makes up the surface.
Some of the gold lies in veins and a lot of it is within the solid rock. Gold may be extracted from that rock in different ways.
First there is hard rock mining. A shaft is sunk down until the ore body is found. The rock bearing ore is taken to the surface and put through crushers until it is very fine. Then using chemicals the fine gold is extracted and sent to the refinery where it is melted down and poured into ingots. The mining business is huge and for this reason we will concentrate this article on:
Placer mining. Some of the gold within the veins in the rock lying just below the surface sits under streams. Over millions of years the rock containing the gold gets exposed to the effects of erosion and finds it's way into the streams and moved along the creek bed. Due to the action of the water the pieces or nuggets as they are called, work their way down through the fine gravel until they reach bedrock.
Gold prospectors have spent thousands of years attempting to find gold. The ancient Egyptians buried gold jewelry and trinkets with the bodies of their elite over 5,000 years ago.
There have been many gold rushes over the years. California, Arizona and Nevada have seen their share of them. The Fraser river in British Columbia was a hotbed of speculation back in 1850.
The Yukon gold rush back in the 1890's produced millions of dollars worth of gold. At least 30,000 men and women left their homes to travel for in most cases, a year or more to become involved in their quest for riches. Most did not gain a penny for their efforts.
Here is what would happen when a prospector found some nuggets in the pan while working along a creek during the early years.
First he would begin to find an area where he could set up a sluice at the creek. It would be set up in such a way that water would run through it steadily. The sluice box would have small pieces of wood across it a few inches or a foot apart. He would cover this with burlap or whatever he had on hand. He had to use his axe to cut trees into boards to build the box. He may have taken along with him a rocker that he could use instead of the sluice.
Then he would set to work shoveling gravel and sand into the sluice allowing the gravel to run down the slope assisted by the water.
He would do this for a few hours and then stop shoveling and then he would check the burlap just in behind the riffles. That is where the gold would settle it being heavier than the rock and sand. The water would have washed most of the rest through the sluice.
He would then, very carefully, dump the burlap out into his pan. It would contain small stones, sand and gold and he would then swish water through the pan rocking it back and forth. The sand and gravel would be washed out and the heavier gold would stay on the bottom of the pan.
Finally he had his gold. If he had a promising show he would now need to get to work and find the good stuff. That would mean digging down to find bedrock which might be 30 feet down.
Gold prices today are over $1,300. per ounce. During the Yukon gold rush it was $16. The price of gold has fluctuated wildly over the years as the spot gold price moves about as if on a whim by the stock market.
Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website http://whistler-outdoors.com is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here http://www.whistler-outdoors.com/about-us.html
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Gold-Nuggets---What-Do-They-Have-to-Do-With-Gold-Prices-Today?&id=5107568] Gold Nuggets - What Do They Have to Do With Gold Prices Today?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Macmillan]Joe Macmillan and Irma Mac Millan
Gold nuggets. For years man has chased the pot of gold reportedly sitting at the end of the rainbow. Never has it been found.
There are different configurations that gold is found today. Gold is formed due to extreme heat and chemical reaction deep down in the earth. Under extreme pressure it is pushed up towards the surface and dispersed within rock that makes up the surface.
Some of the gold lies in veins and a lot of it is within the solid rock. Gold may be extracted from that rock in different ways.
First there is hard rock mining. A shaft is sunk down until the ore body is found. The rock bearing ore is taken to the surface and put through crushers until it is very fine. Then using chemicals the fine gold is extracted and sent to the refinery where it is melted down and poured into ingots. The mining business is huge and for this reason we will concentrate this article on:
Placer mining. Some of the gold within the veins in the rock lying just below the surface sits under streams. Over millions of years the rock containing the gold gets exposed to the effects of erosion and finds it's way into the streams and moved along the creek bed. Due to the action of the water the pieces or nuggets as they are called, work their way down through the fine gravel until they reach bedrock.
Gold prospectors have spent thousands of years attempting to find gold. The ancient Egyptians buried gold jewelry and trinkets with the bodies of their elite over 5,000 years ago.
There have been many gold rushes over the years. California, Arizona and Nevada have seen their share of them. The Fraser river in British Columbia was a hotbed of speculation back in 1850.
The Yukon gold rush back in the 1890's produced millions of dollars worth of gold. At least 30,000 men and women left their homes to travel for in most cases, a year or more to become involved in their quest for riches. Most did not gain a penny for their efforts.
Here is what would happen when a prospector found some nuggets in the pan while working along a creek during the early years.
First he would begin to find an area where he could set up a sluice at the creek. It would be set up in such a way that water would run through it steadily. The sluice box would have small pieces of wood across it a few inches or a foot apart. He would cover this with burlap or whatever he had on hand. He had to use his axe to cut trees into boards to build the box. He may have taken along with him a rocker that he could use instead of the sluice.
Then he would set to work shoveling gravel and sand into the sluice allowing the gravel to run down the slope assisted by the water.
He would do this for a few hours and then stop shoveling and then he would check the burlap just in behind the riffles. That is where the gold would settle it being heavier than the rock and sand. The water would have washed most of the rest through the sluice.
He would then, very carefully, dump the burlap out into his pan. It would contain small stones, sand and gold and he would then swish water through the pan rocking it back and forth. The sand and gravel would be washed out and the heavier gold would stay on the bottom of the pan.
Finally he had his gold. If he had a promising show he would now need to get to work and find the good stuff. That would mean digging down to find bedrock which might be 30 feet down.
Gold prices today are over $1,300. per ounce. During the Yukon gold rush it was $16. The price of gold has fluctuated wildly over the years as the spot gold price moves about as if on a whim by the stock market.
Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website http://whistler-outdoors.com is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here http://www.whistler-outdoors.com/about-us.html
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Gold-Nuggets---What-Do-They-Have-to-Do-With-Gold-Prices-Today?&id=5107568] Gold Nuggets - What Do They Have to Do With Gold Prices Today?
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