Todays take

[mshanygin]

Today's take

Today's take from Everett Washington.

 

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[Cassews]

Okay now ya all have gone and done it !! Here I was trying to stay calm about going out drywashing or dredging for that there yellow stuff and doing my quilting and crocheting. I have to go now .. I guess I will have to go Saturday and see what I can find at the claims. Doggone you all !LOL

Pretty (as my granddaughter used to tell me when she would help me pan it out!).

 

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[Echoplex]

Here's my take. Did MUCH better than last week thanks to having my sluice set up proper.



I noticed that two of the flakes had a whitish/silver coating. Is this mercury, platinum, or quartz? You can see them bottom left here:



One more macro. Anyone know what the smaller silverish specks are? Platinum?



Fun stuff. Can't wait to go back! I really want to find some bigger stuff in that spot though.

-Mike

 

[et1955]

Hi Mike, not platinum, here is a list of the minerals that occur in the area, copper , gold , silver , arsenic , zinc and molybdenum. You should read up on the mining history of Silver creek,Index.I got some silver too, ED

 

[mshanygin]

Loving those macro pics. Looking very nice.

 

[AlaskaGold]

Great pics! What camera are you using? I can never get mine to look that good. Beautiful gold nice work.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Love the pictures of the gold posted on this thread!

Nicely done.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Echoplex]

Great pics! What camera are you using? I can never get mine to look that good. Beautiful gold nice work.

Thank you! I use a Sony E 3.5/30 Macro lens on my trusty Sony NEX-5N. Those macros were at F13 and 1/60 sec. You have to use a high f-stop do get the depth of focus on stuff that small, so that means LOTS of light and a steady hand or tripod. I took those with the gold submerged in water and in direct sunlight. I had the lens about half an inch away from the water, so they were about an inch away from the gold itself. Photographing them under water really helps and reduces glare on the gold itself. I also used morning sunlight, so the sun was coming from a 45 degree angle, other wise you will have to battle your own shadows. Hope that helps!

-Mike

 

[Reed Lukens]

Looks like a little bit has some mercury and I see what really looks like a mercury ball in the 3rd pic center left.

 

[mshanygin]

Back for more!

Got the flu. Still decided to get out to get my vial filled a little. Went down to my local spot. My muscles ache but it was worth every bit. Had big plans of reserching other creeks this weekend but I think that will have to next weekend. I guess I got big plans for next weekend now.

 

[mshanygin]

Same pan. More pics.

Same pan. More pics.

 

[goldog]

Nice gold!😎 It does look like you've got a little merc there. You'll find they you want to keep it seperate from the clean gold.

 

[mshanygin]

Nice gold!�� It does look like you've got a little merc there. You'll find they you want to keep it seperate from the clean gold.

Please tell me more. How to keep it seperate. Pick it out with tweezers? What happens if I leave it in the vial? And on a different note.... should I keep holding on to all this black sand? Is it worth heating and "cracking " the finest gold out of it? I have a salad bowl full at the moment.

 

[et1955]

Hi Mike, it's silver, if it was mercury it would have migrated to the other gold in your pan, I learned that lesson a long time ago when I was mining on the secret river and found some, at first I thought it was silver so I put it with my other gold and my beautiful gold turned silver, treated it with some nitric acid and then it was gone. I to went up this weekend and tested the gravel bar upriver from where we have been going, over 2 pounds of black sand in the 4 buckets I ran threw the sluice, if wasn't for 150ft walk to the sluice I would have run 20 buckets, good gold. Will be up there this Saturday, Ed

 

[mshanygin]

Thank you Ed. When I googled the spot we go to I thought the bend just before looked like a good spot. It is a straight line from up river bends. I am afraid I work Saturdays but thank you for the invite. Do you hold on to your black sands? Is it not worth the gold it contains? Next Sunday and Monday I want to check out other creeks in the neighborhood. Hopefully there is bigger and better gold around here. I doubt it but who knows.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Dry out and save your black sands (and all super cons from final panning). After you get deeper into this you will be glad you did! Probably more gold in there than you'd imagine or can get right now...

 

[et1955]

Hi Mike, it is almost a straight line and your next lesson should you take up the challenge is one day is to use what I taught you and find that little area I found, that gravel bar is 3 times the size of the one we've been working, it is what I call a scower bar, since it is almost a straight line when the river floods it just washes every thing away and that why the place we've been working is so good, I keep my cons so as I build new mining equipment I have something to test it with, suggestion check out the North Fork of the Sky, that is where 99% of the gold is coming from, Have fun and be carefull, Ed

 

[et1955]

Hi Mike, get this book, it will help you in your searches. "Washington State Gold Mines by Roy F. Mayo " 15$ on Amazon. Ed

 

[mshanygin]

You got it.

 

[ryanonthevedder]

I see all my Washingtonian neighbors showing off so I thought I'de join in! This was from Easter weekend in SW BC

 

[et1955]

Is that gold from the Fraser River, It has been a long time since I have seen gold from there, my Grandfather would take me there to pan for gold back in 1962, I was 7 years old then. You are lucky to live in an area that has a lot gold, we here in Washington not so lucky, it is hard with all the laws and closures to even find one flake, I know people who will spend all day digging and find 1 or 2 pieces and that makes there day, No one is showing off here but instead very proud of there accomplishment and just want to share there journey. Ed