Howdy All!
It has been a few weeks since my last post. Don't think it was because I haven't been busy though! Life and my Rock Hounding have kept me away from posting for a bit.
Stacy and I continue to explore our new passion. She and I had the opportunity to go out into the "Field" together a few days ago. It is interesting to see how different our perspectives are. She would pass over some things that caught my eye, and I did exactly the same to her specimens!
We chose a local spot (we only had a few hours) to explore together. To be fair, we went to lunch then I decided to show her a local favorite. There is a steep mountain road on the outskirts of Johnstown that has an interesting water run-off that cuts into a hillside.
The majority of specimens are of course Sandstone and Coal, but we also found some conglomerate and siltstone. Digging and picking through the trench, we each pulled out different things that we liked. Some of the sandstone was very fine quartz moving up to rather rough quartz sand. All of the stones have iron stains and even magnetite banding in them. Some of the finer samples have amazing wave formations in them from the previous river/stream/lake action as they were originally laid down.
My most impressive find was another "Pennsylvania" geode. This sample was about the size of a potato. Made of finely grained sandstone, the center once contained another material that rusted/eroded out. It has an opening about the size of a silver dollar and was filled with silt from the run-off. After washing it out, I now have a hollow Sandstone sitting in the kitchen! (Pics Soon!)
One of the other things I have been doing for the past two weeks was working on the tumbler we bout. We bought a double drum tumbler capable of 6 lbs. It is very convenient to have two drums as I have been trying different samples at one time. I have successfully tumbled our specimens from Gem Mountain as well as the first two stages of the Barleywood Farms Blue Quartz. I must say I really like that quartz!
We purchased the tumbler from Harbor Freight Tools. They carry rotary tumblers, grit packages, and even Vibratory Tumblers (we got a 5 lb Vibratory Tumbler as well). It was put to immediate use and the learning curve is pretty easy. It took the cats a few days to get used to it, but they no longer pay it any attention.
I renewed my membership in the GPAA (I will post separately about this), and have been working on research into future trips. I will keep everyone posted on the amazing fun we are having!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Gold Mine Road - Montgomery County Maryland
The history of gold mining in Maryland is very long and diverse. There have been many locations where placer gold and even minor lode gold has been found and mined. One of the oldest finds in Maryland is Brookeville. This quaint little town sits in the north county on Georgia Avenue (Route 97) just north of Olney. Brookeville was once the capital of the US for a day as president James Madison fled British troops burning Washington during the War of 1812.
Reddy Branch is a stream that flows thru the town into the Patuxent River to the east. This stream was used for many things over the years, powering local mills and supporting a local gold mine. Three street names in the area caught my attention and led to some research. The first was Gold Mine Road. The name itself is out of place for the region and has always been of interest. Given that the street is also rather old and has had that name for years was interesting. Directly off of the street is Prospect Point Ct. and Pyrite Lane. Seeing these names and looking at the topography of the area led me to investigate.
There is not much information readily available about the mine, but it is referenced by the MGS as having been a farm location with no recorded production. My personal experience in Maryland gold may shed some light on the area. Pyrite Lane is named for a rather large deposit of the named mineral being found in Quartz at that location. Prospect Point is on the other side of Gold Mine Road on the highest elevation outside the town itself. I believe that the locals found either some very small Gold placers or Pyrite inclusions on Quartz and began prospecting the area. With the find at Pyrite Lane, Gold prospecting basically stopped in the area as no significant deposits were found.
Looking at known locations of Gold in Maryland shows Brookeville sitting in an unfortunate location. Tracing a line thru all the locations, you will get a "Fan" like shape extending in all directions around Brookeville. It sits dead center of a "Dead" zone in placer deposits. To the southwest area the Rock Run formations of Potomac (Great Falls and Rock Run mines). To the northwest are several mines in Frederick County that were not Gold mines, but found the mineral while extracting other minerals as traces. To the north and northeast, the copper mines of Carrol County and Baltimore County had trace deposits of Gold as by-product.
Having said all of that, I had to check out the area.
Taking Georgia Avenue north toward Brookeville, Gold Mine Road is easily accessed. Keep driving down Gold Mine past Prospect Point (left) and Pyrite Lane (right) to the bridge. There are some local homes and businesses nearby, but I found a parking pull off right by the bridge. The stream itself is part of Hawlings River Stream Valley Park and is protected. Please use respect when in the area like you would any other natural resource.
