Jeff I seriously think that what you see and think might be gold is really "mica". It looks like gold and runs around all over the pan. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but my experience so far that I see, when there is gold in your pan it is heavy enough to stay there and not move as much as the mica does. I couldn't even begin to think about wanting to try to keep that stuff if it was good running around like that cause my time vs the reward probably would add up.

     Panning can be a tricky and challenging art to master.  Fine gold can and will, what I call " Hydroplane " in the black sands, thus not getting to the bottom of the pan like the bigger gold does.  Also the fine gold can and will float on the water surface even if you use wet dry or dish soap.  And yes it is possible to pan gold out of the pan along with the black sands, for that is why and where the safety pan comes into play.

 

     If you have what you think is mica test it by pressing down hard on it, mica will plane or break apart.  Mica will also change color at different angles so try rotating the pan.  This is the best I can do without seeing what is happening.     Ron

Fine stuff can "float" on surface tension.  Put a couple of drops of a dishwashing liquid ( I use Dawn) in your panning tub water.  You don't want foam so 2-4 drops should be enough.  Another quick check is to look at your "movers" in bright sunlight and then in shade.  Gold will keep the same color and hue in both, mica will shine in sun and dull somewhat in the shade.

Hey Jeff,

Just a thought. Since you are new at this did you season your pan ? You can tell by putting a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan and if it beads up you need to season it. Any lotion or sun screen on your hands can cause problems.

I use a couple of drops of Jet Dry to break the surface tension. Dish soap will work, just make sure it does not have citrus scent.

It kind of sounds like it might be mica. Try a few things and let us know.

Ok so I used jet dry in my water.  Still floating. I left some of the really fine stuff in my pan as I emptied the water. Had a real good swirl around the pan. Looked yellow wet and after it dried it turned grey. Tried using tweezers to pluck a flake and it broke. Must be mica. It would still be nice to find a local to steer me in the right direction so I know if I'm setting up my sluice and working my pan properly. Thank You for the replies.

Jeff,
Google Jeff Williams You Tube. He has lots of videos on panning,sluicing and all kinds of good stuff, and funny also. Get a bag of Slim's pay dirt and practice panning. No tiny flour gold in it.
Watch Gold Fever and Gold Trails you will always learn something new. Most of the mining manufactures have videos on how to use their products .

Never throw out your cons. As you get more experience you can go through them again and still find gold you missed. Hope you find someone local to help you out.

Hey Jeff

contact the chapter in Deadwood, SD. JAMES VAN HOUT  is their contact and is a great guy, here is his email address: bhprospector1@gmail.com if need be he may know someone close to where you are in Rapid City. 

Get a bag of Whiskey Pete's from Ebay for $18 + shipping.  Good material and nice stuff in it and easy working for practice.  We use it for panning demos with kids after they pan for iron pyrite, then they get to see the real stuff and get to keep what they find in a couple of spoonfuls.

Panning can be very difficult, I myself was taught with the old tin pan before plastics were available.

From what I can tell you are dealing with some low quality paydirt so my first recommendation is to switch to better dirt.

There is a place out of California called Gold Fever Prospecting and you can find them online. They will "Salt" the paydirt with whatever specification you give them. If you want fine flour they will add it, if you want chunky but small pieces they will add it, etc....

But if you are just starting and are unsure of your technique I recommend you buy a bit coarser material that is a bit chunkier. Felix's Paydirt has a pretty standard size gold pieces that don't float and always go to the bottom of the pan and always a few pickers and or nugget. In my opinion you will get your best return on investment with them. But the advantage of being able to determine the type of gold you are panning is so once you master your skill you can use it to test yourself, equipment, etc.....

One trick I use to teach kids how to pan is to take some paydirt and place it in a glass pie dish. drop in a few copper BB's and shake it back and forth without spilling until you see the BB's through the bottom of the pie pan. I also teach them that since gold is 21 times heavier then water to always make sure you shake the pan 21 times back and forth before you begin washing the top layers off. As soon as they see black sands on the sides of the pan I have them shake again.

When dealing with really thin and flat gold flakes I have seen a great deal that will not sink at all, try to float out of the pan, and will literally sit on top of the dirt. I suck them up along with others but when I am done cleaning up I always put my gold in a pie dish and place it in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes to dry it off and then use a "Exacto" knife point to pick up the pieces that are questionable. If they stick to the point it is gold, if it breaks it is mica.

Everybody pans differently, you have to find the technique that works for you. I don't know where you live but the Western Colorado Chapter has several teaching events coming up in the next few months, you are more than welcome to attend.

Posted By Benjamin Crain on 31 Mar 2016 02:46 PM



From what I can tell you are dealing with some low quality paydirt so my first recommendation is to switch to better dirt. 

  

 

I am trying to find good quality paydirt. This is not from purchased dirt, this is from dirt that I am digging.

 

Walters recommendation to contact the local chapter should help a lot. They will know where to go to have better pay dirt to dig. I like to dig my own too. But I buy bags of pay dirt occasionally to have around Fir the wife and grand baby.

I understand your frustration and you may have misunderstood my point. We had another beginner from Idaho less than a year ago and she was having difficulty finding good dirt. Her concern was not her technique but just not being able to find good dirt, and technique she wasn't sure about either.

If you think the problem is your technique buy a cheap bag of paydirt with a set amount of really fine flour in it and see if you can pan it, if not it is technique. But if your primary concern about where you are collecting is the problem the local chapter may or may not be able to help, some areas are just really poor if you are using anything less then a dredge, and even then you may dredge for hours for just a few flakes.

I can take you down to the Delores River which is a GPAA claim and have you dig all day not to find a flake, but we can walk 50 meters up on the hillside and pound it out of the rock but unfortunately that is illegal.

The paydirt from GPAA online store has always had a good return on investment (ROI) for me. I bought several bags to practice panning with when I joined back in June 15. I literally panned these bags over 6 times each learning and refining my technique.

I had dug some dirt of my own prior to this and had very disappointing results, usually from MICA.

Hi all just thought I would chime in with a thought. One of the biggest helps for me was a couple of good loops. An old timer in prospecting told me years ago that a couple of good loupes is something a serious prospector never goes out without and keeps it at hand. Most including myself will use it on a lanyard around the neck.  In looking for a loop you want one that will magnify a little say a 10X. I augment my 10X with a 30X or 40X.  You will also have to pay attention to quality.When buying off the internet you can get some good deals if they are of good quality, do your homework and google information. It is advisable to go with a triplet  or at the lease a doublet or Coddington. These refer to the number of lens elements in one loupe. Coddington is usually better than a doublet and less than a triplet.

Keep this mind when you are panning, in direct sunlight or not gold will always stay the same color as mica will not. Season that pan till it's ugly and scratched, use real dirt and rocks, don't use sandpaper cause they can gouge and leave small grooves, over time your gold will settle down to the bottom of the pan.