Gold panning

[larryours]

Does anyone do any gold prospecting ? I did alittle some years back, it's like gambling,its habit forming. But I don't have anyplace here in West Virginia to prospect, however, I heard there were a small amount located near Parsons, in Tucker Co. W.v some place called "Siskaboo" "Peekaboo" " something of that nature, name of a hollow, maybe Rubicon will know the name ?
Just wanted to know if there's any active gold prospectors out there ? Did a little relic hunting also !

[GoodOlBoy]

Yes. As you said it is very addictive. Back when I was a teenager we spent a few hours panning the rive comming out of golden colorado, the entire bottom of that river is gold flake from the mining opperations upstream, ya just got to have the patience to work the bed. Had I not been a teenager and my grandparents make me leave I would probably still be there.

Someday I also want to hit up the arkansas diamond fields.

GoodOlBoy

[rubicon]

Hey Larry, Maybe you mean Sissyboo. its a hollar on 219 between Parsons and Thomas. But the only thing I ever knew of up that hollar was a still. But then the owner who I will not name protected it like it was a gold mine.
Never prospected but many years ago while eating our lunch on a big rock on the shore of a large lake in northern Ontario moose and I found what we thought was gold. We spent two more trips back up there , a year in planning, research, and visiting government agencies, and trying to file a claim to learn TWO YOUNG WEST VIRGINIA HILLBILLY BOYS had discovered fools gold. But it was quite a venture with a lot of illusions not to mention several walleye and northern pike.

[Wahnie]

My parents have a claim about 140 miles north of us. They go up just about every weekend and and dredge. So far they've found less than 1/4 of an ounce. Thier claim has already been picked through with commercial equiptment, so they are just finding what the big stuff missed. We were told that back in the 70's some old man found 1,200 ounces in 24 hours on our claim. We're just waiting to find that second motherload on the claim.

[Duffy]

Originally posted by rubicon
Hey Larry, Maybe you mean Sissyboo. its a hollar on 219 between Parsons and Thomas. But the only thing I ever knew of up that hollar was a still. But then the owner who I will not name protected it like it was a gold mine.

I'll be driving right past that area tomorrow afternoon on my way into West Virginia for vacation. Hmm, panning for gold. Maybe my ship will come in after all!

[larryours]

Rubicon, yep ,SISSYBOO,that's the name, I heard about it several years ago, didn't know if anything to it or not, read alittle about that hollow somewhere can't remember where.

[larryours]

P.S Duffy, I hope you have a good vacation and enjoy this neck of the woods, also the huckleberries are getting ripe, so the black bears should be stirring around these berry patches

[Duffy]

Originally posted by larryours
P.S Duffy, I hope you have a good vacation and enjoy this neck of the woods, also the huckleberries are getting ripe, so the black bears should be stirring around these berry patches

Thanks! I'll let you all know how it goes. Can't wait!

[Dan Morris]

Guess for funzies it's ok. Personally, I thinks you would make more selling supplies to miners!LOL.
Dan

[grayghost]

I'm in the metal detecting business and mostly relic hunt (civil war) but I have taken a few trips out west to prospect. The best gold I have found was in ID a few years ago. The best place in our State is in the southeast, down to northern GA. Lots of ways to go about it. I would say get a good panning kit ($30), maybe a sluice ($75) and a metal detector. I'd highly recommend a Tesoro Lobo Super Trac. They have an outstanding lifetime warranty, are easy to use and unlike dedicated gold detectors, they have true discrimination so it can be used as an excellent coin, jewelry and relic detector. They are also priced about 5.5 times below what one of the big rigs cost. Patience and practice is what it takes to find gold. Luck doesn't hurt but once you get the hang of it, it's not a difficult hobby to master. One of my customers recently found a 3.1 oz nugget. Good hunting, grayghost

[pistolchamp]

And can be profitable, first you need gold in the river and second patience.

I have an office in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania and often go to my partner's ranch near Morogoro.

Nearby there is a river with several hundred completely naked natives standing about crotch deep in ICE cold water panning gold. Talking to them (I speak fair swahili) it appears that they average about 3 to 5 grams of gold each each, each! Figure that times the number of natives and they are taking nearly two kilos of gold a day from that river. I'm amazing someone hasn't come in with commercial equipment and run the natives off and made a fortune.

I've tried it in that river and I'm a wussie, that water is REALLY cold, but, I did find a few flecks of gold.

[grayghost]

Get you a sluice box. You can stand at the edge of the water and run material through it. It would trap a lot I'm sure. I wouldn't try to refine it on the river bank. Just take the concentrates and black sand back to the ranch. A hose pipe and pan is all you'd need. Sounds well worth it. grayghost

[larryours]

Thanks Grayghost!

[grayghost]

Glad to help. Let me know if I can answer any questions or you can visit my web site. It's listed in my profile. Good hunting, grayghost