The stream itself has little topography and is slow moving. No established paths exist along the stream, so hiking is at your own risk. Travelling downstream from the bridge, I encountered quite a few White Tail Deer, so bear this in mind as well. Avoid aggressive males during the rut season! I travelled the west bank between the stream and Chandlee Mill Road. Unfortunately, there is years worth of trash and debris along the road bank.
Walking along the hillside of Chandlee Mill Road, there are numerous Quartz samples littering the ground. Some are cobbles, but I also noticed several large boulders protruding from the ground. Below are assorted samples.
None of these samples was particularly spectacular, but they showed a few hints as to the mineralogy of the zone. They all showed fractures thru the entire piece, and pieces 2 and 4 showed signs of Iron Oxide (pink tint) in the cracks. The rusting is a result of the break down of the Pyrite materials inside the rocks leaching out of the cracks.
After a nice little walk thru the area, I decided to check upstream of the bridge to see the different formations closer to Prospect Point. Given that Prospect Point sits atop a hill on private land, I had to stay close to the stream. I did not yet have permission to search from the landowners, so I didn't want to trespass.
Upstream the rocks changed quickly as they were more exposed from erosion. Within 50 feet of the bridge, I came across a huge Gabbro boulder protruding from the ground. This boulder was large enough and resistant enough to cause the stream to divert around it and form a nice arc in the stream. Even though this boulder was covered with overgrowth and mainly below soil, it was very impressive.
Just beyond this first boulder, there were more protruding from the soil and leading to the higher elevations of the two hills that flank the stream at this location. Some of the other boulders showed intrusions of quartz and were worth a look see.
As I was leaving the area, I had to scramble thru some brush to get back to the road. In doing so, I actually stumbled onto a large Quartz boulder. Only the very top of it was protruding from the soil, but that was enough to get my attention. The formation was rather large and showed multiple points sticking out of the surface nearby. Given that it had grabbed my foot as I passed by, I decided to whack a small section off to see what was in the cracks. As is the norm for the area, there was a lot of rust in the cracks showing the break down of local Iron minerals.
On a final note for this area, it is lovely. The stream is fairly deep for the area, slow moving, and showed some great signs of fish. I didn't get into the bed as the bank is steep and not many gravel bars were apparent. I would like to further explore the hillside that is Prospect Point, but I will need to contact a few property owners to do so. There is also a nice farm on the east bank below the bridge that I would like to get permission to explore. I can see by the topography that the stream course once passed thru the farm and not in it's current location. A bit of digging on dry land should get me down to the old gravel beds and maybe some placer deposits!
Reddy Branch is a stream that flows thru the town into the Patuxent River to the east. This stream was used for many things over the years, powering local mills and supporting a local gold mine. Three street names in the area caught my attention and led to some research. The first was Gold Mine Road. The name itself is out of place for the region and has always been of interest. Given that the street is also rather old and has had that name for years was interesting. Directly off of the street is Prospect Point Ct. and Pyrite Lane. Seeing these names and looking at the topography of the area led me to investigate.
There is not much information readily available about the mine, but it is referenced by the MGS as having been a farm location with no recorded production. My personal experience in Maryland gold may shed some light on the area. Pyrite Lane is named for a rather large deposit of the named mineral being found in Quartz at that location. Prospect Point is on the other side of Gold Mine Road on the highest elevation outside the town itself. I believe that the locals found either some very small Gold placers or Pyrite inclusions on Quartz and began prospecting the area. With the find at Pyrite Lane, Gold prospecting basically stopped in the area as no significant deposits were found.
Looking at known locations of Gold in Maryland shows Brookeville sitting in an unfortunate location. Tracing a line thru all the locations, you will get a "Fan" like shape extending in all directions around Brookeville. It sits dead center of a "Dead" zone in placer deposits. To the southwest area the Rock Run formations of Potomac (Great Falls and Rock Run mines). To the northwest are several mines in Frederick County that were not Gold mines, but found the mineral while extracting other minerals as traces. To the north and northeast, the copper mines of Carrol County and Baltimore County had trace deposits of Gold as by-product.
Having said all of that, I had to check out the area.
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| Gold Mine Road and Reddy Branch |
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| Reddy Branch Stream bed |
The stream itself has little topography and is slow moving. No established paths exist along the stream, so hiking is at your own risk. Travelling downstream from the bridge, I encountered quite a few White Tail Deer, so bear this in mind as well. Avoid aggressive males during the rut season! I travelled the west bank between the stream and Chandlee Mill Road. Unfortunately, there is years worth of trash and debris along the road bank.
