Gold panning - Page 2

Donkey Oatey · #31 06-27-2013, 09:01 AM

Went on a panning course this weekend in Peace River. Got lots of color in the pan but it is super fine gold. As the instructor stated its almost 2 dimensional its so flat and small.

Had a good time panning and learning to back pan. Ran the sluice for about an hour and ran somewhere near 20 buckets of dirt through it or more. Ended up with a few hundred pieces of gold.

I sure want a little high banker now tho.

DAVENYK66 · #32 06-27-2013, 09:28 AM

nice.
High banker is a few hundred , my dad's friend has a sluice box, just a matter of going to get it up in Lac La Labiche

TBark · #33 06-27-2013, 11:09 AM

Here are 2 clips of my home made black box in action.
The mat is 11" x 54" Gold Hog matting out of Georgia, a bit pricey but gets out small stuff very well.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Tbar...46983.mp4.html

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Tbar...8406c.mp4.html

TBark

Lefty-Canuck · #34 06-27-2013, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAVENYK66

nice.
High banker is a few hundred , my dad's friend has a sluice box, just a matter of going to get it up in Lac La Labiche

The one fellow at wing night last week was saying there are special rules regarding panning by mechanical means.....not sure where to find the rules and regs but might be worth checking out to make sure you don't catch trouble.

LC

DAVENYK66 · #35 06-27-2013, 01:05 PM

Hey Lefty,
Thanks, I have the permit form , 50 bucks for 5 years. won't go pay it until I actually have the equipment .

Also the good ol government wants 10% of anything you get over 1 oz. How they know how much you have recovered I don't know.

In between yard work and cleaning 30 years worth of junk out of here, I'm practicing panning, I have a few flakes, small flakes, very small flakes. I just logged on again to watch those youtube vids of how to separate it from the black sand.

Also , nice set up TBARK.

I would like to take that course DONKEY mentioned.

Went down the gold shop to pick the woman's brain again , bought a few knick knacks while I was there, vials etc. I should say she is close to Bubbles car wash not Hugh's like I said. She's quite helpful , I wish she would teach a class. She wants to know where my secret spot is but I just can't divulge that information. Like they say , 'it's classified'

DAVENYK66 · #36 06-27-2013, 01:13 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnBSn-BHzOU

DAVENYK66 · #37 06-27-2013, 03:41 PM

this guy is pretty good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrhsjVH_LO8

OldIronWolf · #38 06-27-2013, 07:34 PM

Happy hunting.

DAVENYK66 · #39 07-06-2013, 12:42 AM

cgs01 's husband is meeting me to gold pan tomorrow, going to show me a good spot and give me some pointers .

THANKS a LOT !!!!!!

going to take both my sons some shovels my pans my little 4x4 maybe a few beers sling some gravel and have some fun.

If you never see me again , I either got swept away in the river or got rich.

Or broke my back from shoveling.

update to come .

happy fishing to the wing night people and happy whatever it is everyone else like to do.
Good night

DAVENYK66 · #40 07-07-2013, 04:55 AM

Well I found the spot , bit of an adventure getting there including having to move a fallen tree off the road in the final approach and having to navigate past a mud hole or two.

This fellow is quite interesting, I have seen him before at K-days gold panning, has lots of experience behind him,and that's about all I need , more practice and experience.

So I think it's time that I need to run some volume. I have the basic design just need to draw up some plans buy some material and put together a sluice box. I will do that this week and hope the river is low enough to get to the good spots .

Dave

Reeves1 · #41 07-07-2013, 05:15 AM

Back in the 80s I was walking along a creek near Koocanusa Lake. Don't remember where the creek is.
There was sluice box built & I followed it for about 3 miles. It was built along the bank following the creek. Never found the end of it.
All broken down & rotted, so very old.
Built so you could dig every inch of the creek.
Thought it a cool find.

DAVENYK66 · #42 07-07-2013, 05:40 AM

Amazing.
That would have done some huge volume .

DAVENYK66 · #43 07-08-2013, 10:44 AM

had a good couple of days down at the river.

Found a piece of petrified wood.

Also found some gold. Pic not available.

Red Bullets · #44 07-08-2013, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeves1

Back in the 80s I was walking along a creek near Koocanusa Lake. Don't remember where the creek is.
There was sluice box built & I followed it for about 3 miles. It was built along the bank following the creek. Never found the end of it.
All broken down & rotted, so very old.
Built so you could dig every inch of the creek.
Thought it a cool find.

I am thinking this may not have been a sluice but a wooden canal to get water to their claim. In the cariboo there were miles of these wooden 'flumes' back in the late 1800's. Some flumes channeled water for a few miles.

DAVENYK66 · #45 07-11-2013, 10:21 AM

Been busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest, but I managed to put together a proto type sluice box.

I've got to get down to the river to test her out , any one want to come fish beside us feel free to drop me a line and I'll tell ya where we are.

happy hunting, fishing, camping, gold panning or whatever.
Dave

Red Bullets · #46 07-11-2013, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAVENYK66

Been busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest, but I managed to put together a proto type sluice box.

