Disappering Gold

[Mrlimb]

I am baffled I hope some one can help. Myself and a friend have been successfully panning about 20 small specs of yellow out of a fast running creek each time we go there, yesterday we tried our luck again and neither of us got anything. The only notable difference is the creek is running slower and has about 1 foot less water. We looked behind similar rocks, processed more material if anything. Does anyone have a theory on what happened.

 

[Yobs1980]

were you wearing your lucky underwear?

 

[Mrlimb]

No lucky underwear. Did have wet socks does that count

 

[Bazz]

Hey

Is this where a sage comes out and says "Gold is where you find it"

I'd like to hear a sensible explanation too!! as I have a similar experience

Cheers

 

[EternalChase]

This has a lot to do with where you are extracting your material from to pan off each time..

There is a chance you were right in the sweet spot of a gold rich channel, where the gold was being dumped due to a change in water pressure. Since going back you may have moved your target area somewhat and started digging outside of the gold rich channel. The key here is to look at the water flow, and what conditions may be present to create those low pressure zones to dump the gold and follow this.

Even with the creek running slower, those pre-existing gold rich channels should still be present - it's just the low pressure zones may be harder to spot in the slower flow. Just need to step back and think like the gold....!

 

[Mrlimb]

This has a lot to do with where you are extracting your material from to pan off each time..

There is a chance you were right in the sweet spot of a gold rich channel, where the gold was being dumped due to a change in water pressure. Since going back you may have moved your target area somewhat and started digging outside of the gold rich channel. The key here is to look at the water flow, and what conditions may be present to create those low pressure zones to dump the gold and follow this.

Even with the creek running slower, those pre-existing gold rich channels should still be present - it's just the low pressure zones may be harder to spot in the slower flow. Just need to step back and think like the gold....!

Thinking I am heavy, I am heavy, I have had enough of this trip down the river I think I will rest here a while, I am gold I am heavy

 

[Bazz]

Thanks EternalChase

That makes some sense to me

Cheers

 

[Goldtarget]

Its a bit like high banking mate, when the deposit on the gold line is up then time for a new spot, a suggested above. Not much fun shovelling dirt for nil. Just sample ahead of time, make a note (commit to paper) of where the good spots are, you only need a couple, them go for your life. always better having a couple of spots up your sleeve early on start with the richest. Take note of depth etc as its coming out, sometimes going deep is better, sometimes not. The type of gold, concentration levels and depth can be a real winner in terms of where to look next, depending on topography, and steam dynamics, but regardless it always tells a story. Every vacant pan is one pan closer to a winner though. Hope you get onto some more shortly. Oh and take a few happy snaps always helps, so you can pinpoint and later use it a resource for future discoveries.

 

[Mrlimb]

Thanks EternalChase, I didn't think we had moved more than a couple of feet but maybe that is enough.

 

[casper]

you can be an inch away from a bonanza :|

casper

 

[rc62burke]

Like the others have said "it's called a Pay streak for a reason" a duffer pan tells a story just like a good pan, the key is sample, sample, sample then sample.
cheers
Lee

 

[EternalChase]

one thought for you mrlimb... try going the opposite direction to where you moved to, see if the deposit continued on that way!

(now it sounds like a game of battleships - you may be onto someones destroyer!)

 

[Mrlimb]

Thank you all, I will try going the other way and see what happens. Where I am digging there was a cross current that is no longer there due to the water dropping. It may have simply moved the gold around the rocks but I didn't think it would have moved so easily but we are talking very small specs.