Gold Panning Venture in Bosnia

[Truffles_EOD]

I have just recently found and joined Treasurenet, I am a former British soldier living and working in Bosnia and recently heard about the Bakovići Gold Mine, which operated over a period of about 50 years during which time I believe over 4 tonnes of Gold was mined from the 1880's to 1938, it wasn't run continually during that time. I decided to do a little RECCE on my way back to Sarajevo today to see what the feasibility of panning in the river below the hill where the Gold Mine is located, I would really love to hear everyone's advice and experience with this, I am attaching a couple of pictures of the river; I have no experience of Gold Panning but have ordered an equipment set of pans etc; and will go back to the site in a few weeks time.

The Goldmine was situated where two small streams meet up on the hillside and the small stream that runs down the hill is renowned for being very yellow in colour, there are plans to re-open the mine as they believe there are still several tonnes to be mined. Although I didn't see the mine today, I chose to have a quick look downstream of the main river that the stream flows down into and had a quick dig around, lots of red rocks quite tightly packed into a bed of fine stones/gravel and mud, the river is fairly fast flowing and has several large rocks around that location, is this the sort of area that may yield flakes of gold and what is everyones thoughts on panning in this location, do you think it has potential?

All thoughts, advice and general knowledge will be greatly appreciated as I am a complete Beginner but very keen.

Many Thanks in advance...

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Yes, looks very interesting indeed. I would sure do some test panning if I was near by!

 

[Clay Diggins]

Welcome Truffles EOD.

You live in a very beautiful area.

Unfortunately I doubt you will find much free gold in those streams.

The gold deposit at Bakovići is a primarily gold/silver/copper sulfide deposit - meaning the metals are locked up chemically with other salts and metals. The gold bearing component is mostly strongly limonitized pyrite. The ores are very rich for this kind of deposit and are mostly contained in a few distinctive thick vein deposits.

The ore was not free milling and was extracted, after crushing, with a cyanide leach. That, and the limonite, are the probable cause of the yellow appearance of the stream. You may find cyanide leach deposits uphill on that stream with some eroded pyrites and light colored yellow - brown crystal masses of cyanide. Although there may be some good gold or silver values left in those heaps they will be very unlikely to contain free gold that can be panned. Nothing wrong with trying though.

The whole area of the Mid Bosnian Schist Mountains is highly mineralized and may contain other deposits of gold or gems that can be stream panned. From the report below I would be looking for milky white quartz veins containing colored tourmaline crystals and mica books in schist as the source. The rock itself is unlikely to pay for a single prospector but there may be small placer gold deposits in the streams and benches downhill.

Here is a link to a short (15 page) PDF report on the history and composition of the Bakovići deposits.

It would be a wonderful adventure to roam those beautiful mountains in search of treasure.
Good Luck in your exploration!

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Many thanks Kevin and Clay! I also read that pdf file yesterday Clay but you have now put it out in laymans terms which I am very grateful for. Not knowing anything about Gold panning/prospecting but very keen to learn I did read into it about the extracting of the gold from the ore and they mention small amounts of Gold per Tonne i.e. 18gm/tn but I wasn't sure until you wrote your post. The picture below is of one of the slag heaps (would you call it that in Gold mining terminology?) and you can see the yellow water, the locals have believed for many years that the yellow water is good for many ailments, would that be the case with traces of cyanide having gone through it? I will certainly persevere Clay and will go back in a few weeks, I've ordered a Fisher Gold Prospecting Kit from the U.S. and will stop by one Friday on my way or Sunday on my way back to work, I travel 230km twice a week to reach work and back to Sarajevo on the Friday.

Should I try digging deep at the edge of the river bed to get to the bedrock or harder lower layer and then try panning that?

I have the bug now so will have to see if there is a book of Gold locations/rivers throughout Europe, again if anyone has any knowledge of this any info would be extremely appreciated.

Many Thanks Clay for taking the time and effort to research this and to extract the relevant info to post here, I am very grateful for that. I will see if there are other Gold Mines in Bosnia also.

 

[Mekong Mike]

Great pics.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Truffles, I would be very careful about exposing yourself to cyanide laden water, it will absorb thru the skin somewhat and could be dangerous.

There certainly are places in Europe worth learning more about. The one I happen to be aware of is in the western Italian foothills of the alps. That is where the Romans mined the river gravels 2000 years ago...and ever since. It will take a little research to figure out where you are allowed to go but I am confident you can find your way to some gold prospecting adventures!

If you do some google searches on terms like "gold panning holidays in europe" and "gold prospecting in Europe"...stuff like that will give you lots of good info on where to start.

 

[Clay Diggins]

You are welcome Truffles. 18 grams per ton is very good ore. A ton of limonite/pyrite ore is probably about 30 buckets. 18 grams is just short of 2/3 ounce of gold.

