For a while I've been wanting to give a bit of amateur prospecting a shot, maybe even pay for a claim if I like it. The idea of being outdoors and searching for rare items and metals appeals to me, and would appeal to the dogs as well I think. My job has always been analyzing a landscape and picking out the gems, so I can see how that would translate to this but in a different context.
(3 votes)
Comments
(Long Spike)
Just get a gold pan and go out for a weekend practice your technique, see if you like it.
I got into it at the start of the pandemic, went and got lots of gear (rock hammer/pick, classifiers, sluice box etc). All you really need though is a pan & a snuffer bottle, maybe a bucket and a shovel also. Those kits they have are ideal.
^
https://goldstreamplacer.com/product/7-pcs-gold-panning-kit/ , https://www.motherlodeprospecting.ca/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100_102
Estwing makes a nice steel pan (can be found at Home Depot here in the states), but they seem to be sold out.
(Old Spike)
Did you get anything notable when you went out to practice. For me obviously it wouldn't be the money but the idea of sifting through the common to find gold or a gem - something about that appeals to me greatly.
(sounds retarded)
I spent a while watching Dan, I think he got cancer, the dudes a highschool science teacher who really knows his shit and how to find gold. He spent many many years looking for his "dream" claim. Many people go into thinking they just have to pan some dirt and they'll find gold. Doesnt always PAN out! LOL. You really have to know your shit otherwise you will waste ALOT of time and get frustrated. If you got some nice rivers with known gold around you then that is a huge good start, watch some more of Dans videos and learn where and how to look in the rivers. I've been watching gold diggers channels for about 5 yrs now, most gold is very fine, it is really rare to find pickers and extremly rare to find nuggets.
(Old Spike)
A few hundred KMs from where I live there are classic glacier runoff streams, creeks, etc. that are prime real estate for gold picking, as they say. The glaciers ground the rock into gold and a lot of that get channeled into the creeks. I suspect Dan's dream clain, trout river, is just suck a locale. My goal would be to do research on geological features close to my location that correspond to classic gold picking hotspots and go to those places and sift around. You are allowed to pan gold on a non-claim as long as it's to determine if the land is worth claiming. There's lots of crown land north of me that would be ideal for this kind of venture.
(Long Spike)
I started out with panning, just to be outside and to learn the mechanics of it all. Occasionally got flakes and dust with the pan, but it helped to confirm that I was looking in the right spots and reading everything right. Then moved to a sluice box and would see the occasional little nugget.
There is probably an association/club in your area that you can join & have access to claims that people have opened to club members. It's a good way to meet others, learn, and ask questions. You are in B.C. yeah?
https://www.goldpanners.ca/clubs.htm
https://www.goldminershq.com/clubs/goldf.htm
https://www.vernongoldpanning.com/ (example of a local club)
Yeah, you don't need a "free miners certificate" to just go hand panning. Just make sure you aren't on someone's claim. This site seems to be a good resource for the do's and dont's: https://www.bcplacer.com/
A fun little tip, If you use google maps. Bottom left corner, enable satellite and also globe view (under "more"). When you hold ctrl or shift + mouse click and drag, it'll pan your viewpoint. It turns google maps into google earth : )