Last Post 13 Jun 2016 05:26 PM by  Ed Bragg
Panning Paydirt with Iron Gravel
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Don McElyea
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07 Apr 2015 05:21 PM
    I have a lot of dirt to pan and have classified it twice, I still have little pieces of iron in the black sand and it is making this very hard to pan.  I have two more classifiers but don't know how small I can take it down to get these iron pieces out of there.  This ground was just loaded with small gravel size iron.  I bought one of those 5 different size classifiers that set on the bucket.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks
    Tim Leibel
    Buzzard
    Buzzard
    Posts:608



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    07 Apr 2015 05:59 PM
    Use a magnet. You hold it above the dirt in your pan and move it slow. it will pull out the iron based material and should leave the gold.
    Paul Straub
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    Posts:244



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    07 Apr 2015 07:40 PM
    The magnet is a great tool, but keep the magnetic stuff and go through it again after it dries, because when the magnet grabs the iron when wet, it can clump together and trap gold in it.

    Another trick is to hold the magnet away from the pan far enough to make the iron jump up to the mag, less chance of it clumping together.

    Paul
    Don McElyea
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    08 Apr 2015 03:38 AM
    Thanks for the tips guys.  And may all your pans be filled with gold.
    Paul Straub
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    08 Apr 2015 08:56 AM
    Hey Don, Here's a great video on how to separate the magnetics from the blondes and gold, when dry. this is the easiest and best method I've tried, it works great.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qAulZdFW3x8


    Paul
    Don McElyea
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    08 Apr 2015 09:43 AM
    Thanks.  Very informative video.  Also, I beleive I will classify down one more level to see how it goes.
    Don McElyea
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    Posts:131



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    17 Apr 2015 06:13 AM

    Since I only had the one classifier 1/2 inch I found a full set for about 50 bucks with stainless mesh.  I classified down to 150 and got all the little chunks of iron and very small gravel out.  I still don't know if my pans are seasoned enough.  I did this twice and am thinking the soap I used (Ivory, which the wife picked out) may have not done the trick.  It seems the black sand and small fine gold slip around in the pan quite a bit.  Going off on an adventure in New Mexico with one of the chapters there next month and will learn a bunch from the seasoned prospectors.

    The magnet worked really well but be sure to get one with the catch and release.  I didn't at first and it was a real pain to get the black sand off the magnet.  Live and learn.  And I was shocked to see this thread in The Nugget issue just emailed out.

    Since I have joined I have not one regret about getting the 3 year membership.

    Thanks GPAA.

    Jamin Neet
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:24



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    03 Jun 2015 05:33 PM
    If you don't have a catch and release magnet, just put the magnet in a ziplock bag (or some other plastic barrier). All you have to do is pull the bag inside out and all the iron is off the magnet, plus neatly bagged for you if you want to keep it.
    Mary McCarty
    Basic Member
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    Posts:140



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    13 Jun 2016 05:13 PM
    Posted By Don McElyea on 17 Apr 2015 06:13 AM

    Since I only had the one classifier 1/2 inch I found a full set for about 50 bucks with stainless mesh.  I classified down to 150 and got all the little chunks of iron and very small gravel out.  I still don't know if my pans are seasoned enough.  I did this twice and am thinking the soap I used (Ivory, which the wife picked out) may have not done the trick.  It seems the black sand and small fine gold slip around in the pan quite a bit.  Going off on an adventure in New Mexico with one of the chapters there next month and will learn a bunch from the seasoned prospectors.

    The magnet worked really well but be sure to get one with the catch and release.  I didn't at first and it was a real pain to get the black sand off the magnet.  Live and learn.  And I was shocked to see this thread in The Nugget issue just emailed out.

    Since I have joined I have not one regret about getting the 3 year membership.

    Thanks GPAA.

    I'm picking up a lot of good stuff hanging out here! Dying to get into the field tho'.

    As for the magnet thing, I am planning on placing my 45 lb. supermagnet inside of an empty prescription bottle like someone suggested a bit back. That way I can pull the magnet out of it to dump the magnetic black sands into the plastic pan. I can get some round blue plastic O.R. tissue pans here at work that are discards to build up the requisite set of 6 recommended for passaging the sand. I have noted that blond sand (and gold) does indeed get picked up by the clumping black sands even in the driest media... I was just going to run the black sands on the Miller Table, but this looks like a much, much better cleaning method. I may run them a time or two anyway just for peace of mind.  If they come out gold-free then I'll know I've got it down!



    Ed Bragg
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    Posts:75



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    13 Jun 2016 05:26 PM

    This is what I ended up using.


     + 


    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBL8KHQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I stuck it in one of those round Rubbermaid snack containers with a lid. Drag over my cons, and then pop the lid and lift the magnet over my black-sands container. (it helps to have a handle or string attached to it somehow). It's mostly water tight, and keeps the magnet from getting all rusty and covered in black sands.
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