What I’ve Learned So Far

[Ian g]

I would say my panning skills have improved quite well over the past couple of months since I began “looking” and I no longer have to use my magnifier to check wether it’s gold in the pan or not.
The burn I pan is quite peculiar,as in the deeper I dig the less gold I find.I might find a couple of small flakes only a foot deep,but then dig down another two and only find tiny specks.

I got talking to a guy yesterday called Gary,who pans the same area and he says the same thing,and we both agreed it must be something to do with the clay layer and that we believe the gold isn’t sinking beyond this layer.I would say the clay layer is false bed rock.Gary mentioned that he found a 2.4g nugget sitting on the clay layer but that he didn’t find anything else around it.

Gary is the first person I have spoken too while panning and although he has only been panning himself for 5yrs,it was good to know that I’m not the only one who has noticed the lack of deeper gold.

The clay layer has a very smooth consistency and is grey in colour.Some areas of clay do hold gravel but in general if I mash a chunk up it turns to nothing but a cloud.

There is also not much in the way of black sand in this little stream,mostly blonde sand.There are flecks of platinum,zinc,sulphur,copper and iron to be found in the pan and some lead here and there.

There was a gold mine near the top of one of the feeder streams and I will be going for a venture to see if I can find it.

 

[Gold Seeker]

It's common knowledge to most gold prospectors that gold usually will not go passed a clay layer and will be on top of the clay for the most part but could be into the clay layer a little bit, there is however a possibility of gold being under a clay layer IF it was deposited before the clay layer formed or got laid down, so it's always a good idea to punch through the clay and do some sampling.

[Steve Herschbach]