Fine gold dust after the ore was crushed and panned.
Gold ores.
The first thing you need to know about gold in the California Mojave Desert is that its mostly ore. Most gold is found inside silver ore, iron, fools gold or quartz. So the process of getting gold is not easy after it is found.
Most of the gold ore like the examples in our photo are found in desert washes which are places where large amounts of water flow during desert rain storms. Washes get large amounts of mineral concentrations plus the water creates natural cuts in the earth to look for gold. This means that washes have lots of gold.
One of the myths about gold is that its rare. While nuggets are rare it is a common natural element that is even in sea water. The issue of of value is how process able the gold is. Processing much of the gold ore found in California is labor intensive and there is an easy way but it involves a chemical process that California does not allow. Because of this Nevada has produced much of its gold while in modern times California remains untapped.
The secret to finding the gold once your in a wash is first check the bottom for the stuff that rolled off the walls. Then look at the layers for the dark stuff or the crystal. Black quartz, iron and fools gold where the good stuff is. A tip if you find a piece of rock that looks like sand stone that is extra heavy break it in half there could be rich ore inside. You will notice that there are many thin layers on the walls with caution pull out the thin cuts of rock and check them for gold. This is where the good stuff is found. The rocks layered up catch the gold and the quartz and iron trap the gold.
Once you got some ore you can start processing it. You will start by crushing it with a hammer on a piece of wood which is important because concrete will break and also trap the gold. Once its fine powder you can pan it with a gold pan bought at an outfitter store. Use a figure 8 motion in the pan with a shallow amount of water to wash your ore. The slowly and gently shake it out on the ridges of the pan. Once the water is out put your gold dust in a smeltering pot and heat it up with a torch until it melts. Then pour it into a mold and repeat smelter until all the impurity such as the sand is out of the gold.Then you can sell it the easiest way is at a cash for gold place but its not the most profitable way.
