I panned for gold in colorado got lots of black powder mixed with gold how do i seperate it?

We prospectors call that stuff ';black sand'; and it is an indicator that gold may be present since both black sand and gold are both very heavy and tend to accumulate in the same places in a creek.


Always make sure your hands are clean of any grease or oil, this will increase surface tension and small bits of gold will float. Adding a drop of dish soap to the panning water will help too.


Some of the material will be magnetic and can be removed by hovering a magnet above the concentrates in your pan while they are being slurried. Don't stick the magnet into them because some very small gold particles will be caught up in them. The best way to use magnetic seperation is to dry all the concentrates, then pass a magnet and repan what is left.


The proper way to seperate the rest is to be very patient and do a small amount at a time. They make special tools to further seperate the black sand from gold but unless you do a lot of mining, the expense is not justifiable.


The vast majority of gold is microscopic so no matter how good a panner you are, there will always be some tiny bits left so it is best to keep all the black sand both magnetic and non-magnetic. When you have gathered a large volume, there are some chemical means of recovery. I want to stress that chemical recovery can be dangerous and should be left to the experienced.. If nothing else, it is an excellent soil additive for roses.


You can add the magnetics to paint and refrigerator magnets will stick to it.I panned for gold in colorado got lots of black powder mixed with gold how do i seperate it?
Usually the black sand is magnetic, and you can separate it out with a magnet. Others prefer to use a suction bottle to pick out all the gold flakes, leaving the worthless black sand behind.


Either method is effective. Depending on what the sand is made of will let you know which method is best.I panned for gold in colorado got lots of black powder mixed with gold how do i seperate it?
I am assuming that you were using a proper gold miners pan.





There is more to panning than meets the eye. Firstly is the preparation. Hold or place the pan over a smokey fire. This will blacken the surface. Holding the pan on a angle with a little water in it and the dust that you have collected. Gently rock the pan so that the water washes over your sample and move the pan around so that the sample is in a long trail. Do not be in a hurry. As you work the water slowly backward and forwards you will see the heavy material (hopefully gold) being left behind and the lighter material being washed away by the water. If you are getting small amounts of gold use an eye dropper to suck up the gold grains and squirt it into a small screw top jar with water in it.


The black stuff is probably manganese which is often found in association with gold. Do not allow your dust to dry in the pan as when you add water you may find that your sample and the gold dust will float out over the edge.





Hope you strike the mother load.





Added: When you get your samples home pour off most of the water in your jar and add some hydrochloric acid. You may find that all that glistens is not gold.
magnet