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| Quartz Cobbles at base of hill |
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| Quartz Sample 1 |
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| Quartz Sample 2 |
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| Quartz Sample 3 |
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| Quartz Sample 4 |
After a nice little walk thru the area, I decided to check upstream of the bridge to see the different formations closer to Prospect Point. Given that Prospect Point sits atop a hill on private land, I had to stay close to the stream. I did not yet have permission to search from the landowners, so I didn't want to trespass.
Upstream the rocks changed quickly as they were more exposed from erosion. Within 50 feet of the bridge, I came across a huge Gabbro boulder protruding from the ground. This boulder was large enough and resistant enough to cause the stream to divert around it and form a nice arc in the stream. Even though this boulder was covered with overgrowth and mainly below soil, it was very impressive.
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| Huge Boulder in Ground |
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| Gabbro with Quartz Intrusions |
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| Tip of the boulder that tried to trip me |
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Catoctin Creek - Frederick County Maryland
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| Catoctin Creek road Crossing |
There is a large outcrop in the landscape that causes the stream to divert at this location. It is a wonderful chance to see how the local rock formations are still at work eroding the valley and hills.
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| Outcrop causing stream to divert around |
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| Catoctin Creek bed |
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| Close up of stream pebbles |
Yet another interesting find!
It always amazes me the types of things you can find in Rock Hounding. These sometimes tiny samples sit and sit for so long, just waiting to be revealed. The chances of actually finding some of these minerals is so astronomically low, it baffles the mind. I understand that with the right person actively searching for particular things, the chances go up dramatically, but there is so much randomness to this.
To stress the point even further, allow me to clarify this particular situation. I have taken this interest in rock hounding. I decided to begin my adventures in familiar areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania. I don't know all that much about minerals or even geology yet, but I have at least taken a proactive approach to learning. I have studied many maps, bought lots of books, read and understand both, and stepped into the field to find things. So far I rely on instinct to find interesting samples. Anything that catches my eye gets picked up and observed. Only a few actually get put into the bag or bucket to get cleaned up and really observed. I noticed at first that I was picking up many mundane samples just to familiarize myself with the native rocks of the particular area. In doing so, I learn what looks strange for the surroundings. A good example would be the blue quartz found at Barleywood. I picked it up thinking it was smoky quartz and therefore odd for the area. There was tons of quartz in that field, but only a few dark pieces in a particular area. I picked up several samples that showed the darkness even through all the dirt. In doing so, I didn't look at them too well at the time, but ended up with some very cool samples that lead me to research even more.
One of my recent trips, I was admiring the local outcrops of Phyllite when I noticed a few pieces of quartz were either laying on the ground nearby or even still embedded together with the material. Since I am always interested in the relationship of different rocks and the locations of source materials, I picked up two pieces of rock. The first piece of phyllite was pulled from the outcrop, while the piece of quartz was taken from the ground. I do not know that the quartz was attached originally, but it's location infers that it was.
When I got the samples home, I put them through the regular basic cleaning process. As I sorted through the samples, the piece of phyllite was briefly examined and set aside. The quartz looked normal enough compared to the other samples and was also set aside. Two days passed with this sample sitting on the back patio, not even being thought of. Once again, the sample waited to be discovered. I went out back to smoke and was picking through the samples when I noticed it had a darker than normal spot on it. It looked like there was something inside one of the many fractures on the piece. I grabbed my hammer and gave it a whack. Below are some images of what I found.
On first inspection of this sample, I of course thought the inclusion was Gold. What concerned me was the Iron Oxide directly surrounding the material. My mind raced with the possibilities. The iron material had oxidized in the same space as the golden material, so there was obviously penetration into the space. The total size of the gold material is about the size of a dime, so there is not much to work with. It is actually on three pieces of material from the same sample. When I broke it open, there were two halves with almost identical samples attached. The third piece was broken from another section and revealed more material only on one of the pieces that separated.
Needless to say, I was excited. This small sample rock had been sitting for so long, and I had found it. I began doing some more research as to the other materials the "Gold" could be. Given that Gold is not commonly found in formation in Maryland, I figured it might be something else. The usual suspects are Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, or Marcasite. All three are possibilities other than Gold, but I also noticed a few interesting things. The first big test would be tarnish. So far the sample has yet to tarnish. The surrounding material did tarnish further once exposed to direct air, and even some spots covering the "gold" tarnished as well. These spots were easy to wipe away though, so I assume they were residual iron that rusted quickly being wet and exposed.
