First gold!!!!

[Nuggetbrain]

Here is a pic of the first gold I ever found!

Yes, it isn't much, and yes it is from pay dirt I bought to practice in my backyard, but still it was exciting!

I panned three more pans after this and two others had this much color or a tiny bit more!

At least I know that I am not doing it completely wrong.

Very fun and I still have a bit more dirt for a couple pans tomorrow!

I hope I attach this pic correctly.



Thanks for reading.

 

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[johnedoe]

Looks good.......

 

[maui]

congrads and looking forward to see more of you gold, thanks

 

[yodi]

Dont forget to re- pan those concentrates.

 

[enamel7]

Dont forget to re- pan those concentrates.

Definitely!

 

[AuSomeness]

Sweet! I think the best part about this experience is realizing that you _can_ do it! You can really tune in on 'good' vs 'bad' methods and techniques. And then your brain goes crazy thinking about how you will utilize this new-found confidence to find Au in the wild. Best of luck! Here's to some heavy pans!

 

[goldenmojo]

Congratulations on your success. Now that you are feverish find some gold bearing ground near you and fill your pan with that.

 

[TheHunterGT]

Nice and congrats! I have found outdoor gold here in Colorado....but these pay-dirt bags from other areas have always interested me. I think it would be neat to have bags from different states or even countries to see the different types of dirt the gold is in.

 

[Aufisher]

Always a beautiful sight!

 

[dashriprock]

Way to go! Your panning skill and confidence will only get better.

 

[Vance in AK]

Oh you are in trouble now! Once you see that first flash in the pan you are doomed! Hooked for life Ill bet you are already looking at sluices, highbankers, and dredges

 

[Nuggetbrain]

Well, sorta haha ha!

I ordered a 100 mesh classifier and have been looking at fine gold recovery contraptions! I will wait on those for a while though, a bit out of my budget at this point.

Going to the "wild" part of the Los Angeles river to see what I can find. Besides trash and used needles! Ha!

Thanks for all the responses!

Tim

 

[Goldwasher]

Well, sorta haha ha!

I ordered a 100 mesh classifier and have been looking at fine gold recovery contraptions! I will wait on those for a while though, a bit out of my budget at this point.

Going to the "wild" part of the Los Angeles river to see what I can find. Besides trash and used needles! Ha!

Thanks for all the responses!

Tim

Ick ..you have several close cleaner options........................

 

[Nuggetbrain]

Such as? The San Gabriel river is in Southern California so that is my general area but the LA river cuts through the San Fernando Valley. I realize I will probably find absolutely nothing, but it will be fun and more panning practice!

 

[goldog]

Good luck on the wild LA River. If you're interested in something close to SFV you might try my area. Won't get a lot but some color anyway. PM me

 

[SierraMadre]

Congratulations! I started with a bag of "pay" dirt too. Just as exciting as finding the mother lode. Still order some time to time in winter to treat the more severe outbreaks of gold fever till I get a chance to get away for some digging.

 

[mlayers]

you know 90% or more of tbe pay dirt that you get is salted with gold so you will keep on buying from them. Plus the amount of gold will be less then what you pay for the dirt so they always make money. This way they get 3 or more times then what the gold is really wourth. But it is still cheaper then taking a trip and finding a gram or two/

 

[Skiddum]

And the fever strikes another 1. Advice on fine gold recovery. bazooka is the way to go or gold cube. But get good at panning first. I spent a year with a pan and a small keene. I've kinda went nutso these last Couple months buying all kinds of equipment. mainly pans lol trying and practicing with whatever I could use. If your looking at different pans I'd advise either Garrett gravity trap the super sluice is great. it's got great big riffles on 1 side then little humps on the other side for final clean up its a great pan and usually my wifes favorite. I mainly use my Keene dual riffle pan. great pan works really well. But me and the wife have found the EZ PAN goofy as goofy can get but it works ungodly well for large and fine gold alike. I believe the wife has found her new favorite witch is saying something.
buy there's 1 more pan coming out soon. it's a sluice pan combo. going to be a great tool and probably fun to use.

Don't feel to bad. I think everyone has bought at least 1 of those bags. I know we have just so we had something to do. there great for practice. Also home depot sand. there's probably not any gold in it. but there's black sand at least in the stuff we got and if you can pull the black sand out then you shouldn't have any problems pulling gold out of the rivers as long as you know where to look. Also a really good book is Advanced prospecting and detecting. it teaches you about how to read the geology of the area so you can better know the area your working in and if it's likely to yield any color. also you can buy books and maps online that have the best areas in your state to prospect. or go to the blm they usually have maps that you can get that have all the local claims and private property lands and such to show you where good places to look. and of course if you look through Tnet there's tons of information. gold prospecting A TO Z. Prospecting tips and a bunch of other threads. these guys are a fountain of knowledge. there's people from all over the world with years and years of experience. honestly I've learned tons just from this site alone. most of what I know is from this site. But it's definitely something you have to do to understand what and why they tell you what they do. if your looking for advice then this is the place. there isn't a piece of equipment out there that I don't think these guys haven't used all you have to do is ask and they'll share what they know about it

 

[Nuggetbrain]

Hey all! Thanks for all the advice and thoughts! I don't feel bad about buying the pay dirt at all! It was a blast and happily I have the funds to buy a bag or two to practice with. I know they spike the dirt, the place I bought it
from even says so.

As to buying a claim, I am not even in the ballpark! I just start researching things and get tons of questions about it.

Today I just got a 100 mesh classifier delivered. Wow, 100 mesh is tiny! How can anything fit through that?

Thanks!

Tim