Gold panning today

[buckmasterjr]

Went out gold panning today on the nsr. a few tiny flakes of gold but I also found something else. Some pieces were pink and some were red. They were on the bottom of the pan mixed in with the black sand and gold. What could they be? Are they worth anything? Here's a couple pics.

[Erik]

I believe you are looking at garnet. Not worth much, but I always thought it is kinda pretty.

[FishingMOM]

The unique occurrence of garnet-rich beach sands in east-central Alberta has generated interest for its industrial mineral potential, for its possible association with an undiscovered cluster of diamondiferous kimberlite, and as a curiosity regarding the genre and source of the 'purple beaches.'



http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publication...R_2008_06.html

[ducky_hunter]

I went panning today as well gt 26 flakes. was fun dont think I iwll get rich doing it :0)

[FishingMOM]

For the long cold winter months would you guys order from this guy? and try it at home?

http://s243010835.e-shop.info/shop/page/1?shop_param=

[Geezle]

Yup garnet. Not worth much but a cool find nontheless, plus garnet is my birth stone

[buckmasterjr]

Originally Posted by Geezle

Yup garnet. Not worth much but a cool find nontheless, plus garnet is my birth stone

There is TONS of it at that spot downstream from that other spot you were at last night. Thats to bad its not worth anything.

[buckmasterjr]

Does anyone know how to extract the gold from the pan besides using mercury? the stuff im finding is very small but is in big quantities and is hard to get out of the pan.

[FishingMOM]

Originally Posted by buckmasterjr

There is TONS of it at that spot downstream from that other spot you were at last night. Thats to bad its not worth anything.

There is a market for it on Ebay.


would an eye dropper of sorts work?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=160634490041


again my question would you guys buy payload from a seller for some stuff to do in the winter months?

[chain2]

Originally Posted by buckmasterjr

Does anyone know how to extract the gold from the pan besides using mercury? the stuff im finding is very small but is in big quantities and is hard to get out of the pan.

pan gold from the black sand. rotate black sand to the back of pan rinse it out. let pan and fine gold dry in the sun 5- 10 min it will then dump into a funnel or a folded paper and into your vile.
or do a search on millar tables you would need alot more cons to make that worthwile thou...have fun chain...

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by buckmasterjr

There is TONS of it at that spot downstream from that other spot you were at last night. Thats to bad its not worth anything.

Gem quality garnet has value, but you're not likely to find it here. The stuff probably came from the Canadian Shield, by way of the last ice age. Natural garnet used to serve as an abrasive, but "garnet" sand paper is man made nowadays.

Grizz

[Jimboy]

red rubies , worth a fortune

[BrownBear416]

Originally Posted by buckmasterjr

Does anyone know how to extract the gold from the pan besides using mercury? the stuff im finding is very small but is in big quantities and is hard to get out of the pan.

http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/susnboforgo.html

[Kim473]

After you get down to a little sand and gold flakes in your pan, put that into a small pail and take it home to refine it down to just gold on a rainy day or over the winter. Finish panning at home over a large plastic tub. Use the sniffer bottle to get the flakes out. Chain2 has the right idea. Have heard of people making $15,000 a year when gold was only about $300. I,m sure they used a sluice box tho and spent a lot of time at the river. One thing I saw on the net is a home made sluice that you use over a plastic tub and recycle the water in the tub. A person would get a 5 gallon pail of sand and gold concentrate at the river then take it home and refine it down at home thus not wasting time at the river panning it down to just gold thus getting more gold at the end of the day.

Garnets!
Fined enough of them and make a $5.00 pc of jewlery. You could even be one of those people at the flee market making millions. LOL
All fun tho just getting out and enjoying nature.

[cody c]

They are probably garnet, but there is also a bit of sapphire in alberta, and I believe there is some sapphire mines in northern montana and a couple claims in south eastern BC.

There is a place near golden where you can find a lot of garnet.

Last time I went out there I picked about 1/4 bucket full of less than pea size stuff, and about .5 litre worth of pea-marble size garnet, the biggest being about 2" in longest dimension.

They are all rough with lots of inclusions, no where near gem grade. But makes for a fun weekend of camping regardless.

Panning for gold would be fun however, I wish I had the time to go wheeling and panning, but it is hard to find people with similar interests or the time.

Nice pics BTW!

[Nester]

tag for interest..

[scooterj]

I also have the bug, so went to try my luck for a couple hours today, tried a new spot by the bridge at Ft Edmonton Park. Every pan came up with lots of colour, but it is so small you cant pick it up, but I was happy to find any at all. Also checked out Bedrock supplies on 63 ave, cool store for the hobbyist, not just gold panners but rockhounds, beading, and lots of other stuff. Lots of different pans, and three or four kinds of small sluices.

[buckmasterjr]

Can anyone tell me where to get the info/laws about running a sluice box in alberta?

[Toirtis]

Have not done any in Alberta, but I use to do a lot of panning in BC with some decent results (Oh, if gold were only $1600+/oz back then...). Tranquille creek, near Kamloops, was one of my favourites, as well as a few places on Vancouver Island.

[Donkey Oatey]

Originally Posted by buckmasterjr

Can anyone tell me where to get the info/laws about running a sluice box in alberta?

http://www.energy.alberta.ca/minerals/704.asp

[ducky_hunter]

where can you by a sluice box in alberta

[Donkey Oatey]

Here are two businesses that I found that sell mining/panning equipment.

Gold prospecting and mining supply stores and outlets
This section provides a list of foreign prospecting supply stores & outlets.

Canada - New Zealand - United Kingdom - "Prospecting Supply Outlets / U.S."

Canada

Bedrock Supply Ltd.
9435 - 63 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T6E 0G2
Canada
(780) 434-2040
Orders: 1-800-661-3988
Authorized dealers for: Keene Engineering

Goldfinder Canada, Ltd.
11 Belmount Dr.
St. Albert, Alberta Canada T8N0C3
1-780-459-3700
Authorized dealers for: Keene Engineering

[Toirtis]

Couple of handy links:

Info, licenses, etc:

http://www.energy.alberta.ca/minerals/704.asp

Local Calgary retailer:

http://www.greenslapidary.com/pages/...D=5&SubCatID=0

A quick search spotted this in Calgary:

http://www.buysell.com/stuff-for-sal...0D593E25/?ml=1

[buckmasterjr]

Originally Posted by Donkey Oatey

http://www.energy.alberta.ca/minerals/704.asp

Thanks... might have to build my own sluice box. The prices are ridiculous at bedrock supply in Edmonton.

[lippy]

that actually is amethyst..common in the ss river basin also.

[FishingMOM]

would anyone buy the dirt from an alaskan mine to pan during the winters?

Would it be worthwhile?

[petew]

You will make more money selling sluce boxes than shoveling gravel into them.

If you think that flour gold is small under water, wait till you take it out and dry it.

There is lots of gold if you count pieces, but not when it is time to weigh it. Panners will all claim to get the magic ounce a day, however they always seem to keep their day jobs.
It is fun, and you never know, you may find the mother load, or just shovel 10 tons of gravel to get half an ounce.

Did it in the 80's, and never could make beer money.

Pete