Pyrite often occurs with Gold. Some massive samples of Pyrite have dissolved leaving traces of Gold behind. Both Chalcopyrite and Marcasite has a blue/purple tint to tarnish. For fear of losing the sample, I didn't want to poke, prod, scrape, or dissolve it, so I am going to wait for more time for tarnish to naturally occur. In the mean time, I am going to research further.
No matter what this sample is, it is still amazing to have found it. It is so far the largest inclusion I have found on native rocks in Maryland and makes me want to find more! I will be returning to that site in the near future to look for more of the same, as well as other interesting samples.
**Edit - After posting to some mineral forums, a few helpful experts have chimed in that this is probably deteriorating Pyrite. The gold color is probably just the section that has yet to oxidize. I am now researching cleaning and preservation methods as I still think this is the neatest inclusion found so far!**
To stress the point even further, allow me to clarify this particular situation. I have taken this interest in rock hounding. I decided to begin my adventures in familiar areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania. I don't know all that much about minerals or even geology yet, but I have at least taken a proactive approach to learning. I have studied many maps, bought lots of books, read and understand both, and stepped into the field to find things. So far I rely on instinct to find interesting samples. Anything that catches my eye gets picked up and observed. Only a few actually get put into the bag or bucket to get cleaned up and really observed. I noticed at first that I was picking up many mundane samples just to familiarize myself with the native rocks of the particular area. In doing so, I learn what looks strange for the surroundings. A good example would be the blue quartz found at Barleywood. I picked it up thinking it was smoky quartz and therefore odd for the area. There was tons of quartz in that field, but only a few dark pieces in a particular area. I picked up several samples that showed the darkness even through all the dirt. In doing so, I didn't look at them too well at the time, but ended up with some very cool samples that lead me to research even more.
One of my recent trips, I was admiring the local outcrops of Phyllite when I noticed a few pieces of quartz were either laying on the ground nearby or even still embedded together with the material. Since I am always interested in the relationship of different rocks and the locations of source materials, I picked up two pieces of rock. The first piece of phyllite was pulled from the outcrop, while the piece of quartz was taken from the ground. I do not know that the quartz was attached originally, but it's location infers that it was.
When I got the samples home, I put them through the regular basic cleaning process. As I sorted through the samples, the piece of phyllite was briefly examined and set aside. The quartz looked normal enough compared to the other samples and was also set aside. Two days passed with this sample sitting on the back patio, not even being thought of. Once again, the sample waited to be discovered. I went out back to smoke and was picking through the samples when I noticed it had a darker than normal spot on it. It looked like there was something inside one of the many fractures on the piece. I grabbed my hammer and gave it a whack. Below are some images of what I found.
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of Inclusion on Quartz |
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| Magnified image of material scraped from Quartz |
Needless to say, I was excited. This small sample rock had been sitting for so long, and I had found it. I began doing some more research as to the other materials the "Gold" could be. Given that Gold is not commonly found in formation in Maryland, I figured it might be something else. The usual suspects are Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, or Marcasite. All three are possibilities other than Gold, but I also noticed a few interesting things. The first big test would be tarnish. So far the sample has yet to tarnish. The surrounding material did tarnish further once exposed to direct air, and even some spots covering the "gold" tarnished as well. These spots were easy to wipe away though, so I assume they were residual iron that rusted quickly being wet and exposed.
Pyrite often occurs with Gold. Some massive samples of Pyrite have dissolved leaving traces of Gold behind. Both Chalcopyrite and Marcasite has a blue/purple tint to tarnish. For fear of losing the sample, I didn't want to poke, prod, scrape, or dissolve it, so I am going to wait for more time for tarnish to naturally occur. In the mean time, I am going to research further.
No matter what this sample is, it is still amazing to have found it. It is so far the largest inclusion I have found on native rocks in Maryland and makes me want to find more! I will be returning to that site in the near future to look for more of the same, as well as other interesting samples.
**Edit - After posting to some mineral forums, a few helpful experts have chimed in that this is probably deteriorating Pyrite. The gold color is probably just the section that has yet to oxidize. I am now researching cleaning and preservation methods as I still think this is the neatest inclusion found so far!**
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A very surprising find!
