Black Sand Pay Streaks

[Sluicedog]

What is the best way to MD pay streaks? General techniques and specific to your MD. All metal mode with very positive GB? Any thoughts? I'm trying find hot spots for flour gold hidden in the black sand in a NH stream. I was thinking of making an old beat frequency MD such as:

Then mount a cheapo AM radio to it and look for the black sand

 

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[Jim in Idaho]

Keep in mind that flour gold and black sand don't end up in the same place. Generally, the black sand is much rounder, so it drops out much earlier than the flour gold, even though the gold is heavier. Usually the flour gold is found on the sand bars. It tends to drop out as the water flow decreases, due to it's very flat shape. Often it's in lines (pay streaks) that are parallel to the water flow. You can find them by sampling in a line that is at 90* to the water flow...in effect "across" the sand bar. When you hit a pan that has many colors, you have found the streak location. Then you can turn parallel, and follow the streak. The nice thing about this is that the flour gold gets redeposited every time there is high water. Also, the flour doesn't tend to go deeper as it sits in the streak. It stays there until the next high water picks it up and moves it farther downstream to another bar. That means you can dig too deep, and end up below the streak, as well as missing it sideways.
Jim

 

[Hitndahed]

Thanks Jim,,,

Where I prospect this is about the only type of gold present. Lanny in Alberta pretty much says the exact thing concerning flour and paystreaks.

GUARANTEED I will fully listen to those who have found theirs already and are as willing as you all are to give us this much needed information to assist us in our searches.

Hit

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Thanks Jim,,,

Where I prospect this is about the only type of gold present. Lanny in Alberta pretty much says the exact thing concerning flour and paystreaks.

GUARANTEED I will fully listen to those who have found theirs already and are as willing as you all are to give us this much needed information to assist us in our searches.

Hit

Same where I live....no pickers, or chunky gold...only flour. But, they took 20,000oz of flour out of the Snake River, in only my county. (Bingham). Total from the entire Snake drainage is estimated at nearly 100,000oz. Now, the dams screw with the distribution, but there's still flour to be found.
Jim

 

[chlsbrns]

We use a waterproof johnson magnetic locator to find large black sand deposits.

You can check them out at:
Short Magnetic Locator with LCD | Johnson Level & Tool Mfg Company

 

[Sluicedog]

Thanks for the info. The river has very fine gold that collects where the black sand hides out. I could back tune my Gold Stinger to grab everything and listen for the hottest zones, I thought a simple BFO system would indicate zones, which I could mark with pickets. They scope out the pay streak zones and dredge,sluice or pan it out.

 

[chlsbrns]

A magnetic locator is a magnetometer. If you searched the net you should be able to find an inexpensive kit and make your own. If I am remembering correctly the board is about $15?

 

[RockRaven]

Most of the newer detectors that are designed for gold have a ground mineralization meter of some type, should work to find black sand as well. Building a BFO will likely cost more than buying an older BFO machine off of ebay, another option is an early VLF machine with a TR switch, TR mode should be good for finding black sand. Even something as simple as a rare earth magnet on a stick might work

 

[Sluicedog]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I try to find general black sand zones in NH streams. Once they are generally located I can test pan them, then high bank or dredge the zones. My Garrett Gold stinger is a nice VLF detector....I usually try to tune out the black sand......now I'm considering doing the opposite. Since the gold there is very small, I thought i would go for it's companion that collects in great quantity. Magnets have been my prospecting friends for years. My basic travel prospecting kit is a trowel, Garrett green gold pan, magnet and sniffer bottle. I always travel with optimism, sense of adventure and with some beef jerky.

 

[Gold Itch]

This is why I like the Whites GMT, because it has a meter that measures the Black Sand as well as the Ground Balance setting.