Gold prospecting using a metal detector

[BeeMaster2]

We fared pretty well here. Highest wind speed was 90 MPH. I had very little damage around the house. A metal roof section was ripped off of my old barn and small branches were falling off the trees, very few considering. We only received one inch of rain. It was only here for about 12 hours. I was up all night listening to the fire calls and responding to power lines down and trees blocking the roads. I went out on one call for a tree on the road real close to the farm. Didn?t find it and on the way back home, there was a 70 foot, 16 inch diameter tree that was blocking the road completely. In the past I would have cut it up myself and cleared it myself but after the tornado that went through here in May, We, Baker County Fire Rescue, removed so many trees that this time they had the road crew staged up here in my area with track hoes and bulldozers and all I had to do was call them on the radio and tell them where to go. I had more damage over on my brothers side of my property, lots of branches and trees down. He and my sister in law cleaned up most of it. We still have trees on a workshop and a empty building that we have to remove still from the Tornado back in May. My main tractor broke down days before it and it is still in the shop for repairs. When I get it back we will remove the trees. The workshop was in destroyed and we will have to tear it down.
Jim Altmiller

[Lesgold]

Sorry to hear that Jim. Hope the recovery is speedy and relatively pain free.

[Lesgold]

Went for a play down to the usual spot. The gold is getting harder to find and the nuggets are getting smaller. Still managed a collection of small pieces.

[Lesgold]

My eldest daughter and grandson went with me to a local haunt for a days prospecting. It was hard work but we came home with a bit of yellow for our trouble.

[Kathyp]

That sounds like a really fun family day.  The gold probably doesn't matter much!

[Lesgold]

It was. My daughter has gold fever in a big way. She is very determined and would have liked to unearth that elusive, large nugget but it was not to be. My grandson was getting a bit bored towards the end but he did find a piece with the detector and dug out a few of the other pieces.

[RayMarler]

I get great joy in reading your thread and watching your videos. Thank you for keeping it going! I can't do it myself anymore so you showing your adventures is so much fun to me as the only mining I can do now a days is window shopping in  coin and bullion shops!

[Ben Framed]

Hi Ray,
I read your post with delight. It?s good to see you post again after 10 years. Isn?t it good that Beemaster has different topics to offer our beekeepers which we may have a mutual interest! Some subjects that are not even related to bees, such as this one!
I also enjoy Lesgolds prospecting post and updates as well! Here in Mississippi we do not have the opportunity to prospect because of the lack of gold. But it?s fun reading Les post while cheering him on!

Kind regards,

Phillip

[Lesgold]

Hi Ray,

I?m pleased that you enjoy the thread.  Beekeeping is a lot of fun but there are also other things in life that bring us joy. As you know, prospecting is a hobby that can be exciting at times and is made up of research, trial and error and a lot of hard work. There are days of disappointment but the beautiful country and companionship of friends and family make for wonderful days and long lived memories. Hope to share a few more of our adventures as they arise.

Cheers

Les

[RayMarler]

Thank you Ben and Les both for your kind words and welcome. Bees are not so interesting to me any more since it's gotten easier to grow mites than bees. But thanks for this gold mining thread it helps get me out of the house at least in my imaginations. 

[Lesgold]

Here?s a bit of eye candy for you Ray. With rain due tonight, I had to get out for a play to bring the gold fever down. With my detecting mate off on his own gold prospecting holiday, I decide to go solo to the usual spot. Picked up a couple of pieces on a cliff face caught up in moss. Had to climb up about 10 feet to reach a rock face that was completely covered in moss. It acts as a perfect gold trap and the specs would have been caught there in the big floods we had this time last year. I then moved up the creek and started digging a trench on the down stream side of a dry hole in the creek bed that had given up some nuggets a few months ago. It was hard work but I was lucky enough to find a few small pieces.

[RayMarler]

Very Nice Les, thanks for sharing that for me!
I used to do some panning back in the 1990's but now I spend time once in awhile in a gold bullion shop or 2 in town here. I never found very much but it was always a good time going out for a day and getting wet in a river, and once in awhile finding a flake or two.

[BeeMaster2]

Les,
How much did it weigh?
Jim Altmiller

[BiggBees]

A few years ago, the government surveyed Odisha and found a gold reserve in Keonjhar district. Interestingly, with the Apis mellifera migration season starting in the last week of October in my part of India, I plan to migrate my hives to the Keonjhar district this year. The location where the gold was discovered is quite close to where I'll be setting up my hives.

As a child, I remember hearing stories about gold prospecting in this same locality, and now I?m curious to explore it myself while there. If anyone has any recommendations for gold prospecting gear and tips for beginners or any manual method with household items, I?d love to hear them!

[Lesgold]

Hi Jim,

The gold weighed a bit over 1.3 grams. Not a lot really but with todays high prices, that equates to about $160. Crazy when you think about it, as there was only a small quantity sitting in my hand.

Hi BigBees,
Gold prospecting is a bit like beekeeping. It?s a lot of research and it takes time to learn where to go and how to find the gold. If there is gold in the streams or rivers, I?d start with a gold pan as it is an inexpensive way to get into the hobby. Make sure that you look into any regulations in relation to searching for gold ie. areas that you can legally explore and methods that you are allowed to use etc. Goodl luck. Hope you find a big nugget.

[Kathyp]

I?m curious to explore it myself while there. If anyone has any recommendations for gold prospecting gear and tips for beginners or any manual method with household items, I?d love to hear them!

I second Lesgolds advice on panning. You can also do something called dry panning and you can take dirt home and pan it out in a bucket of water if you think that dirt may have gold in it.

YouTube has tons of videos on different ways to pan and the pans are pretty cheap.

first thing to do is research the area you are going and find out where the gold was found and in what kind of material. Then post your treasure pictures!   

[Ben Framed]

Les I could have placed this in the comedy section, but I decided to place it here instead. lol Maybe most will like what they find.

https://youtu.be/pgAbrhpve5Y?si=lf8Hmn7NRQNqz5ZU

[Lesgold]

Jeff Williams is a funny guy. It would be great to have your own gold mine and recover buried treasure when ever you needed some extra cash. With the current price of gold, even small quantities are worth a lot of money.

[BiggBees]

Hi BigBees,
Gold prospecting is a bit like beekeeping. It?s a lot of research and it takes time to learn where to go and how to find the gold. If there is gold in the streams or rivers, I?d start with a gold pan as it is an inexpensive way to get into the hobby. Make sure that you look into any regulations in relation to searching for gold ie. areas that you can legally explore and methods that you are allowed to use etc. Goodl luck. Hope you find a big nugget.

Thank you for your advice and guidance. Here in India, a law allows native tribes to use natural resources as they need, whether it is panning gold from the river or collecting gemstones, including diamonds. You can check the story in the link below. When the dam releases water diamond chunks also come from the dam and flow downstream.
https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/art-history/hirakud-diamonds-under-a-dam

I second Lesgolds advice on panning. You can also do something called dry panning and you can take dirt home and pan it out in a bucket of water if you think that dirt may have gold in it.

YouTube has tons of videos on different ways to pan and the pans are pretty cheap.

first thing to do is research the area you are going and find out where the gold was found and in what kind of material. Then post your treasure pictures!   

I think dry panning will be a good idea for a newbie like me :). Thank you for your advice.

[Kathyp]

let us know how you do. The idea of diamond chunks flowing down the river is like something out of a movie  Who knows, maybe gold flows down too!