Expert: Dr Thomas Bell - 10/13/2009

Question
Dr. Bell,

I live in Laingsburg Michigan and I'm very much into panning for Gold. Where would I find the best place to start to find Gold. What should I look for?
Thank you.

Answer
Brian,

The best place to start looking for gold is in your library or historical society.  Old reports of gold production or discoveries will quickly give you a place to start.  The very old rocks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula are probably the most likely to contain a little gold so the streams that drain them might be good targets for your hobby.  Here are a few web sites that may be a little help.

http://www.dayooper.com/MichiganGold.htm
http://miningold.com/states/mi.html
http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/migopaandpr.html

This links you to an article that appeared in the New York Times in 1888 about a gold discovery in Michigan.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9801EED7143AE033A25752C2A9619C946...  

Here are a few practical tips:

If gold is present in a stream, it will nearly always be found at the boundary between bedrock and the base of the sand and gravel in the stream bed.  Dig down to the base of the gravel and use a crowbar or big screw driver to scrape out the sand filling the cracks in the bedrock and pan it.

If you are ending up with lots of fine black grains in your pan this probably means your panning technique is OK.  Carry a small magnet and if some of them stick, you have panned out some magnetite, more evidence that you are at least getting heavy minerals.  Gold will always be accompanied by these 'heavies' which will often include magnetite.  

When you have reduced the material in your pan by about 50%, add some Jet Dry (the stuff you put in a dishwasher) to prevent the finer gold grains from escaping.

Panning is hard work.  If you find a spot with gold, consider buying or building a small sluice box.  There are lots of expensive ones out there but you can build a rocker sluice for $20 and since this is a hobby, it might be more fun to build one rather than dropping several hundred bucks on one off the web.

Finally, don't expect to find much gold.  Michigan has never been a big gold producer.  Even states out west that produced lots of gold have been picked pretty clean over the years.  Panning is a great way to get outside and explore some new country though so you are bound to have some fun.  You might just get lucky too.