As is the new normal for us, Stacy and I went through my recent specimens this past weekend. We had a good time examining my finds as I explained where I got them, how I got them, and even a bit of "Why" I got them. As she so nicely put it last night, "You like the strangest things!"
Last week I spent some time in Frederick County MD, searching cornfields, stream beds, and road cuts. I have been focusing my search on quartz specimens because I know that they sometimes form nice crystals. Quartz and Quartzite also often have other inclusions within them as well. Maryland seems to have an abundance of these two in many forms. I must make a few corrections from last weeks postings as well.
1 - The Rose quartz I reported finding at Barleywood farms was actually a piece of Quartz that was so covered in dirt it was hard to see clearly. Given that I am still new to this, I misidentified the sample at first. This sample was not Rose Quartz at all but has a lovely pink tinge from the iron oxide interwoven through the whole sample.
Iron stained quartz sample. After cleaning, this piece still looked very pretty. This sample is about 1" x 3/4" x 3/4" It still needs some cleaning, but I am hesitant to chemically clean it for fear of losing the pink coloring on the outside. I believe I will try and tumble similar samples in the near future.
2 - The Smoky quartz sample I found at this location was in fact Smoky/Milky Quartz. I thought I had picked up about 10-15 samples of this material though. After closer examination, I found that I had found one Smokey, and about 10 - 15 samples of Blue Quartz. Below are two images to show the types of samples I recovered. Bear in mind these are rough cleaned so still have some dirt and debris attached.
Both Images show the same sample. The first image is back lit on my light table to help show the color transfers throughout the entire sample. The second image has a better representation of the sample in natural light.
Without the light table, you can see the very grayish tinge to the coloring that lead to me thinking I had more smokey quartz samples.
Last week I spent some time in Frederick County MD, searching cornfields, stream beds, and road cuts. I have been focusing my search on quartz specimens because I know that they sometimes form nice crystals. Quartz and Quartzite also often have other inclusions within them as well. Maryland seems to have an abundance of these two in many forms. I must make a few corrections from last weeks postings as well.
1 - The Rose quartz I reported finding at Barleywood farms was actually a piece of Quartz that was so covered in dirt it was hard to see clearly. Given that I am still new to this, I misidentified the sample at first. This sample was not Rose Quartz at all but has a lovely pink tinge from the iron oxide interwoven through the whole sample.
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| Milky Quartz with Reddish Iron Deposits |
Iron stained quartz sample. After cleaning, this piece still looked very pretty. This sample is about 1" x 3/4" x 3/4" It still needs some cleaning, but I am hesitant to chemically clean it for fear of losing the pink coloring on the outside. I believe I will try and tumble similar samples in the near future.
2 - The Smoky quartz sample I found at this location was in fact Smoky/Milky Quartz. I thought I had picked up about 10-15 samples of this material though. After closer examination, I found that I had found one Smokey, and about 10 - 15 samples of Blue Quartz. Below are two images to show the types of samples I recovered. Bear in mind these are rough cleaned so still have some dirt and debris attached.
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| Barleywood Blue Quartz (Back lit) |
Both Images show the same sample. The first image is back lit on my light table to help show the color transfers throughout the entire sample. The second image has a better representation of the sample in natural light.
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| Barleywood Blue Quartz |
Without the light table, you can see the very grayish tinge to the coloring that lead to me thinking I had more smokey quartz samples.
All of the samples show the same pattern of oxidation in the iron materials in the stones and the local soil. Every sample retrieved from this site has been tilled and plowed numerous times in the 200 years the farm has been in operation. The average sample was about the size of a golf ball.
I once again want to thank the owner of Barleywood Farms for allowing me to search the fields. He is a very nice man and I hope to show him some of the finds in the very near future!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A Special Thanks
Monday afternoon I made my weekly journey to Maryland from Pennsylvania. I have been enjoying the drive as I imagine the different times I am travelling through as I cross the countryside. The road cuts along route 70 are fascinating! You can see so many interesting layers of rock in such a short drive. I found myself deviating from my normal path and got off the highway to take MD 17 across the mountains. I passed through Burkittsville and headed toward Brunswick. I came to the intersection (Traffic Circle) of 17 and 180 and turned toward Frederick. I had seen a field of interest the week before and wanted to see if I could find the owner. Jake Slagle had posted on Mineral Bliss that he had found a nice quartz crystal in the area. I decided to hit another field nearby.
