How to Sample for Gold

Before you begin sampling, take a good look at the placer area. The scenery of the river and its valley or canyon may tell you much about the placer deposit. Fast waters flowing through straight narrow canyons frequently deposit very little material. River bends and slower water frequently point to promising areas. Declines and holes in the river line can have larger capacity of gold in them. By studying the area of the placer you main increase some information which will be practical in sampling the deposit .Some areas still ,are so altered from the time the material was deposit ,that visual examination may be little help .Normally the flatter the area of statement ,the more consistent is the delivery of gold through the material .The rivers which drain the east side of the rockiest in Colorado ,for occurrence deposit are fairly regular and the further eats one goes from the mountains ,the less gold one finds and the smaller the gold particles turn into.

Samples must be representative .This means the sample must contain an equal quantity of material from the top of the deposit to the base of the deposit. If the deposit is thin, holes may be dug by hand .Thicker deposits will need that you use some sort of gear. A backhoe is frequently used to dig sample holes if the material is not too wet. The holes should be dug to the base of the deposit if possible.

The only way to cover that a sample is representative is to take an identical quantity of material from the top to the base of the hole .If the holes are extreme, a bucket can be held beside the wall ,and sample material beret into it with a panorama pick .

Attempt to take the same quantity of material as you up the side of the hole to create your sample envoy of the whole depth .Select a wall which is fairly vertical. Material which has sloughed in may have to be washed away from the base of the wall .Create the sample zone about a foot wide.