KevinInColorado is right about checking for free cyanide before jumping in. There are a lot of potentially dangerous minerals in gold rich areas, it's always wise to know the chemistry of the material you are dealing with. Arsenic is one of the minerals often encountered yet seldom recognized by beginners - there are many more that could be detrimental to your health including the ever present silica. It's doubtful the cyanide is in a dangerous form after exhausting itself on an ore heap and being exposed to oxygen, weather and sun. Miners generally try to recover all the cyanide possible from their leach heaps to reuse too. Still better safe than sorry.

The yellow color is most probably due to the freed limonite. Limonite is basically rust and I doubt it will help or hinder your health. There will probably be several other minerals in there that could do either or both.

As I said I doubt you will find free gold in the immediate area. The source of the gold is a chemically bound mineral that is very unlikley to produce visible gold that you can pan (placer gold). If you want to try just take some small samples with a gardening trowel about six to twelve inches down in the bank and see if you get any color panning those samples out. If you do we can talk about where you might best look further.

As a guest in Bosnia you might be wise to check out their laws regarding mineral ownership. It would be sad to discover a good spot and then find out you must leave it behind.

Good luck in your new hobby. Stay safe.

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Many Thanks again Kevin and Clay, I will definitely go back in the next week or so as I am waiting on a Fisher Panning kit to arrive, also I couldn't find the actual Goldmine i.e. the leach heaps in the photo above in Google Earth, however! if you look on Flash Earth - Zoom into satellite and aerial imagery of the Earth in Flash you can clearly see the Mine very close to the North side of the main road just as you come into Bakovići from the NorthWest! which is extremely close to the main river that I took the photos of, I will go up and have a look at the heaps but will be careful, I do know that the locals have used the water coming out of there for years as a cure for many skin ailments!

I have found a decent detector shop over in Serbia online and the guy has been very helpful with the laws etc; and comparing the various detectors as I am also keen on using a detector here, with that in mind what do you guys think of the Garrett AT Gold or the Tenetiks T2? and do you use a detector yourselves to search bedrock and areas around rivers?

I will most certainly keep you up to date with what I find at Bakoviči, I have also found out there was a Roman Gold Mine to the North of this area, I will try and find out where, Clay do you think a Roman mine would be more likely to have Placer Gold than Gold they would have to have ground the rock down to find?

Cheers again, you guys are great!

 

[Clay Diggins]

Truffles I would prefer the Tenetiks G2 if your dealer has one available. They are known for finding gold and with the small coil they will find very small gold (most gold is small). A very good gold machine, in my experience, and a good choice for the beginner gold prospector. I believe the T2 is more geared to coin detecting?

With the terrain you have there a small coil will probably be more effective in the brush. Smaller coils generally have less depth but digging bullet fragments or nails at a nine inches (1/4 meter) deep in brush and rock will be much easier than doing so at 18 inches (1/2 meter). And you will be digging a lot of metal besides gold no matter how good your detector is. Metal detectors detect ... metal. When gold detecting you don't want to use any discrimination or you will lose your gold signals. Discrimination allows you to "ignore" many signals you don't want to dig but the first thing discrimination eliminates is the gold signals.

There is a difference in the design and operation of gold detectors as opposed to coin and relic detectors. There is no "one size fits all" detector for both coins/treasure and natural placer gold. Others may disagree with that statement so understand that is my experience only. Detector brands tend to be rather like religions with followers of each of them. I'm not one to challenge another persons beliefs so I welcome other opinions.

I can't speak to the Garrett AT Gold as I have no experience with one. They are not especially favored in the highly mineralized soils we have here in the Southwestern U.S but some local prospectors do find gold with them. They have a reputation as being well made machines and they may be just what you need there. You should rely on local experience, if you can, to get some more opinions.

Older Roman workings are much more likely to be associated with free gold that can be panned and detected. If the Romans were mining it there is a good chance that it was being mined long before they arrived. The area you are in has some very old gold mines and if history is correct the earliest gold coins probably contained gold from that region.

Good luck in your adventures.

Wishing you heavy pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

It occurs to me Truffles that since you are an EOD you may have some experience with Minelab?

They make the worlds finest (and most expensive) gold detectors. Their GPX Pulse Induction line of detectors are highly favored by prospectors worldwide. You may already have a connection through your employer to get one at a reasonable cost?

