Processing. How much is too much?

[goldenIrishman]

How much processing of your materials is to much to you? Where does you draw the line? Lately I've gotten some PMs form others wanting me to detail out my full process for running materials and I figured that it would be easier to answer them all with a post instead of replying to everyone individually. (That post is currently being worked on off line)

While I have no problem with sharing my recovery method with others, these questions brought a new question to my mind. That being "How much is too much?" I'm sure that everyone here wants to get all the gold they can out of the materials that they've sweated to unearth and that those of us that do this for a living have learned on where to draw the line on processing so they can keep moving materials instead of spending more time on getting every last bit of gold out of those materials.

Here is my take on this and I'd like to hear from others just where they draw the line.

1. Dig, classify and sluice the materials down to concentrates.
2. Initial clean up of cons. Panning and removing magnetic sands and gold.
3. Grind then Shake N bake black sands but only when I have nothing else to dig or run in the sluice or pan.
4. Save B.Sands for amalgamation at a later date.

I feel that this is a reasonable amount of processing for a small timer like myself and the only time I get really obsessive with getting EVERYTHING out is during testing so I know just what to expect as well as figure out the best way to work an area. If I was to obsess about getting everything out of the materials I'd spend more time processing than doing actual mining. The black sands will still be there for more processing later like when the weather is rotten, but when the weather is good I spend most of my time digging and processing materials.

Where is YOUR line at and why?

 

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[deserdog]

Dig, pan or sluice. Pan out cons and suck up visible gold. Dry and bag and sale black sand. Done.

 

[Oakview2]

You have someone to buy black sand? I could be rich boys

 

[fowledup]

Well I do pretty much the same as you all do. I can't bring out a ton of cons from where I go, maybe a gallon freezer bag at the most. Then when I get home I'll blue bowl that. However...I recently watched a show on processing your cons that Adventures in Prospecting did on the prospecting channel. I knew I was throwing out fine gold (into wifes flower beds), but didn't think it amounted to much. After seeing that show I think I may rerun the flowerbeds

 

[Fullpan]

In ten years of shoveling dirt thru an A52 Keene sluice, me and my different partners got well over 30 ozs of gold total. All we did in that whole period was re-pan the cons twice at the most. Only one time I remember bringing the black sands home to the house. I hear about the new sluices, the blue bowls, and miller tables, etc. Can't help wondering if we didn't pour about 5ozs back into the river, lol.

 

[kazcoro]

In ten years of shoveling dirt thru an A52 Keene sluice, me and my different partners got well over 30 ozs of gold total. All we did in that whole period was re-pan the cons twice at the most. I hear about the new sluices, the blue bowls, and miller tables, etc. Can't help wondering if we didn't pour about 5ozs back into the river, lol.

IF that is a true ratio, wow. You think you lost a sixth of your gold by not processing.

 

[mxer47]

My process would be more extensive if my garage was heated. LOL. I sluice in the off season, dredge during the season and clean cons once every 2 weeks or so. I'm looking at reducing my cons with gold hog mats and the use of a bucket sluice. Classify, pan + 30 and blue bowl at-30 and -50. I do not run things twice in the same recovery unit, ( except to test ) I would rather spend my time getting more cons. I do save all heavy +30 material and black sand ( last 1/8 of my pan ) to grind and re-pan.

 

[Goodyguy]

You have someone to buy black sand? I could be rich boys

Here's the deal, I know a refining company who will buy all the black sand concentrates you can get!
1 string attached...........

First send them a 1lb bag for a sample. They will assay it for FREE and get back to you within 10 days of receiving the sample on how much they will pay you for your black sand concentrates.

They are looking for quantities of black sand concentrates such as is collected from dredging or from hard rock mining.
They also buy (and sell) gold and silver ore.

If this sounds good to you, then PM me for their contact info.
That goes for anyone who reads this.

All I ask in return is that you send 10% of your profits (sales to the refiner minus shipping) to the "Make a Wish Foundation"
(honor system)


GG~

 

[ALewis]

I have wondered about this. Save the black sand or "catch and release" ? Earlier this year on my first few trips I saved All of the black sand I could find, thinking I would find pieces I was missing while learning to pan. (which I did, still have a few bags, with some super fines, always thought it'd be too much work for .01 or fly poop, etc.)

Now, after spending this year working on it, I just pan the con's from my sluice, first w. reg, then use a small finishing pan. My thinking was that I was getting everything but the tiniest of specks...How much can they add up to ? Now I wonder ? Going to start savin again....

 

[deserdog]

Never had my black sand assyed. But I got anywhere from $8.00 to $12.00 for 5 lbs. So that is anywhere from $3200.00 to $4800.00 a ton. Not too bad!!