I've got to get down to the river to test her out , any one want to come fish beside us feel free to drop me a line and I'll tell ya where we are.

happy hunting, fishing, camping, gold panning or whatever.
Dave

I am looking at your pictures of your new sluice and I see something that you might want to consider. As your top box will be having lots of water go through it, the wood will swell a bit. This may cause your wood joints to loosen and distort when it dries out again. Use screws on the joints and seal the wood. You might want to line it with something durable and water proof. Gravel and water will wear it out pretty quick.
Right above the screen area on the dump end of the top box put a cross piece to keep the walls from becoming 'wobbly', (for lack of a better word). It looks like you have a wood cross piece on the bottom of the dump end of the top box. That might impede the flow of washed gravel sliding out of the box. Move that cross piece half way up the back instead.

Have fun and get a bunch. Good luck in the quest.

DAVENYK66 · #47 07-13-2013, 11:22 PM

Did a test run definitely need some modifications, but I did recover some gold.

DAVENYK66 · #48 07-22-2013, 08:52 AM

still need some modifications but we are getting gold.

Some old timers out panning.

DAVENYK66 · #49 08-05-2013, 06:11 PM

tried a new spot down near gold bar park.

two words.....
Mother
Lode

vinny · #50 08-05-2013, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeves1

Back in the 80s I was walking along a creek near Koocanusa Lake. Don't remember where the creek is.
There was sluice box built & I followed it for about 3 miles. It was built along the bank following the creek. Never found the end of it.
All broken down & rotted, so very old.
Built so you could dig every inch of the creek.
Thought it a cool find.

That flume was used to float logs down to the lake. This is what locals told me.

TBark · #51 08-05-2013, 07:40 PM

The river water levels still need to drop.
Really has been a wasted summer for panning AB thus far.
Sluiced the NRS on May 12, nodda since.
Level is still 0.3 M higher then when we sluiced, but its getting close.
Hoping for mid Aug now.

TBark

DAVENYK66 · #52 08-05-2013, 08:32 PM

it's high but the gravel that s exposed is giving up lots of flakes , anywhere you dig.
come down to the river with us sometime , it 's a good time.
Dam mosquitoes are a PITA but we usually wind up having a campfire and a few pops.

Knot Rite · #53 08-05-2013, 11:18 PM

I"m going to be trying that here in NW Montana. I don't know what I'm doing but they say that Montana is the7th biggest gold producing state. I've been surfing the net and looking at metal detectors, I heard there is a real good gold mining store in Libby that I will need to cheque out.

Bobby

Red Bullets · #54 08-05-2013, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knot Rite

I"m going to be trying that here in NW Montana. I don't know what I'm doing but they say that Montana is the7th biggest gold producing state. I've been surfing the net and looking at metal detectors, I heard there is a real good gold mining store in Libby that I will need to cheque out.

Bobby

Here is a link you might want to read regarding Montana.

http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/info/bro...d_panning.html

Enjoy and have fun . Seek and Ye shall find, nuggets I hope.

DAVENYK66 · #55 08-11-2013, 09:52 AM

found a good spot down by Gold Bar park

I think I'll claim this spot, heading down again today if the rain doesn't get too heavy.

people fish down there too if anyone wants to come hang.

Happiestcamper · #56 08-13-2013, 02:17 PM

Hello All,

I'm new to this site and also to gold panning. I'm in Lethbridge and looking for someone to go out gold panning with. I'm new to the area and don't really know where to go. I was hoping to go west of here for a day trip, if you have any advice or would like to buddy up please let me know.

P.S. Sorry for intruding on your thread, but I can't seem to find the "start a new thread button." lol

Regards,

Tracy

Kokanee9 · #57 08-13-2013, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happiestcamper

Hello All,

P.S. Sorry for intruding on your thread, but I can't seem to find the "start a new thread button." lol

I wouldn't worry too much about starting a new thread. This thread was probably the best place to post that your looking for someone to share a hobby.

DAVENYK66 · #58 08-13-2013, 09:10 PM

Hi , no problem.

Have you done any panning at all yet?
It's more fun with other people for sure. It didn't take us too long to learn ,check that you tube link I posted , the old timer gives a pretty good demo and explains how to shake out a pan pretty good. Post #37

The classifiers work good for us but my friend has just an old kitchen strainer and that works just fine too.

I don't know anything about the Lethbridge area but you can shoot of questions and I can try to help or someone else might.

Soon I'll try and get a pic of some I concentrated down, just been busy.

Happy gold panning

Red Bullets · #59 08-13-2013, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAVENYK66

Hi , no problem.

Have you done any panning at all yet?
It's more fun with other people for sure. It didn't take us too long to learn ,check that you tube link I posted , the old timer gives a pretty good demo and explains how to shake out a pan pretty good. Post #37

The classifiers work good for us but my friend has just an old kitchen strainer and that works just fine too.

I don't know anything about the Lethbridge area but you can shoot of questions and I can try to help or someone else might.

Soon I'll try and get a pic of some I concentrated down, just been busy.

Happy gold panning

A person just has to understand that gold is denser than most other minerals and liquids. When you shake your pan, even if it is micro fine gold, that gold will hit the bottom of your pan very fast. seconds. In alberta, once you 'shake' you pan for 30 seconds, pretty much everything above the bottom 1/2 inch in your pan is garbage. Knowing this you can power through a pan of gravel in 3 minutes or so.

DAVENYK66 · #60 08-14-2013, 07:45 AM

you need to 'liquify' the material in the pan.