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Thanks again Clay, I worked in Mine Action for many years, currently on a WRA Weapons reduction program, so we are explosively destroying Warstock/Unstable/Out of Date munitions so we are not needing detectors on this current contract but the company do have mine clearance ventures ongoing in Libya and Afghanistan. I still have an Ebinger EBEX 420PB which I used to great success in mine clearance and assessments throughout Bosnia, I've used many different detectors over the years, from Schiebels and Ebingers and even the old British 4c! for mine and other UXO detection as well as Bomb Locators i.e. the Foerster 4021 for deep buried Aircraft dropped bombs, as a civilian with Exposive Ordnance Search/Battle Area Clearance and having worked with American companies many times, have also used the Schornstadt and White in places like the Ranges on Fort Campbell, Tennessee ... we used a variety of detection equipment in Northern Ireland for command wires and other items, have not used a Minelab as far as I can remember.

I have spoken with the company in Serbia and they are putting together shipping options today, I will probably go for the AT Gold at the moment to get started with, I've been doing more research in trying to locate the Roman Gold Mine, not easy as there doesn't seem to be much available info online, here is the location I believe the articles are referring to:

Flash Earth - Zoom into satellite and aerial imagery of the Earth in Flash

 

[63bkpkr]

Truffles EOD,
Very interesting thread filled with adventure and possible danger. The water color bothers me of course I'm used to the crystal clear mountain waters of Northern California that I've drunk now for 50 years with no ill affects. The color bothers me as when you start to prospect you will be needing drinking water so I suggest you ask a few more questions of the locals to see if they drink it every day all their lives or Only when they are sick! IF you must plan on drinking the water I would also suggest having it tested for potential dangers as mankind has poisoned quite a few things. I would also check into various types of water filters to see if some sort of activated charcoal types might remove some of the dissolved minerals.

Next: Panning is a very simple operation though it does take a "learned technique" to do properly. There are several panning How To videos on You Tube and I would recommend your watching them. Also I suggest you obtain some lead birdshot, shotgun pellets, to use as a test particle in your gold pan. If you can pan out a half pan of sample dirt, this means it would be nice to Classify your raw sample (run the raw sample through a 1/4" mesh screen) and still have all the lead pellets in it then you are doing a good job panning. The birdshot is a visible indicator that you are keeping all the 'heavies' in the pan and therefore would be retaining any free gold that might be out there, gold and any other heavies.

In addition it might be helpful to have a mining magnet with you to help sort out the magnetic particles so it is easier to pan your sample. I suggest obtaining a 35 mm film can with lid and placing some strong magnets into the can and putting the lid tightly back on. The magnets will be in the bottom of the can, touch the outer bottom of the can to your sample, if there are any magnetic particles on the surface of the raw sample they will now be on the bottom of the can. Hold the can over some sort of catching container, this includes a plastic bag, shake the can up and down as this will cause the magnets to become airborne inside the can thus releasing the magnetic particles into the catch container. This sort of gathering can be of greatest usefulness once the halt pan of concentrate, screened material, has been worked down to fines as then the "black sands" will be at their greatest in your pan. Removing the magnetic black sands with the magnet will reduce the labor required to pan them out of the pan and make it easier and faster to find out what is in the pan underneath the black sands. Note: IF there is any fine free gold or other valuable mineral it might get caught up in the magnetic material attached to the 35 mm film can that is now in your catch container. It is worthwhile to go through these magnetic black sands "at home" to help confirm what Might be in them.

These items will get you started on the right track. Knowing the local mineral laws and possibly property lines will help to keep you safe. There also could be a few animals or small pests like ticks to learn about in the area. I carry a small aspirin bottle filled with Cayenne Pepper as a protective device just in case something or someone needs to be stopped from harming me. I figure throwing this stuff into their face should stop them for a significant amount of time to allow me to be safe from them.

Detectors: Your choices over there are likely limited. Clay has given you excellent inputs on the ground as well as detectors including the Minelab products. I myself use a Whites GMT, possibly not available there, and it finds gold for about $800 U.S. BUT do not rush out and purchase a detector! FIRST do your panning research as it will tell you if there is anything there THEN if there is enough of any free metallic mineral you want to locate, then and only then consider the purchase of a detector. Detecting things like gold is one of the toughest things to locate with a detector BUT once you've found gold/silver/platinum with a detector you will be hooked. If there was some fee mineral the first item I would purchase would be a sluice box. If the sluice box work showed good results then and only then would I purchase a metal detector.

