Just moved to Jefferson, CO in May and loving it! Decided to try our hand at gold panning. We have gold pans, clarifiers, a sluice and buckets. First question, how do we know where to dig? Went to Fairplay today along the river but didn't find any black sand. Do you get the dirt from in the water? along the shore? not sure where to look. Also has anyone gone to Selkirk Campgrounds above Como to pan? Thanks for any help :)

If you bring a detailed map into Fairplay Town Hall, the staff will point out the best spots...and the limits of where you can go.

You do know the old there is tiny for the most part right?

Try digging where others have dug and try sampling around different spots...that's why it's called prospecting not just digging LOL Try under a big rock, that's always a good start.

Thanks Kevin:) We were shown where not to go and where we could go but couldn't really tell where others have been. I was just wondering where it is that you find the black sand. We were in a few different spots in the stream or river as they call it but never found any black sand. Would under the big rocks as you mention be more likely for black sand? Sorry for all the newbie questions.

When you're scouting for locations to dig in a stream or river try to imagine how gold actually moves. Gold is heavy, much heavier than the silt and black sand that is found just about everywhere. When a stream/river is at low flow it is perfectly content to stay where it's at, usually somewhere between the top layer of sediment and bedrock. When the flow increases due to snow melt, a dam opening flood gates, or heavy rain the water will move fast enough to not only push lighter material downstream but also the heavier gold. If a waterway were perfectly straight with perfectly smooth sides and bottom everything would just keep moving. Obviously this is not the case, there are bends and curves, and various bottom features such as rocks, drop offs, downed trees, etc that change the dynamic of flow. When water flows over or around say a large boulder it creates a dead spot where heavier materials drop out and collect. Sandbars are good places to look as well.

Be mindful that while black sand is a good indicator that there may be gold where you're digging that it's not always the case. The last member outing I went on I spent a good hour working a spot that should have produced, was heavy in black sands, and gave up nothing. That's part of the game though.

-Brandon

Welcome BethV! Glad you are loving Colorado.

What Brandon said is very true, in swift water, the heavies (gold, magnetite [and other iron ores)], lead [and its ores], garnet, etc. ) will drop out of the flow at the first "opportunity" (dead spot, slack flow, or eddy) it encounters. However, at the margins of some of these, the material turns over, and the heavier materials get worked deeper, while the lighter materials get carried away. Behind (and under) boulders, the downstream side of walls (and ridges), in the cracks of bedrock bottoms, the upstream side (and the swift water edge) of sand bars, etc. are always good places to look. On dry land, where you see river rock (smooth cobbles, larger is better) are also good places to start, but can be very difficult to dig due to the compaction and concretion of material, as well as the size and number of cobbles.

The black sand you are talking about is concentrate - what you have when you get rid of the lighter materials either through panning, or naturally. If naturally - there will almost always be lighter materials mixed in with it. When it is naturally concentrated in a large enough volume to be noticeable, it is a very good place to start! But also, as Brandon said, it can be nothing but black sand. I was on that outing with him, and got lots of the black sand, but very little gold.

In Fairplay (in fact, at most of the public areas) the gold is fine (-30 mesh and smaller), so you have to polish your panning technique to concentrate in your pan. Watch the panning videos by "georgiagoldguy" on youtube for some very good instruction, pay attention to the experienced panners when you are out, and go to Gold-N-Detectors in Golden to get a free demonstration.

The fact that you made this post tells us that you are interested and willing to listen and learn, and we all welcome that! Keep the questions coming!

Glad you made it up there, that's a start! Like the others said, you won't see black sand laying around...it's mixed in with the rest of the regular sand. It should be in the bottom of your pan when you've worked a pan of material down to just the heavy stuff. Also as mentioned, the gold I've seen there is all 1/30 of an inch or smaller...it does still add up tho!