Floating Gold???

[Jordan P]

Someone on here told me gold acts the same no matter how big or small it is. That's all fine and dandy until now. I just heard if you are crushing rocks to find gold (Mostly flour gold) it will have a tendency to float and possibly be washed away.

Is this true?

Thanks,

Jordan

 

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[huntsman53]

I am pretty sure it is true! A friend who has been Gold prospecting much of his 70 years on this earth, told me that besides curing or scouring a new Gold pan for use, you always wash it with a good degreasing Dishwashing liquid as well as wash your' hands. You should also wash it every time before you go out prospecting. The reason is that any grease/oil that gets into the Gold pan, can make small Gold flakes and Gold dust float. So, if it floats, it is going right out of the pan when washing out lighter material.


Frank

 

[rodoconnor]

They build battleships out of concrete and steel ,and they float just fine.A flat thin piece of gold will float like a raft. A little dish soap to break the surface tension and you'll be good to go.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Gold Can Float! Keep gold in your gold pan | Colorado Gold Camp

 

[KevinInColorado]

Virtually any flat gold under 50 mesh will float because at the atomic level gold repels water. This atomic level magnetic force is overridden by good old gravity as the gold gets larger. This means any time gold can get dry, it will then float...assuming it's small of course. A drop of Jetdry rinse aid does a great job of defeating this. Soap also works but tends to make annoying bubbles.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I am pretty sure it is true! A friend who has been Gold prospecting much of his 70 years on this earth, told me that besides curing or scouring a new Gold pan for use, you always wash it with a good degreasing Dishwashing liquid as well as wash your' hands. You should also wash it every time before you go out prospecting. The reason is that any grease/oil that gets into the Gold pan, can make small Gold flakes and Gold dust float. So, if it floats, it is going right out of the pan when washing out lighter material. Frank

To make your life easier, I have to disagree about needing to wash your pans every time you use them. That's just silly...and some times there are specks of gold that live in my pan from one trip to the next, don't wanna wash those away!

 

[aarthrj3811]

If you are getting thin gold it has a tendency to float..I think it is called leaf gold

 

[Jason in Enid]

If you are getting thin gold it has a tendency to float..I think it is called leaf gold

No. Gold leaf is a mechanically flattened gold that is used for decorations. It doesn't refer to placer or load gold.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Some times the gold gets smashed when being crushed..Art

 

[Jordan P]

I'll get some jet dry. Hope it's not expensive lol. Washing my pan before every trip/use does sound silly, but I totally understand the concept.

Anyone ever find gold in limestone? I crushed a bunch and found some!

 

[prospect007]

bluedeer, there is gold in limestone. southern Utah is known for gold in limestone.

back to topic, dawn works just as well as jetdry. two drops in the panning tube is plenty.

 

[3xflyfisher]

It actually has to do with surface tension of the water and the surface area of a gold flake. The smaller and thinner a speck of gold is the more surface area it has. Due to this surface area in relation to the surface tension of water (~molecular charge), small flakes of gold can and do float. Every one who has mentioned jet-dry or a dish soap is right, the soap is a wetting agent, thus making water "wetter" on a a molecular level and reducing the surface tension and then not allowing the small gold flakes to float. Chemically a more complicated explanation but this is close!
Prospect is correct, gold can be found in carbonate rock types (limestone and dolomites).

 

[goldenmojo]

I get super small gold floating around my pan when I snuffing it up. The thing I have found is big flat flakes will float up from halfway up to the high watermark. Found one today near the nosebleed section.

 

[arizau]

It actually has to do with surface tension of the water and the surface area of a gold flake. The smaller and thinner a speck of gold is the more surface area it has. Due to this surface area in relation to the surface tension of water (~molecular charge), small flakes of gold can and do float. Every one who has mentioned jet-dry or a dish soap is right, the soap is a wetting agent, thus making water "wetter" on a a molecular level and reducing the surface tension and then not allowing the small gold flakes to float. Chemically a more complicated explanation but this is close!
Prospect is correct, gold can be found in carbonate rock types (limestone and dolomites).

Doc at Gold Hog gives a graphic illustration and explanation of this in the following link.
Many of his videos are very informative and helpful.

 

[Jordan P]

Thanks for the information fly fisher! Makes a lot of sense.

 

[goldhog]

First section of that video deals extensively with it.