tips for prospecting and testing for gold in streams and rivers around

 tips for prospecting and testing for gold in streams and rivers around .

Look for areas with coarse gravels, sand and black sands. Gold is heavy and tends to concentrate where the water flow slows down, like inside bends of the river.

Pan the gravels and sands. Use a gold pan and swirl the materials in the water, letting the lighter rocks and sands wash over the side while the heavier black sands and any potential gold concentrate in the bottom.

Check for flakes or small nuggets of gold in the black sands after panning. Gold has a distinctive bright yellow color even in very small amounts.

Look for quartz veins or other signs of mineralization exposed in the stream banks or river bottoms. Gold is often associated with quartz.

Research if there are any known historical gold mining areas nearby, as gold is more likely to occur in streams/rivers downstream of previous mining sites.

Use tools like a gold snuffer bottle or gold panning test kit to further test suspicious concentrates from panning for the presence of gold.

Start slowly panning different areas and get a feel for what the typical rocks and sands look like in your region before getting excited about potential gold finds. With practice, any real gold concentrations will stand out. Going prospecting with someone experienced is also very helpful early on.