Barleywood Farm lies right on MD 180 just north of Brunswick. The original farm was very large and spanned an area of several thousand acres. 340, 180, and 17 all dissect the original lot. The current owner is a very nice man, but he sub-lets the land to local farmers to cultivate.
The farm lot across from the farmhouse was recently tilled. It is a large parcel sandwiched between 340 and 180. I asked permission to roam the lot and search for samples. The owner was very nice and told me to have a good time. He has had previous visitors ask permission, but they were all searching for Civil War items. He seemed generally pleased with the idea of someone looking for minerals.
After getting the owners blessing for my outing, I drove to the lot and grabbed my bag and rock hammer. This shot does a good job showing how large the parcel is. The Silo in the background is just on the other side of route 340 and this land extends over the hill to that road as well. I mainly searched the dips in the field shown in the center here. This area had the least amount of plow damage and lots of quartz samples.
I also made it a point to search the treeline between the lot and 180. There are several large piles of quartz rocks moved to the side over the years. Given the age of the farm, many large boulders have been taken from the fields. Some have been removed, others dot the local yards, some are now part of the driveway, but a few remain in the shade of the trees. There were three main varieties of quartz in the field: Milky, Rosey, and Smokey.
I must admit that I am jealous of Jake's find. I must also admit that his post inspired me to contact a local land owner and get permission to walk the field. I had a lovely conversation, met a very interesting person, and had a great, relaxing stroll through a tilled field looking for samples. I managed to get some interesting massive samples, but found no real crystal formations. All in All, a good time was had. There is definitely something to be said for searching the fields!
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| Barleywood Farm - Est. 1793 |
Barleywood Farm lies right on MD 180 just north of Brunswick. The original farm was very large and spanned an area of several thousand acres. 340, 180, and 17 all dissect the original lot. The current owner is a very nice man, but he sub-lets the land to local farmers to cultivate.
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| Recently Tilled Corn Field |
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| Showing the perspective |
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| Search the tree lines when possible |
I must admit that I am jealous of Jake's find. I must also admit that his post inspired me to contact a local land owner and get permission to walk the field. I had a lovely conversation, met a very interesting person, and had a great, relaxing stroll through a tilled field looking for samples. I managed to get some interesting massive samples, but found no real crystal formations. All in All, a good time was had. There is definitely something to be said for searching the fields!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Clean Up Process - 2 - Prepping to Pan Material
Last post I went into details of basic cleaning of Quartz samples. This time I will get into how to go thru and sort some smaller things like sand and gravel samples.
This process is basically designed to prep material gathered for panning at home. Since I have limited time to do the initial surveys, I normally bring home a can of material. By sorting it this way, I get to really see what the streams are carrying in the way of material. The end result is that I can see if there is Gold, Gemstones, Fossils, or just some neat looking Minerals in the stream beds.
If I find a good sample, I have taken notes as to where and when the samples were taken. Small sampling is less intrusive to the locations as well. No need to haul a Sluice Box and a big shovel. I can scout the stream and find a promising location for deposits. I also get to enjoy a nice walk in the woods normally to get there!
Step 1 - Lay out Materials and Equipment
The yellow can contains the gravel/sand to be sorted. The two white bowls are for storing sand/gravel during the process. The scoop (pumpkin carving scoop) is for placing sand/gravel into mesh screens. The two mess screens are 60 and 80, both purchased at a cooking supply store. Some water and maybe dish soap if needed.
Next, I pour the sand/gravel mix into a flat, wide basin for easier scooping. This allows me to look at the material a bit better before dropping it into the screen. Sometimes you may find a good sample in the container and want to pull it out before screening.
Notice that the water in the sand/gravel mixture has some soap bubbles in it. I have added some dish soap to loosen any silt/clay lumps. Small particles are famous for sticking inside clay balls. Anything you can do to break them up is a wise idea here.
Step 2 - Begin to screen (60 Mesh)
Using the 60 mess screen (smaller number = larger holes), begin by scooping small amounts into the strainers. The image is not super accurate as I had to use a hand for the camera as well. Once you have a scoop in the strainer, run your fingers thru the material to check for clay balls. Mash as needed.
Shake your strainer back and forth and round and round. The water will dirty as the smaller particles slip thru the mesh. Using small scoops ensures that the material will be sorted enough. At this point in time, remove any larger pebbles and gravel to help sorting process. Make sure to hold the material under the water line to ease the separation.
