2014 CP Labor Day Outing PICS Options

[Crusty]

Starting to show some good color! Got through running the 30-/50+ cons and panned them down. Ran the 50-/100+ and ran out of daylight. I'll pan those and run the 100- cons tomorrow and probably rerun the cons again this weekend. I got in a hurry when classifying and had some smaller material stuck to larger stuff so I'm pretty sure there's gold in my tailings bucket. Even had a few small bits of gold hang on with the larger stuff!

50+ gold.
[attachment=6858:IMG_2014...5405_438.jpg]

Nice! I just spent 2 hours picking garnets out of my cons, and am nowhere near close to getting them all. Definitely need to get some classifiers, because sluiced 1/2" doesn't weed out much lol

I also pulled out 5 flakes, including my "crunchy" one, and there are a lot more!

[NewRockHounder]

Nice! I just spent 2 hours picking garnets out of my cons, and am nowhere near close to getting them all. Definitely need to get some classifiers, because sluiced 1/2" doesn't weed out much lol

I also pulled out 5 flakes, including my "crunchy" one, and there are a lot more!

"crunchy?" or "crusty?" =p

[Denise]

You guys crack me up! I would have to agree on the "Crusty gold" ,after all it is your gold. Not to mention I have had guys take the gold (right out of the pan) I found and try to bite it to see if it was real. So I don't promote "crunchy gold".

Oooooh! Love the Garnets!! If you let the concentrates dry out when your done, you will find even more.

[Crusty]

You guys crack me up! I would have to agree on the "Crusty gold" ,after all it is your gold. Not to mention I have had guys take the gold (right out of the pan) I found and try to bite it to see if it was real. So I don't promote "crunchy gold".

Oooooh! Love the Garnets!! If you let the concentrates dry out when your done, you will find even more.

I was calling it my "rolly poly" flake, as it is not flat and rolls around lol

Being my first pan, I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing. Last night I was just hand picking out the garnets (there are probably over 100 lol), until my fingers pruned. Then I moved on to trying to get the flakes in to my vial, which I'm not good at either... tried the horsehair brush trick Chris told me about, but didn't have much luck there. Scared I'm going to lose a flake... no idea how I'm going to get all the little stuff lol

[Dypheron]

I was calling it my "rolly poly" flake, as it is not flat and rolls around lol

Being my first pan, I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing. Last night I was just hand picking out the garnets (there are probably over 100 lol), until my fingers pruned. Then I moved on to trying to get the flakes in to my vial, which I'm not good at either... tried the horsehair brush trick Chris told me about, but didn't have much luck there. Scared I'm going to lose a flake... no idea how I'm going to get all the little stuff lol

What works well on all but the really fine stuff (for me anyway) is to fill the vial all the way to the top until there's a slight dome shape of liquid, press your finger down on the gold so it sticks to your fingertip, then dip your fingertip in the dome. The gold will fall into the vial. For the really small stuff it works sometimes, I had a few pieces from clear creek that were so small that I actually sucked them up with an insulin syringe.

[fenixsmom]

This may sound really silly or really smart, I use a snuffer bottle. Suck up your mix of black sand and gold. Empty the snuffer bottle onto a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Set oven to broil
Heat until dry. Pull out paintbrush to scrub (gently) free gold/iron give small shake to distribute across cookie sheet. Use magnet to pull iron leaving gold behind. Create a funnel out of separate foil or paper. Set aside. Fold cookie sheet foil in half loosly, put vial in gold pan. Add funnel to vial and gently pour/tapping gold forward gently if needed. I use my paintbrush to loosen any stubborn gold.

[Crusty]

This may sound really silly or really smart, I use a snuffer bottle. Suck up your mix of black sand and gold. Empty the snuffer bottle onto a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Set oven to broil
Heat until dry. Pull out paintbrush to scrub (gently) free gold/iron give small shake to distribute across cookie sheet. Use magnet to pull iron leaving gold behind. Create a funnel out of separate foil or paper. Set aside. Fold cookie sheet foil in half loosly, put vial in gold pan. Add funnel to vial and gently pour/tapping gold forward gently if needed. I use my paintbrush to loosen any stubborn gold.

