New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

The forum has moved to community.paydirt.co.nz, see you there!

This forum is now an archive to preserve the knowledge and finds posted here.

weejock		Posted : Wednesday, 10 September 2014 9:35:48 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 10/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 2 Location: coromandel Thanks: 1 times		hi, came across this forum looking for a wee bit info on gold panning and was wondering if anyone could help. I done some panning as a boy back in Scotland but any knowledge is long forgotten. Staying in coromandel and got myself a pan, gone out a few times in the local creeks but not had any luck. To be honest not too sure what i'm doing apart from cleaning stones in the burn! If anyone would like to go out and pass on a few pointers would be greatly appreciated. Not looking to get anyones hotspots even just a few tips what to look for how to go about it, watched clips on internet but fond believer in learning in person. cheers

gjj109		Posted : Thursday, 11 September 2014 1:46:31 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 14/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 464 Location: Thames Thanks: 217 times Was thanked: 194 time(s) in 115 post(s)		Gidday weejock. Generally, you won't find gold in the Coromandel by washing rocks and gravel. There are exceptions, but as a general rule, you need to find bedrock. Either exposed, or by digging to it. Get yourself a crevice scraper and scrape out a few cracks. They don't need to be big or deep. Sometimes only a teaspoon of dirt will contain several bits of gold. You can scrape the moss off the bedrock and may find a speck or two of dust in it. For underwater, it is best to make a sucker. Scrape the bedrock and suck all the gravel from the bottom, especially any cracks and depressions. Most Coromandel streams will contain gold, albeit not much and sometimes hard to find. The beauty in it is that it gives you a reason to go to new places and make and try out new tools. Looking forward to a post of your finds.

weejock		Posted : Saturday, 13 September 2014 7:53:43 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 10/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 2 Location: coromandel Thanks: 1 times		hey thanks for the reply! been back out a couple of times and found some gold. was just digging in the banks and taking the dirt from under large rocks. My girlfriend actually found the first gold which was annoying :) found alot of what i think is gold dust is this worth keeping seemed a real pain in the arse to get out of the pan! also i found a small piece of something alongside some gold bright and silver in colour any idea what this could be? must be quiet heavy because i panned it a few times and it was always the last thing to show up at the bottom? thanks again for the info.

c4bb0ose		Posted : Sunday, 14 September 2014 12:01:56 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 7/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 97 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 32 time(s) in 29 post(s)		Originally Posted by: weejock hey thanks for the reply! been back out a couple of times and found some gold. was just digging in the banks and taking the dirt from under large rocks. My girlfriend actually found the first gold which was annoying :) found alot of what i think is gold dust is this worth keeping seemed a real pain in the arse to get out of the pan! also i found a small piece of something alongside some gold bright and silver in colour any idea what this could be? must be quiet heavy because i panned it a few times and it was always the last thing to show up at the bottom? thanks again for the info. Depending on where you where panning some of the places have gold and silver mixed in, as well as mercury , te aroha was notorious for this from my historical readings.

gjj109		Posted : Sunday, 14 September 2014 12:03:57 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 14/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 464 Location: Thames Thanks: 217 times Was thanked: 194 time(s) in 115 post(s)		Good to hear you had some success, and that you've got an assistant with you. Hope you have two pans. You will make life much easier if you use a plastic colander above your pan to classify the gravel. You will then be discarding the stones and only panning small gravel and sands. The gold will move quickly to the bottom of the pan. Panning will be much easier and faster. That shiny stuff comes in flakes and cubes. I would only be guessing a name, but it is neither silver nor gold. Why don't you keep it and either go to the school of mines ( if it is still open) or have a chat to the bloke at the stamper battery. Good excuse for a chat.

kiwijw		Posted : Sunday, 14 September 2014 10:13:25 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Originally Posted by: weejock hey thanks for the reply! been back out a couple of times and found some gold. was just digging in the banks and taking the dirt from under large rocks. My girlfriend actually found the first gold which was annoying :) found alot of what i think is gold dust is this worth keeping seemed a real pain in the arse to get out of the pan! also i found a small piece of something alongside some gold bright and silver in colour any idea what this could be? must be quiet heavy because i panned it a few times and it was always the last thing to show up at the bottom? thanks again for the info. Good on you. The silver stuff is most likely mercury. If you go & have a look at gjj 109's coro gold finds pics you will be able to compare. The other fine stuff you think may be gold could be iron pyrites. Known as "fools gold". Once you know gold it is pretty hard to mistake pyrites for gold but if you are new to it then you can be mistaken. Your next step will be to make yourself a little sluice box as in the other "Coro Gold Finds" pics. Easier & quicker than panning to process more material. You just clean up the box at the end of the day by washing all the trapped material, & hopefully gold included, from the box in to a pan for one panning session to gather your booty. Good luck out there JW :)