Panning for Gold - A Maine/Homeschooling Post!

I did not know until recently that panning for gold took place in Maine.  I guess this isn't too surprising, because there is a lot that I don't know!!  A gentleman at our church likes to pan for gold & Kevin, (my husband), had a guest on the radio show about it & I bought this fabulous book this spring:
A Guide to Maine Living The Wicked Good Book by Stephen Gleasner

This book has 35 short chapters about things to find, things to do, things to learn, such as moose hunting, blueberry picking, and panning for gold!  I really enjoy getting to know our great state of Maine better, so I was very much "up" for this, even if I really don't care a hoot about actually panning for gold!

Interesting side note:  Noelle & Micah have family from & in Lead, South Dakota, so gold mining is in their history & they have learned some about that on visits to South Dakota.

Today the Maine Gold Prospectors held an event in Kingfield, Maine on the Carrabassett River.  There were well over 50 people there, mostly club members, panning & dredging for gold!

A popular area in Maine to look for gold is:
Swift River in Oxford/Franklin counties/Coos Canyon
(many other places too)
Gold has been found in Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, Waldo & Washington counties.

There are some interesting stories about nuggets being found in Maine!  One of the most famous ones took place in Ogunquit & that story can be found here:
http://www.someoldnews.com/?p=916

Some gold info & then lots of photos:
In Maine, gold occurs in bedrock, in sediments that were eroded from bedrock by glaciers & in stream deposits derived from one of those two sources.  Veins of gold in bedrock are called "lode" deposits and "placer" deposits are concentrations of gold that accumulated in unconsolidated sediments.  Most of the gold found now in Maine comes from placer deposits in stream beds.

Placer gold can be found throughout the state of Maine. Although some small lode deposits have been discovered, most of the gold will be found by panning and sluicing in the creeks and rivers. The western part of Maine is best known for gold mining, although small amounts of gold can be found throughout the state. Much of the placer deposits are very fine dust.

Often, where there is quartz there is gold.

All gold comes from deep within the earth, erodes over time, freeing it from the quartz for people to find.
Some lucky folks find nuggets, but most hobbyists find gold dust & gold flakes.
Prospectors use the great density of gold to  separate it from ordinary pebbles, rocks, and silt.
Rain washes the gold into streams from surrounding hills over thousands of years.
The dense flakes of gold settle quickly in streams and are caught in nooks and crannies on the bottom.

Panning is the simplest & most inexpensive way to look for gold.

The next step up is to use a sluice.  We saw several people today doing that.

Next are various kinds of dredgers.  I'm telling you, these guys are serious!

We arrived at the Carrabassett River and found this lovely, wonderful man who actually gave us some supplies & answered our 1,000 questions & was so, very nice.

If you're panning, the basic idea is to dig down behind a big rock.  If gold is there, it has been there for quite a while & it will be down maybe a foot or two.

The basic idea is to put some handfuls of dirt from down under the rocks into a pan.  Put the pan in the water & swirl it around gently so that the lighter materials will be carried away and any gold will stay in the pan.  

Here we are, learning.

If you have a pan of black silt that is good because that means you are getting deep enough to possibly find gold.

As much as we were learning, a dip in the beautiful Carrabassett River just couldn't be turned down!

But... back to panning:

It's hard to know what you're looking for when you don't know what you're looking for!
However, once our Prospector friend showed us some of his dust, we could clearly see how the gold stands out against the black silt.  (More obvious in person!)

Our teacher explained to always look at the quartz to see if there is gold in it.

He sifts what he has "dredged up" into different pails, depending on the size of the rocks and silt, screening for size.  Because that dirt will not go through a screen, water is added.

This helps it go through.  This man will also take home his drudging efforts and run them through (a wheel, maybe?), where he may come up with more gold dust.

We watch the expert pan!  He has been prospecting since 1975!

He got several gold flakes & some gold dust, right there beside us!  That was cool!  (And very small!)

The kids come over to see the gold!

We had a great day!  We learned so much about the great state of Maine and about gold prospecting.  

Here is an additional article of interest:
http://westcoastmaine.com/index.php?page=gold-flakes-and-ghosts