I combine the use of my GMT with my sluice box as follows: I locate a placer deposit, in my case of gold, by panning or possibly right off with the detector IF the detector can be swung in the area. Again Clay has given you good info by suggesting a Small coil!!!!! Boulders and bushes keep a person from easily swinging a detector coil so panning again could be the only way to test an area for gold. So, I find a mineral deposit on the down stream side of a large obstruction to the flow of water like a large boulder but there are so many other boulders there that I can not swing my detector with its smallest coil easily. So, I fill a bucket with dirt and rocks. I locate or make a spot on a gravel bar where there is no signal to my search coil. I dump my bucket of raw sample onto this no signal spot. I then swing my detector coil over the sample (the detector is turned on) and if I do not get a signal from the detector that some gold is in the sample I do not work that pile of dirt. If I get a signal then I work the dirt via the sluice and pull out the gold. Note here: The GMT will locate some really small gold particles and this is what you want from ANY detector as if it will find really small gold then it will find larger gold as well. Note here: When I am out detecting I always carry a "Sample Target" with me, this is a small piece of lead or gold that I know my detector will find attached to an easy to see colored plastic 'thing' like a poker chip. The target metal can be glued or simply taped to the plastic poker chip and the size of the poker chip makes it easy to handle and to see when tossed onto the ground.

Ok, this should see you through your initial learning of how to use the gold pan kit you've ordered and will get you out into the field with a small digging tool along with a simple pry bar, some food, some sun protection (large brimmed hat), insect repellent and a small pack to carry all of it in. You should also have some boots that give you some good ankle support/protection as you do not want to twist or break a leg out there.

Be safe, have fun and the best of success to you on your adventure.............................63bkpkr

View attachment 846534 Gold found while panning, detecting & panning and detecting & sluicing in order of first to last find.

View attachment 846537 Gold, lead bullets, magnetic rocks found while panning

View attachment 846538 Using the GMT to test classified sample (mesh wastebasket used to sort out larger rocks) for signs of gold being in the sample before putting any more work into the sample.

View attachment 846541 Folding shovel in home made 1/4" mesh "classifying" unit. Classifying a raw sample does not take sophisticated equipment. A wire mesh kitchen tool works, a wire food basket works, perforated metal 'things' work or you can make your own out of any wire mesh just cover the ends of the cut wire with duct tape so you are not always poking or cutting yourself.

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Thanks 63bkpkr,

The areas I will be going to are all within a short distance of roads/tracks so I'll not need to drink the local water etc; as I will have a jeep with me and carry emergency kit incase of breakdown but many thanks for your post above, very interesting and helpful. I have not been able to view any of your images as it keeps saying the links are invalid, could you try again to post them?

I will have a look at the source of the rive that I added above as the research points towards that location as being an important Roman Gold Mining source, I found an excellent Publication, which points to the river going through Fojnica and other rivers that were "washed" by the romans and have several metres of washed heaps etc; I am looking forward to getting the panning equipment and the detector hopefully next week sometime.

The link to the publication (pdf file) is here: http://www.anubih.ba/vanserijska/Minerali-1.pdf

Again, many thanks for all of the posts above, very much appreciated by this newbie

 

[Truffles_EOD]

One of the little Quotes at the bottom of one of the pages:

"2
Plinius the elder who lived during the reign of Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD notes
that in the Gornji Vakuf area gold could be found on the ground, and sometimes as much
as 50 pounds could be gathered in a single day"

 

[KevinInColorado]

Truff- good info in that document for sure. You can bet the Romans missed a lot of the really fine gold considering the gear they had. With a classifier and modern sluice you could even get decent gold right out of their tailings piles

 

[GranjaDeOro]

That yellow/orange water is called Yellow Boy. It is acid mine drainage and is very low PH. It can have high levels of mercury, arsenic, sulfuric acid, lead and other hazardous properties. Some mine runs are more then 100 times more corrosive then battery acid. Sulfuric acid can burn your skin, permanently blind you if splashed in eyes and it is hygroscopic so it binds to water vapors. Extreme precaution should be taken in these areas since levels vary. It kills off most life in the waters affected and it can cause cancer in humans. You want to minimize skin contact with these waters. Here is an article, and there are plenty more online. http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/MetalsMining/AcidMineDrainage.html


I was out the other day in this water and it was a risk i took for some gold. Next time i go im wearing full wading gear that protects my skin up to my chest. I posted a couple pics of this water that me and some friends recently dredged. We were near 5 goldmines. The amount of gold we found wasnt even a dollar worth and tons on pyrite.

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Many Thanks,

I will be sure to keep out of the yellowed water, I think the actual fast flowing river below the Bakoviči mine should be okay as it passes through the area, however the small stream coming from the mine itself and the obvious yellow waters next to the slag heaps I will definitely avoid...

The old Roman Mine is not the same as Bakoviči.

 

[GranjaDeOro]

Roman era mines still produce this runoff. It can take thousands of years to leach out of the rocks/soil.

 

[Truffles_EOD]

Thanks GranjaDeOro, I will most certainly keep that in mind and steer clear of the yellow areas around the mine heaps, I may sample pan through the heaps though, what do you think as they will have sat there for almost 100 years out in the weather? interesting for me is that latest article I found states that many of the large rivers here were washed for Gold over a long period.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Note to self: Avoid yellow snow and yellow water too!