Gold panning/prospecting

[Daniel A.]

Some guys still make there own coils and boards.

[Rene]

Went panning in the Omineca goldfields of BC in 2008. It was nice but I figured that if I wanted some gold it would be easier just to buy it. It is still undervalued compared to the cost of getting it out of the ground. I did buy some gold and have every month since. At this point in history as the global financial system collapses under a load of debt based assets, gold functions as a wealth transfer token and is the ultimate extinguisher of debt. Something to think about.

[GMike A]

I too have a piggy bank set aside of gold and silver for that same scenario . I know of instances where people can pan an ounce of gold on a good weekend whch isnt too bad of take home pay. Personally I have never gotten more then a few flakes.

[papa-t]

Yea you certainly don't get rich at it. If you go at it as a hobby it's alot of fun. If you go at it to make money. Well good luck. My brother in-law got me hooked on it years ago. He prospects in Vermont but lives in upstate NY. I'm a southern boy. So, I prospect in Virginia and North Carolina. N.C. is where the original gold rush started.

[GMike A]

As I recall and could be wrong I think Georgia was one of the biggest if not the biggest producer of gold til they ran out. I know that the capital building is covered in 24K. Yep you are right enjoy it as a hobby. Good luck

[accrete]

Cari (my wife of 30 years) loves to pan for gold! She has various pans, sluces, and even a whites gmt detector. I'm not really into panning, but i'm into being there with her cuz, well, she is there, and also because here in the Pacific Northwest it's just sooooo beautiful up in the mountains!

It also gives me an excuse to do some RC Rock crawling while she is panning

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by accrete

Cari (my wife of 30 years) loves to pan for gold! She has various pans, sluces, and even a whites gmt detector. I'm not really into panning, but i'm into being there with her cuz, well, she is there, and also because here in the Pacific Northwest it's just sooooo beautiful up in the mountains!

It also gives me an excuse to do some RC Rock crawling while she is panning

Quartzville Creek has gold in it. We had a couple guys teaching us to pan for gold and they both pull out a few flakes. You gotta be careful of local claims. Gold can also be found in Calapooia drainage.
Good luck.

[accrete]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Quartzville Creek has gold in it..

Yes it does...and that is where the picture of my rock crawler was taken.

[GMike A]

Need to mount a detector on it that would make you wife happy and you could cover more ground. Just a thought

[accrete]

LOL... that actually did cross our minds!

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Anything that gets you out in fresh air and makes you exercise is "gold" in my world

My sentiment exactly........

Connection to nature, water, rocks, dirt, fresh air...........PURE GOLD.

[Gilda]

While I do not pan for gold I was intrigued by trucks with orange flags (like bicycle flags) in Elko, Nevada when I was there a couple years ago. It turns out that this is the symbol that gold miners are required to carry. There were hundreds of them. Check out Elko, NV on the Web for details.
Happy Camping!
Gilda

[Otters]

We have a second house outside Carson City, NV that touches BLM land. We ride our ATVs on the BLM trails and there are MANY abandoned mines here. The process for mining kind of dried up as water dried up. Now there's other methods for getting the gold and other elements out of the rocks. So people are starting to file claims again and they've been real sucessful. I love just rock-hounding out there. We have a Whites too--I think its called an XL Pro. Great little instrument. My husbands hoping to find relics. So far we've just found some old wagon wheel nails. I call it rusty gold. I love finding these old pieces of history. Love going to the old ghost towns too and there are many of them around here.

[GMike A]

Along those same lines with the price of gold being what it is you can scratch out a bit of pocket change. Not saying you are going to get rich. I have spent many back breaking hours in Wa. bent over a gold pan and never see a spec but its like hunting a mountain goat in Co you are there for the adventure even if you come home empty. Just great to be outdoors on this side of the grass.

[accrete]

...on finding gold in the PNW...yes i agree Mike.
And can say for my wife she will shout out like she found a penny weight nugget every time she finds a flake in a patch of moss. Though i will say at season's end added up she will average a half ounce or more...so it does pay for the gas!