 

[Kruzman]

when test panning, I don't keep any black sand. when I cleanup my sluice I keep everything. I quick pan the sluice concentrates, and suck off the obvious gold. the rest goes in a bucket to classify and reprocess later at home. at home I classify 1/8 and pan oversize, then set aside rusty quarts, greenstone, etc. to be ground. minus 1/8 I classify to #30 and pan oversize, this material will all get saved for grinder and heat treatment. minus 30 gets run through drop riffle sluice with 1200 gph pump, pan cons again. dump wast bucket and cons into tub to be heat treated later.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I remove the magnetics, classify to 20 and 50 with each batch and pan each size separately. The accumulated non-magnetics get reclassified dry to -100 and occasionally that gets vibrated (by hand) and then the heaviest part of that gets repanned...with some success. I did take the remaining non-magnetic heavys that had produced about 10grams of gold to an acquaintance with an expensive professional wave table. An hour of work feeding and refeeding the material generated 0.07 Grams. Barely worth it I would say since I can produce that much in an hour at the creek without a $4,000 wave table. This told me I was doing a fine job working my material...I am losing less than 1%. Even amalgamation is questionable unless the mercury is 'found" along the way.

Based on all the ideas here, I think I will add some grinding and baking to my occasional follow up processing.

Key question: GG when you say black sands do you include the magnetic stuff? For the non-mags my heavys are part black but not entirely...still cool? I know from the fire assay my friend and I ran that my non-mag heavies produce about 3 oz of precious metals per ton so selling them to someone with the tech/toys to process it would be good. I will PM you and am happy to donate to Make a Wish!

 

[Goodyguy]

Key question: GG when you say black sands do you include the magnetic stuff? For the non-mags my heavys are part black but not entirely...still cool? I know from the fire assay my friend and I ran that my non-mag heavies produce about 3 oz of precious metals per ton so selling them to someone with the tech/toys to process it would be good. I will PM you and am happy to donate to Make a Wish!

This from the refiner............

We buy black sand concentrates, as well as gold and silver ore, from hard rock miners and gold dredging operations.
For gold black sand concentrates, just let us know how much is available and if the gold black sand concentrates have come from a dredging operation, hard rock mine, or if they are beach or black magnetic sands.

If you would like a bid to purchase your black sand concentrates, we will need a one pound sample of material sent to us. Make sure your contact information is on the sample. We will get back to you with the results and a possible bid to purchase within 7 to 10 days after receiving the sample.

There is no charge for the test. If you need additional information or would like a representative to contact you, please send us an email. We will respond as soon as we are able.
We pay the highest price possible for gold black sand concentrates. Selling your gold black sand and gold concentrates has never been easier.


We have built our business around the small miner and gold prospector. After you separate all the free gold from your black sands, give us the chance to test your black sand concentrates for additional gold hidden within the structure of the black sand itself.

 

[goldog]

I'm pretty much in the pan it 2-3 times and into the black sand bucket crowd. I wonder how much black sand one would need to make sending it in worth while? I'm not a dredging or any other kind of operation. I'm just a guy with a sluice. I could maybe produce a one pound sample with 20-50lbs/yr behind. Much more if I was mining for black sand. Literally tons. I can get all the heavy BS I can carry if I tried. Using about $2 a pound that would be a couple hundred for 100# batch.

What about mixing various prospecting areas? Wouldn't this throw off any assay

 

[Jeff95531]

I PM'd GI this reply and he "educated" me as to the importance of this....so now I get it...if we work together, we can work smarter than harder

"And btw...if you check your cons more then once...!!! Have you no confidence in your equipment? Have you no confidence in your ability

Me either....that's why I have EVERY bit of my cons that I collected this year is safely stashed right here @ home. Or in the driveway. I'll let you know my process just as soon as I figure it out myself"
I wasn't interested in flour gold till I saw so much. Now I'm interested

 

[Follows Camp Craig]

Never had my black sand assyed. But I got anywhere from $8.00 to $12.00 for 5 lbs. So that is anywhere from $3200.00 to $4800.00 a ton. Not too bad!!

so a days amount of real concentrate? 5 lbs, 10 bucks of ore. plus the 15 bucks of placer gold, somehow we are not shitten in tall cotton then?
this is a lot of work! for 25 /30 bucks a day.

Perhaps I will accept prospecting as a hobby.

 

[roadrunner]

Sluice or dig gravels then bring home.
Sluice at home, then pan, then miller table. Done.
So far been saving my black sands.
Sent GG a pm though.

Ok, what is #3
3. Grind then Shake N bake black sands------I am looking at youtube right now to see if I can find anything.

 

[Follows Camp Craig]

There are things that make you go Hmmm.
Foremost are ones that won't pan it all out in front of you.
I'm gunna take it home and do "blank" with it.

You have now been written off by the "live in the now" prospectors.
you can doctor and dowse your prospects from today until Sunday.
It doesn't mean spit

Pan it out out now, or it doesn't mean sh!t

 

[Follows Camp Craig]

?? Your point?

Bovine Scatology!

 

[Follows Camp Craig]

Ah, but now you have opened the Pandoras box as to the what if?
and what have you? or have you not?

A potential ruse perhaps?