Sounds like a great system! I need to get some classifiers, so I have less to sort through/pan

[russau]

This may sound really silly or really smart, I use a snuffer bottle. Suck up your mix of black sand and gold. Empty the snuffer bottle onto a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Set oven to broil
Heat until dry. Pull out paintbrush to scrub (gently) free gold/iron give small shake to distribute across cookie sheet. Use magnet to pull iron leaving gold behind. Create a funnel out of separate foil or paper. Set aside. Fold cookie sheet foil in half loosly, put vial in gold pan. Add funnel to vial and gently pour/tapping gold forward gently if needed. I use my paintbrush to loosen any stubborn gold.

HMMMMMMMMMMMM?? what if that gold had some mercury on it and you didn't see it before you put it into the oven???????? wouldn't the mercury vaporize into the oven and now become contaminated from it. I don't think I would do this. instead take your cons/gold outside (downwind from your home) and place the cons on a old stainless steel cooking tray and let the sun do the cooking/drying.

[russau]

also I don't think id be placing any gold nugget into my mouth considering what mercury can do to a person.

[Dypheron]

I agree with Russ, anywhere downstream of an old mill site is likely to have amalgamated gold and mercury show up from time to time. I had a flake in my sluice at Vic's that was covered in it. The last thing I would do would be to heat it indoors, especially in something that food is prepared in. Mercury poisoning is nothing to fool around with.


If you must dry cons out for any reason I would either sun dry them as Russ suggested, or use a dedicated toaster oven that is clearly marked not for food use so there is no confusion down the road. Still a lot of work to get gold into a vial. Why not just pan away the black sand and let the gold dry in the pan?

Moving the thread back on track, here's the final result from my cons. I'll process the cons again when I get some time but I'm quite happy so far.


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[Crusty]

Moving the thread back on track, here's the final result from my cons. I'll process the cons again when I get some time but I'm quite happy so far.

Nice! I still haven't gotten serious about doing mine... will sit down & knock it out this weekend; at least get the big stuff and keep the rest to run through a blue bowl when I eventually get one.

[CP]

Nice pic on the clean up Brandon, very "crusty" looking gold !
We'll be looking forward to seeing more of all the pics Chris says everyone took too.
Crusty and Scratch both need to get them cons cleaned and photo'd

[Crusty]

Nice pic on the clean up Brandon, very "crusty" looking gold !
We'll be looking forward to seeing more of all the pics Chris says everyone took too.
Crusty and Scratch both need to get them cons cleaned and photo'd

I started editing my pics this morning and will work to get the big gold and most of the garnets out this weekend, so I'll have pics by Sunday evening :) Will also be ordering a blue bowl and classifiers, so I can be sure and get all the little bits of golden goodness!

[Dypheron]

Nice pic on the clean up Brandon, very "crusty" looking gold !
We'll be looking forward to seeing more of all the pics Chris says everyone took too.
Crusty and Scratch both need to get them cons cleaned and photo'd

I keep saying it over and over but I love the Garrett 10 inch Backpacker pan for cleanup. It doesn't have a lip around the bottom and I can cut away the black sands faster.


I think Crusty is scared of his cons because they're the Army colors, and if he gets a blue bowl then he'll have Black and Gold all over his Air Force Blue!

[Crusty]

Dang, you figured me out! ;)

Chris, I looked at the Angus MacKirk site; which model do you have and would you get that one again?

http://angusmackirk.com/products/stream-an...uction-sluices/

Cabelas has the Sluice Master Alaskan Flair Sluice on sale for $89; it is $139 on the ANgus' site.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Met...%3Bcat106741080