Tin Foil Gold?

[dvdtharaldson]

I was recently panning a trib of the Ottauquechee River in Vermont. I was in an area that was catching alot of heavies. The stream bed had a greyish appearence to it. There was noticable black sands deposits in different places. When i got home i decided to pan out all the material that was in all my collection tubs. There was alot of black sannds associated with the cons. When i went to pan down the black sands I noticed alot of gold looking material dispearsed thru the black sands. But it didnt behave like gold it washed out of the black sands instead of remaining in the crease of the pan. It was very thin stuff. Does anybody know if gold deposits can be paper thin and wash out of the black sands rather than remaining at the bottom of the pan. I havent had a chance to do the pyrite test yet. I will do that when I pan down the bulk of the cons I brought home. Can gold be so thin that it washes away before all black sands wash away? Thanks for any help.

David

 

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[Weldin It]

Small gold can be caught by the surface tension of the water and float... hence people using Jet Dry to break the surface tension. Showed my Wife that last night with a fly poop speck.

 

[KevinInColorado]

...but most likely you are describing mica. Sorry

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Mica tricked me many times too. You can tell with sunlight. Always try to use natural light when finishing cons. Every teensy weensy piece shows up very well with the gold ole sun

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I would have thought that the Mica would have washed away with the lighter material like the blonde sands. This stuff was right in with the heaviest of material-black sands. It was what was left from a whole pan of -8 concentrates. Isnt the specific gravity of Mica much lower than the constituents of black sands? Also this material wasnt floating, I added a little dish detergent to the water.

 

[chris rizin]

Gold will stay yellow in the sun, shade or at different angles.. Take the sharp end of some tweezers and press down on one of the flakes if it breaks or pulls apart in sheets it's mica.. Also if you have a loop or some kind of magnifying tool take a piece of mica, pyrite and gold and do a visual inspection..

 

[vasquez661]

try to scrape it with ur fingernail if it breaks apart or splits its mica or pyrite yes gold can float but in most cases it wont so try to break the flakes if they break apart or smash then u know its not gold

 

[Hoser John]

NEVER add detergent as that makes gold float. Just carry a knife and ifn' that material, when pressed down upon,cracks,crumbles or goes crunch ya do indeed have mica or a relarive. We call it leaverite as in leave it riight there-John

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I thought adding detergent breaks the surface tension and keeps gold from floating. I was told to use Dawn or Jet Dry. Did i get bad information? Thanks for responding.

David

 

[KevinInColorado]

Jetdry is the best. You want a surfactant that is non-sudsing to be precise. Dishwasher detergent works but is very harsh on your skin. Whatever you use, minimize the amount you use to just what it takes to avoid the gold floating in a sample pan.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

Kevin,

Thanks for the info. I will definitely get some Jetdry. I have been using dish detergent, but I notice it seems to leave a film on the heavies after I pan them.

I am saving all my black sands to try to help dial in my recon sluice. I plan on making a little wash plant to process the -20 cons that I bring home. I haven't been running the real fine stuff thru the sluice, while streamside, because I want to make sure I am not losing any flour gold.

The last time I ran my sluice I noticed that there weren't a lot of real fine heavies left in the riffles. When I alternatively panned some of the cons I definitely had fine heavies present. I think I ran too much water through my sluice, too fast, for the particle size. Practice, Practice, Practice. Thanks for chiming in on both my threads, I appreciate your expertise.

David

 

[AlwaysBusyJ]

Yes gold can be very thin and can wash away from your black sand faster than normal. The gold I get in my area is like that, makes it a royal pain to pan out. Some of it is crazy thin and flat and will move a lot in water if your not careful, so it's definately possible for you to have run across something like that. Use jet dry for sure, and take it extra slow when you pan. And when you think you've finished panning, pan it again! You might be surprised how much you'll find on your second time panning it out.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

AlwaysBusyJ,

Thanks for the confirmation. I really didn't think everything I was looking at was mica. When I used my loupe to view the pieces it appears to be gold. But, it washed away faster than some of the chunky black sands. It is so small that I am having a hard time getting a point on it to see if it cracks under pressure.

The loupe that I have is only 10x, maybe I will get a 20x magnifier of some kind. Somebody posted some pictures of flour gold that had been magnified 150x and you could definitely tell the difference at that magnification. I do have access to a microscope, once I finish panning all the cons I will check out a few of the pieces under some real magnification.

Best Luck.
David

 

[goldenIrishman]

If the gold is super thin for the weight of the piece, it can easily move in the water if you're not careful. Think of a large sail on a small boat compared to a small sail on a large boat. Even natural gold can be pressed/beaten very thin so it's tissue paper. Gold leaf is a prime example of just how thin it can get.