IdahoGoldGettR
Active member
I have taken a moment to share with others as to how I spend my late fall & winter months preparing for "black sand gold recovery." Though I do classify my gravels during the Summer and keep them in storage, the final process is saved for the cabin fever days. This segment begins with classifying the sand gravels to black sands. After which they soak in a salt solution, heated on a stove and then submerged in ice water. Though not all black sands contain in cased gold, the only way to know for sure is to follow through with this process. The end result could prove there is gold within.
As seen in the photos, I first classify the material through a smaller (shrimp strainer) mesh. Any mesh smaller than a 1/4 inch will suffice. Because there is more black sand then stone, I only pan about one to two cups at a time. Once the material is washed through into the Garrett pan, the left over rocks are then dried and looked through at a later time. I now move over to a large metal tub with a solution of water and soap. The soap is an added protection against the possible loss of floating particle gold. Here, the light sand gravels are filtered from the black sand. After cleansing these gravels to a color of black, I then place these in a salt water solution bucket. My salt formula consists of 1 cup salt to 1 gallon of water. These black sands will remain in this bucket for a period of 3 days. When this soaking period is complete, transfer these sands to a wood stove (camping stove, grill or any other heat source of choice will do). It is important to not only dry the black sands but to "roast" them to a scorching hot degree. How hot is scorching? To best describe this, is if the sands crackle when entering cold water (the next procedure), then they are hot enough. It is a good idea to have a prepared bucket of cold water for this process (colder the better - combined snow or ice with water will assist in bringing this water temperature down). Now carefully remove these hot sands from their heat source and pour them slowly into this cold water bucket. Be very careful when doing this as not only will you hear the crackling sound but water may splash as well. It is here that the black encrusted minerals will release their captivity on the presence of gold. When and how you choose to recover this fine/flour gold, is up to you. It can be done immediately following this last cooling or you can dry these black sands once again and recover the gold and a more convenient time period.
As seen in the photos, I first classify the material through a smaller (shrimp strainer) mesh. Any mesh smaller than a 1/4 inch will suffice. Because there is more black sand then stone, I only pan about one to two cups at a time. Once the material is washed through into the Garrett pan, the left over rocks are then dried and looked through at a later time. I now move over to a large metal tub with a solution of water and soap. The soap is an added protection against the possible loss of floating particle gold. Here, the light sand gravels are filtered from the black sand. After cleansing these gravels to a color of black, I then place these in a salt water solution bucket. My salt formula consists of 1 cup salt to 1 gallon of water. These black sands will remain in this bucket for a period of 3 days. When this soaking period is complete, transfer these sands to a wood stove (camping stove, grill or any other heat source of choice will do). It is important to not only dry the black sands but to "roast" them to a scorching hot degree. How hot is scorching? To best describe this, is if the sands crackle when entering cold water (the next procedure), then they are hot enough. It is a good idea to have a prepared bucket of cold water for this process (colder the better - combined snow or ice with water will assist in bringing this water temperature down). Now carefully remove these hot sands from their heat source and pour them slowly into this cold water bucket. Be very careful when doing this as not only will you hear the crackling sound but water may splash as well. It is here that the black encrusted minerals will release their captivity on the presence of gold. When and how you choose to recover this fine/flour gold, is up to you. It can be done immediately following this last cooling or you can dry these black sands once again and recover the gold and a more convenient time period.
