Just saw the conversation. I've tried two methods of removing the black sand. The wet method involves swishing the concentrates around in the pan while holding the magnet about 1/4 inch above the bottom. The black sands jump up through the water, while leaving the gold at the bottom.
Of course, there is the dry method which I am using now. I classify my concentrates with sieves, then use a magnet with each different sized material. I have to swish the magnet through several times until all I get is the blonde materials. More time consuming, and not sure if it really is the easiest, most accurate method.
I got out to the claim once again, and spent about five hours, of what I had planned to be an eight hour digging session. The heat again was just too much right around noon, so I got smart again, and quit. Still ended up suffering a little for my digging enthusiasm, but did pretty good considering the abbreviated digging session. Ended up with .525 grams of goodies. Most of it was super fine gold, well over 1000 pieces.
With the heat here, and sometimes terrible winds, my outdoor digging is considerably curtailed. So I decided to try backyard prospecting; that being going online and purchasing gold pay dirt. I didn't just pick one off a list on EBay. I am too wary of doing such a stupid thing. I watched a lot of YouTube video reviews, and chose one. I will not mention the vendor, as that probably is considered advertising. But I did fairly well with the two pounds of material I purchased, getting 1.42 grams for $48. It is strange looking gold, kind of washed out looking, but it is gold, though the purity is probably pretty low. The only trouble I had was that the vendor's pay dirt was quite dirty, and had lotttttts of plant matter. Anyway, this home adventure was fun, and I figured I would've spent more money if I had actually gone out to a claim. Probably wouldn't have gotten as much gold
The Memorial Day weekend coming up is supposed to be a club outing at Coolgardie, but the weather forecast looks really terrible for tent camping, with winds in the 10-25mph range. And of course, you have to contend with the desert. Even if it is 75F, you can suffer dehydration because the air seems to suck the moisture right out of you. I hope the weather forecast is inaccurate. I'd like to get back into the area I have been digging that is giving me at least 1/10 gram of gold per hour of digging. CaleyAnn