Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2008 9:06:16 GMT 10
From: alluvial_bandit (Original Message) Sent: 22/06/2008 8:54 PM
First of all would like to just say hi to the group and what a great bunch that are passing on invaluable info to the new comer as myself.
I was just interested to know how many specks/pieces of gold when test panning people would bother to drag all there gear out to make it worth while processing with there banjo or other chosen method. As i'm reasonably new to the game of prospecting i have thought 8 and greater is not to bad......
alluvial_bandit
From: rowdy Sent: 22/06/2008 9:32 PM
G/day alluvial _bandit,
Welcome to the group, most of the members use sluices and pan just for the enjoyment of finding a little bit of colour in the pan at the end of the day. Very few of us actually make any real money from this hobby. I may be wrong but I get the impression that you may be thinking that this is a way to get rich quick. If this is the case you will be disappointed but if you want to fossick as a hobby and the enjoyment of the hunt and not so much as the finds you will over the years get a lot of pleasure from the hobby. Sorry if I have poured cold water on your enthusiasum but it is a very good hobby and many of the members get a lot of pleasure out of socialising with other members more so than the quanity of gold that they find.
Rowdy
From: alluvial_bandit Sent: 22/06/2008 10:22 PM
Rowdy,
sorry if my post is misleading but i am only interested in prospecting as a hobby and have no interest in making money from it, with the findings so far a get rich quick scheme would have failed dramaticly..ha ha . i was just interested in seeing peoples different opinion on what they consider "worth the effort" to work a particular area.
From: Poly Sent: 23/06/2008 6:13 AM
Hi guys,
I rekon if you have color in your pan,go for it.
If your not sure,do a couple of test pans in the area.
if 2 out of 3 have color. your in a good spot. remember to look for natural sluices,also the inside of the bends in the creeks were the water slows.The crevices between the rocks too.
cheers
Dave
From: andy_pippin Sent: 23/06/2008 8:16 AM
G'day alluvial _bandit & welcome to the group.
As Dave said, if you get colour in 2 out of 3 pans, it's worth getting the gear out.
Fortunately where I normally sluice, I can get the gear out of the car first, then do a bit of poking around just to find the best spot in the area where I'm parked. When I find the spot giving me 8 to 12 specks or more to a pan (which is easy where I go), I get digging seriously. But after saying that, you still have to be able to read the creek properly & know where to look to see where the gold would be.
Sent: 23/06/2008 9:07 AM
This message has been deleted by the manager or assistant manager.
From: Banjo520 Sent: 23/06/2008 9:24 AM
G’day alluvial _bandit. Welcome to the group digger mate. To answer your question I need to do so in two parts and will draw upon the areas I work as an example. First the area this is most important you must know a bit about the area you are working! If I were on the Shoalhaven I would expect to find only very fine abundant gold, but if I were up at the Badger I would expect to find very patchy course to nuggetty gold. I would test pan the Shoalhaven but due to the gold been so patchy at the Badger I would not test pan, for the test panning at the Badger would give false indirection.
Second test panning, when I talk test panning what I should be saying is this. I have over the years given the wrong impression in regards to test panning when test panning you do not fill your pan with material from the face of your work area then pan it off. What you do is this place material from the work face {only what the shovel you are using will hold} into the pan then pan that off. {Only What The Shovel Will Hold}The idea been you know approximately how much gold is going into the unit you are using per shovel load. If you are working an area such as the Badger instead of test panning every hour I pull the gold tray from the unit I am working and check that for gold. As a rule of thumb if you are getting over 8 specks of very fine gold in a test pan you will get around a gram on a 5 hour day. Anything below that well I would not work the area. But this all depends on the type of gold and area you are working. Cheers James
From: Forester1 Sent: 23/06/2008 9:48 AM
G'day Alluvial Bandit,
it's all been good advice, mate. As a hobby detectoring or 'panning' (which is what all sluicing comes down to in the end) is a great hobby, and a healthy one. I've always transferred every last piece of the 'elusive' to the poverty pot regardless of its miniscule size. However, if you're in the right spot, sooner or later decent 'plink' size pieces will appear on the carpetting. And this always makes it worthwhile. (note - 'plink' or 'plunk' are the classifications decided by 'er indoors', judged on the noise the mini nuggets make when they're dropped into a metal pan).
