Treasure Hunting

Every now and then you’ll hear stories about people “accidentally” stumbling on a nice supply of gold without even looking for it. Experienced gold panners and gold miners know just what to look for - after all, it’s what they do. But if you spend most of your time hunting for quartz and agates, how do you know if what you’ve found is real gold or not?

Iron pyrite, copper-iron pyrite, and mica (otherwise known as fool’s gold) can all look quite a bit like gold especially in the bright sunlight. There are a couple of quick and easy tests that you can do in the field to try to determine if what you’ve found is real gold or yet another score of fool’s gold.

The Fingernail Test for Gold

Probably the easiest test in the world for a gold-appearing rock is the fingernail test. Just poke the tip of your fingernail into the rock. Real gold is actually pretty soft and can be easily dented with the fingernail. If you poke pyrite or mica with a fingernail, it will just flake off or have no effect at all. If your fingernails are way too short for this, you can perform the same test with the tip of a pocketknife or screwdriver.

The Hydrochloric Acid Test

This test requires a little more caution, but it’s still pretty simple and works better for smaller objects or rocks that you think may be covered with gold dust. (It’s pretty hard to poke dust with a finger.) Very carefully, place a drop of hydrochloric acid on the area of the rock that you think might be gold. If it bubbles and fizzes, chances are that you’re out of luck. The acid should have no effect on real gold. It’s still possible that there is some pyrite or mica mixed in with real gold causing the fizzing to appear, but that would be pretty rare.

If you’re wondering where to purchase hydrochloric acid, you’re not alone. Actually, it’s not that hard to find at all. It’s sold in many home stores in the swimming pool section under the name muriatic acid. Hydrochloric acid and muriatic acid are the exact same thing - muriatic acid is just an older name for the substance. I’m not sure why pool supply stores choose to use this name rather than the more modern one. Anyhow, muriatic acid is often used to help adjust the ph levels in swimming pools. If you have trouble finding it, just ask one of the sales people. Definitely remember though that this is a very strong acid and you should use extreme care when using it. If any gets on your skin or clothing, rinse the area immediately. In case you burn yourself, treat it as you would any serious burn and contact a physician if it is serious.

(Photograph courtesy of Aramgutang from Wikimedia Commons.)

What exactly are people talking about when they refer to fool’s gold?  It’s a term used to describe some other substance that may “fool” the casual gold hunter into believing that they’ve found gold when really all they’ve found is a rather common mineral or stone.  But are these other minerals or stones worth anything?

Take the picture to the left, a prime example of fool’s gold.  It sure is pretty, isn’t it?  It’s a photo from the user Thegreenj that has been posted in Wikimedia Commons.  It’s actually iron pyrite, one of the many minerals that has been referred to as fool’s gold over the years.  Other such substances include iron-copper pyrite or a goldish color of mica.  

Just because these things have been dubbed “fool’s gold”, they’re not totally worthless.  They’re just not worth as much as gold!  In fact, if you’re just treasure hunting for your own personal collection, some of these specimens can be great additions.  I happen to think that the geometric growths that form on iron pyrite can be extremely beautiful.  And mica has all sorts of uses as a pigmenting agent.  In fact, it’s used in a lot of cosmetics and art supplies.

So I guess the real lesson is to not be “fooled” into thinking that the fool’s gold you have found is real gold, but don’t consider it worthless either.  If it’s pretty to you, it will probably be pretty to someone else, too.

I found a nice video on YouTube showing how to use a gold pan to pan for gold so I thought that I would talk a little bit more about that subject.

As you can see in the video, there is a definite technique for gold panning. You don’t just fill the pan with water and strain it - which is what many amateurs try to do. If you’d like to read more about panning for gold, this site has an excellent instructional page.

If you want to buy a special pan that is used strictly for panning gold, you can find them at any prospecting shop. They’re also available at many places online, but as we mentioned in a previous entry, you may want to try a commercial site for your first attempt at gold panning just for the instructional advice from the people who work there. A lot of times these places will have pans that you can borrow for free or rent for a very small fee. This will give you a chance to try a couple of different varieties and see which one you like before buying your own.

Contrary to popular belief, panning for gold did not die with the Old West. In fact, there are still tons of places that you can pan for gold in the United States. All you really need are a few simple tools and a good prospect. We’ll go into what those tools are and what to look for in terms of “prospecting” at a later date. If you’ve never panned for gold before, I still think it’s best to find a cheap commercial site to try out in order to get the idea of what you’re looking for. After all, you don’t want to find a pan full of mica and think you’re suddenly rich. Again, you’re probably not going to find much at a commercial site because, well, it’s commercial and geared towards making money off tourists. However, you will gain knowledge about the craft that you will need before striking out on your own.

One excellent commercial site to visit is Hangtown’s Gold Bug Park and Mine located in Placerville, California. It’s extremely affordable, too. You can rent a pan for $2 an hour and “practice” mining for gold. Will you find anything? Maybe a few tiny specks of dust. Just in case, take a small plastic bag or empty medicine bottle with you to hold your findings. (A small plastic bag will do in a pinch, but it’s really better to have an empty pill container or something similar.) Even if you don’t find anything, you’ll learn how to use the gold pan, and it does take a bit of practice to use one correctly. You can also tour the old gold mine there.