Now that you have the material separated, place the gravel in a separate container for later study. You will continue to do this until you have gone thru the first screening of the material. This is the stage that all the larger material and organics (sticks and leaves) are removed. Your sorted material will also have been cleaned nicely if you used soapy water, but may need a rinse at the end. Repeat as needed.
Step 3 - Begin to Screen (80 Mesh)
This process is exactly the same as for 60 mesh. The only difference is that you are getting mush finer material sorted. Similar sized material is easiest to sort thru and pan later.
Step 4 - Show off the goods!
Here is a shot of my lovely wife Stacy looking thru the sorted material. Notice how she was nice enough to bring me the coffee drink for my hard work? I was left with three containers of material. One rough gravel, one 60 mesh, and one 80 mesh.
Final Step - Pan the Material
I don't have pictures of the panning process just yet. If you want to see how to pan for Gold and Minerals, GO HERE. Much of the beginning steps have been removed by sorting the material this way, but you may want to pan all the material (not just the really fine stuff) as well. Never know if there is a nugget in there!
This process is basically designed to prep material gathered for panning at home. Since I have limited time to do the initial surveys, I normally bring home a can of material. By sorting it this way, I get to really see what the streams are carrying in the way of material. The end result is that I can see if there is Gold, Gemstones, Fossils, or just some neat looking Minerals in the stream beds.
If I find a good sample, I have taken notes as to where and when the samples were taken. Small sampling is less intrusive to the locations as well. No need to haul a Sluice Box and a big shovel. I can scout the stream and find a promising location for deposits. I also get to enjoy a nice walk in the woods normally to get there!
Step 1 - Lay out Materials and Equipment
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| Bowls,, Basin, Mesh Strainers, Scoop, and Material |
The yellow can contains the gravel/sand to be sorted. The two white bowls are for storing sand/gravel during the process. The scoop (pumpkin carving scoop) is for placing sand/gravel into mesh screens. The two mess screens are 60 and 80, both purchased at a cooking supply store. Some water and maybe dish soap if needed.
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| Pour material into another container |
Next, I pour the sand/gravel mix into a flat, wide basin for easier scooping. This allows me to look at the material a bit better before dropping it into the screen. Sometimes you may find a good sample in the container and want to pull it out before screening.
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| Pre-Wash Material |
Notice that the water in the sand/gravel mixture has some soap bubbles in it. I have added some dish soap to loosen any silt/clay lumps. Small particles are famous for sticking inside clay balls. Anything you can do to break them up is a wise idea here.
Step 2 - Begin to screen (60 Mesh)
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| Start with widest mesh first |
Using the 60 mess screen (smaller number = larger holes), begin by scooping small amounts into the strainers. The image is not super accurate as I had to use a hand for the camera as well. Once you have a scoop in the strainer, run your fingers thru the material to check for clay balls. Mash as needed.
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| Shake back and forth, round and round |
Shake your strainer back and forth and round and round. The water will dirty as the smaller particles slip thru the mesh. Using small scoops ensures that the material will be sorted enough. At this point in time, remove any larger pebbles and gravel to help sorting process. Make sure to hold the material under the water line to ease the separation.
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| Separate containers |
Now that you have the material separated, place the gravel in a separate container for later study. You will continue to do this until you have gone thru the first screening of the material. This is the stage that all the larger material and organics (sticks and leaves) are removed. Your sorted material will also have been cleaned nicely if you used soapy water, but may need a rinse at the end. Repeat as needed.
Step 3 - Begin to Screen (80 Mesh)
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| Screen at 80 Mesh |
This process is exactly the same as for 60 mesh. The only difference is that you are getting mush finer material sorted. Similar sized material is easiest to sort thru and pan later.
Step 4 - Show off the goods!
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| Stacy looks thru the material |
Here is a shot of my lovely wife Stacy looking thru the sorted material. Notice how she was nice enough to bring me the coffee drink for my hard work? I was left with three containers of material. One rough gravel, one 60 mesh, and one 80 mesh.
Final Step - Pan the Material
I don't have pictures of the panning process just yet. If you want to see how to pan for Gold and Minerals, GO HERE. Much of the beginning steps have been removed by sorting the material this way, but you may want to pan all the material (not just the really fine stuff) as well. Never know if there is a nugget in there!
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