Black sand

[goldseeker103]

I'm new to panning just wandering if have black sand does it mean there is gold there. I recently found a spot in the river that is loaded with blk sand if u take two hand full of dirt you get 1/2 of a cup of black sand do we get all that dirt in buckets or pan a bunch out to test it was raining like cats and dogs that day so we left it

 

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[Jimmydolittle]

The presents of black does not always indicate the presents of gold. You need to get with someone who can show you the basics of panning. Some good video's on Youtube that will give you a good idea of how to start. It could be you have some flour gold that will be hard to see in the black sand. Has the spot yielded gold for other people?

 

[kazcoro]

Black sand doesn't mean gold. But, where you will find the gold is with the black sand.

 

[azprospector]

Yup, I agree with the above two. It's rare to not find Gold without black sand, but it's common to find black sand without Gold.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Make that three. ooops I mean four. I gotta learn how to count some day....

 

[fowledup]

Where abouts are you? Maybe we can shorten the learning curve for you.

 

[Jeff95531]

Yup, I agree with the above two. It's rare to not find Gold without black sand, but it's common to find black sand without Gold.

I just got schooled in that very lesson

 

[goldseeker103]

North east pa.

 

[fowledup]

PA-Gold.com
Here ya go, give this a shot. I thought I had it on an overlay, but didn't. Best of luck!

 

[huntsman53]

I agree with the others that just because you found black sand, does not mean you will find Gold! However, it is a good indicator and often when you find Gold, you will also find black sand.

I found a spot on a river near me that is very similar! Only been once but I plan to go back and do some more sampling. There is sooo much black sand that it is hard to pan the stuff out. The river flows through hundreds of miles of known Gold producing locations, well before it ever gets near to my location, so there has to be some Gold. I believe that I will classify and pan out as many buckets of the black sand that I can on my next trip, crush everything and see what results I get. It is a bummer as only shovels, Gold Pans and Classifiers are allowed, so I can't use my' Highbanker/Dredge.


Frank

 

[goldseeker103]

In this spot a good size creek meets the river after dropping about 100 feet threw 4 waterfalls and on the way to that spot we noticed in the bank there is a 5 foot wide by 4feet thick black spot in the sandy bank the creek is too deep to get to it right now but ASAP I want to check it out it's about 8 feet from the top soil the creek just recently exposed it

 

[goldseeker103]

In this spot a good size creek meets the river after dropping about 100 feet threw 4 waterfalls and on the way to that spot we noticed in the bank there is a 5 foot wide by 4feet thick black spot in the sandy bank the creek is too deep to get to it right now but ASAP I want to check it out it's about 8 feet from the top soil the creek just recently exposed it

if it would help to paint the pic I can get a pic of it after this snow storm

 

[Goodyguy]

In case you wonder why black sand is considered a good indicator for gold it's very simple. It only has to do with the fact that black sand is heavy and so is gold.

Black sand or any heavies including gold, will drop out of suspension in lower pressure areas where the water flow slows down. Usually around inside bends of a water course, behind large boulders, drop offs, where the water way widens, etc. But since gold is much heavier than black sand it usually is found more toward the bottom closer to bedrock, as well as in the cracks and crevices of the bedrock.

When gold gets washed into a waterway it has already started to sink through any gravels or mud or sand on it's way to the bedrock but because of turbulence it keeps getting tumbled into the mix and will continue downstream that way until it becomes trapped, or if the water has slowed enough to end it's momentum. The exception is that the really fine and flour gold along with black sand that has recently been deposited by a flood type event will not have settled as deeply as larger flakes, pickers, or nuggets of gold.

I've found that when a good rich deposit of black sand is seen close to the surface such as commonly seen on sand bars, it's best to dig on the creek side of the deposit due to the way the heavier gold travels vs the lighter black sand.

In your case, that black sand that you saw in the bank seems to have been exposed through erosion of the bank. I would look for other indicators such as gravels that are also imbedded into the bank, look for layers and sample between each layer to find a pay streak as all layers may not contain any gold, only a specific layer may contain any appreciable amount of gold.

But that is what prospecting is about, searching for a pay streak, once found your job changes from prospecting to mining

The other thing is that all black streaks seen from a distance along streams and rivers may not be due to a presence of black sand but could just as easily be due to organic decomposition staining the surrounding material causing it to appear to be a black sand deposit, you will need to get up close and personal to be sure.

Go for the gold,
GG~

 

[goldseeker103]

Ok thanks you have helped a lot I just started last April I find dust all the time the bigger stuff seems to be like trying to catch your shadow lol good luck in you future explorations and thanks everybody again for all your help