Best of luck.
Forester
First of all would like to just say hi to the group and what a great bunch that are passing on invaluable info to the new comer as myself.
I was just interested to know how many specks/pieces of gold when test panning people would bother to drag all there gear out to make it worth while processing with there banjo or other chosen method. As i'm reasonably new to the game of prospecting i have thought 8 and greater is not to bad......
alluvial_bandit
From: rowdy Sent: 22/06/2008 9:32 PM
G/day alluvial _bandit,
Welcome to the group, most of the members use sluices and pan just for the enjoyment of finding a little bit of colour in the pan at the end of the day. Very few of us actually make any real money from this hobby. I may be wrong but I get the impression that you may be thinking that this is a way to get rich quick. If this is the case you will be disappointed but if you want to fossick as a hobby and the enjoyment of the hunt and not so much as the finds you will over the years get a lot of pleasure from the hobby. Sorry if I have poured cold water on your enthusiasum but it is a very good hobby and many of the members get a lot of pleasure out of socialising with other members more so than the quanity of gold that they find.
Rowdy
From: alluvial_bandit Sent: 22/06/2008 10:22 PM
Rowdy,
sorry if my post is misleading but i am only interested in prospecting as a hobby and have no interest in making money from it, with the findings so far a get rich quick scheme would have failed dramaticly..ha ha . i was just interested in seeing peoples different opinion on what they consider "worth the effort" to work a particular area.
From: Poly Sent: 23/06/2008 6:13 AM
Hi guys,
I rekon if you have color in your pan,go for it.
If your not sure,do a couple of test pans in the area.
if 2 out of 3 have color. your in a good spot. remember to look for natural sluices,also the inside of the bends in the creeks were the water slows.The crevices between the rocks too.
cheers
Dave
From: andy_pippin Sent: 23/06/2008 8:16 AM
G'day alluvial _bandit & welcome to the group.
As Dave said, if you get colour in 2 out of 3 pans, it's worth getting the gear out.
Fortunately where I normally sluice, I can get the gear out of the car first, then do a bit of poking around just to find the best spot in the area where I'm parked. When I find the spot giving me 8 to 12 specks or more to a pan (which is easy where I go), I get digging seriously. But after saying that, you still have to be able to read the creek properly & know where to look to see where the gold would be.
Sent: 23/06/2008 9:07 AM
This message has been deleted by the manager or assistant manager.
From: Banjo520 Sent: 23/06/2008 9:24 AM
G’day alluvial _bandit. Welcome to the group digger mate. To answer your question I need to do so in two parts and will draw upon the areas I work as an example. First the area this is most important you must know a bit about the area you are working! If I were on the Shoalhaven I would expect to find only very fine abundant gold, but if I were up at the Badger I would expect to find very patchy course to nuggetty gold. I would test pan the Shoalhaven but due to the gold been so patchy at the Badger I would not test pan, for the test panning at the Badger would give false indirection.
Second test panning, when I talk test panning what I should be saying is this. I have over the years given the wrong impression in regards to test panning when test panning you do not fill your pan with material from the face of your work area then pan it off. What you do is this place material from the work face {only what the shovel you are using will hold} into the pan then pan that off. {Only What The Shovel Will Hold}The idea been you know approximately how much gold is going into the unit you are using per shovel load. If you are working an area such as the Badger instead of test panning every hour I pull the gold tray from the unit I am working and check that for gold. As a rule of thumb if you are getting over 8 specks of very fine gold in a test pan you will get around a gram on a 5 hour day. Anything below that well I would not work the area. But this all depends on the type of gold and area you are working. Cheers James
From: Forester1 Sent: 23/06/2008 9:48 AM
G'day Alluvial Bandit,
it's all been good advice, mate. As a hobby detectoring or 'panning' (which is what all sluicing comes down to in the end) is a great hobby, and a healthy one. I've always transferred every last piece of the 'elusive' to the poverty pot regardless of its miniscule size. However, if you're in the right spot, sooner or later decent 'plink' size pieces will appear on the carpetting. And this always makes it worthwhile. (note - 'plink' or 'plunk' are the classifications decided by 'er indoors', judged on the noise the mini nuggets make when they're dropped into a metal pan).
Best of luck.
Forester