What is the best way to determine if a location or area has potential ?
Let me describe the layout so you can recommend the appropriate equipment for testing for GOLD.

FYI: I have little experience, OK no experience

*Desert environment (Silverwood Lake area)
*Long winding river bed
*Steep dirt sides
*Lots and lots of quartz (that white crystal like stone)
*Traces of black sand everywhere along the river bed.
*Digging down in the riverbed, you can see layers of black sand from each winter flooding (I think)

Should I use a metal detector, or a pan and some water.
Except for two black gold pans, I have no other equipment .
So what should I buy first to test areas for gold?

Thanks
Crackpot

Provided you have good panning skills you could first try panning for gold, or you could buy a 1/2 inch classifier for Pedersens and classify several six gallon buckets of materal then you could run the material though that new Sluice box your planning to buy. The card board box that the sluice box comes in will only get wet a soggy, so you will need to keep it dry. We sell bags of gold panning concentrates at every Chapter meeting. These $5 bags will help you develope you panning abilities.----------------------------------------------------Chapter President Mike Eubank----------------------------

Sounds like the Crystal Group Claim off of the 138 going to Silverwood!?!

Mike Eubanks is right. You should practice your panning skills first so you can get reel good at it.

Being very good at panning will help you find the gold as you test all areas. Panning is the number one method you as a prospector can have to test and retrieve the gold you seek. Panning skills would be the method you’re looking for.

Metal detecting would be the next best way to find the gold. But only in a larger scale. Now you will be looking for larger pieces of gold when metal detecting. If you where test panning you would find all sizes of gold you seek.

Metal detectors find gold , pee size an up.

Panning finds gold micro size and up.

Metal Detector runs about $100.00 an inch. The deeper you want to go the more you will pay!!

Gold pan runs only sweat per foot and well depending on the size from $5.00 to $10.00. per pan!!

Hmmmmm You decide….

Remember gold is where you find it and it is usually where you think its not!!

Thanks OCGoldPan and Webmaster.
Your right, the pan's the way to go. I'll let you know how it goes.

Crackpot

Mike..... Getting the BOX wet and soggy... I like it.

Crackpot

Crackpot,

You sound like a smart fella I think your brains will do you good finding some gold.

All free information being good in my book, one element in finding gold that I think would be a good idea is evalueating an areas potential for gold discovery by comparison to other areas around it. Are there any successful mines nearby? Is the geology condusive to recreational miners and prospectors?

If there are no gold mines any where near where your exploring, chances are you will not find much gold. If the gold has to be extracted by some elaborate, and costly means, why would you want to mess with it any way?

Stick to looking in areas of past discovery. Look to archieval recourses, i.e. LR 2000 records, litrature, USGS surveys for the potential of your search area. Narrowing your search saves you time, energy and money.Try to find areas that have not been exploited for what ever reason. Usually water or diffucult access. The GPAA claims in the White Elephant Wash are remote and waterless. People like you and me only recently mined with small unitary drywashers in the late 1930's. Most other placer locations and the CA gold rush for that matter was over with 75 years prior! There is probably still a lot of gold left for you and I.

Above all let the spirit of exploration be your ultimate guide. There are a lot of minerals out there for us that may not fetch such a high a price as gold but are a lot more common and more people actually have some use for on a day to day basis that make them far more valuable. Look for these things too. You will have a better chance of getting richer faster than if you look for only gold.

Good LucK.

THX
Jay