Nugget

Panning for gold – chasing the big payday thrill

April 1, 2023 by Nugget

Panning for gold is an activity that has captured the imagination of many people over the years. From the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s to modern-day enthusiasts, the thrill of discovering precious gold nuggets in streams and rivers has driven people to spend countless hours searching for the elusive metal.

The process of panning for gold involves using a shallow pan made of metal or plastic to sift through sediment in rivers and streams. The pan is filled with water and swirled around, allowing the water to wash away the lighter sediment while leaving behind the heavier gold particles. With practice and patience, skilled panners can separate the gold from the sediment and extract it from the pan.

One of the advantages of panning for gold is that it is a low-cost and accessible activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Unlike other forms of mining, such as underground mining or large-scale open-pit mining, panning for gold does not require expensive equipment or extensive training. All that is needed is a pan, some basic tools, and a bit of knowledge about the local geology.

However, there are also some risks and challenges associated with panning for gold. Environmental concerns have been raised about the potential impact of amateur gold mining on local ecosystems. Excessive sedimentation and erosion caused by unregulated mining can harm fish habitats and water quality. Additionally, it is important to respect private property rights and to follow all regulations and laws governing gold panning in your area.

Despite these challenges, panning for gold remains a popular pastime for many people around the world. The thrill of discovering gold in the pan is a feeling that cannot be replicated by any other activity. It is a reminder of the power and beauty of nature, and the potential rewards that can be found by those who are willing to put in the effort to search for them.

Lost Ring Found Nelson

April 7, 2019 by Nugget

Elaine lost her ring in the golden sands of Tahunanui beach Nelson.

The ring was custom made by hand especially for Elaine when she left Scotland 30 odd years ago. A little piece of home to take with her on her travels abroad. For the past 30 years that ring had graced her hand continuously.

As you can imagine, when the ring flew from finger and buried itself in the sand Elaine was more than a little distraught. After some time of standing and staring at the sand Elaine and her friend decided that a more thorough search was going to be required.

A systematic grid search began as they scraped the top layer of sand away. Helpful bystanders offered advice on how to proceed, but as time passed, the search had grown and yet still no ring had been found.

Reluctantly, they gave up and retreated to their rented accommodation to drown their sorrows. Calling on Doctor Google for assistance they happened across the Mine For Gold metal detectors and ring finders website. A damsel in distress request was lodged, still with little hope they would be united with the precious ring.

Fortunately, the local detectorist was quick to respond and was happy for an early morning treasure hunt before Elaine and her friend had to board a plane back to Auckland.

Up at 6am (lucky it had been clocks back an hour for daylight savings that night!) and off to the beach. Arriving a little before the agreed time to meet the ladies, he headed off along the beach according to the directions given over the phone the night before.

Next to the log (unfortunately recent storms had deposited many logs), against the grass, within sight of the big slide (narrowing the options somewhat). Checking likely logs along the way but heading for the one that looked most like a seat two ladies would find an attractive option to pass the time on.

Bleep – a strong signal rings out. Unfortunately, a quick dig reveals a bottle cap rather than a platinum ring.

Bleep – another strong signal. This one sounds better. A quick scoop with the shovel and the target has been shifted, but it is still not obvious. No wonder they didn’t find it. However, the trusty Garrett pinpointer makes short work of locating the elusive ring.

When Elaine and her friend show up at the beach they were very surprised to find that they didn’t need to try and GPS match their spot again as the ring was already found. It is fair to say they were more than a little pleased to be reunited. Hugs and a more than generous reward were exchanged.

Once again the family will be left to fight over Mum’s favourite ring when the estate is divided up, but until then, it has found a new home on a bigger finger and won’t be dislodged again!

Another fabulous result from the Mine For Gold ring finder team of metal detectors for hire.

Ring Find Expedition

February 2, 2014 by Nugget

The Mine For Gold ring finder was called to help find a lost ring at the beach. Always keen for a new challenge it was a case of packing up the metal detectors and heading to the location of the lost ring at a time when the tide was favourable.

After several hours of walking up and down the beach in the area indicated there was no sign of the missing ring.

There was a slight interruption during the search when a damsel in distress approached about finding her lost car keys. Unfortunately she thinks she lost them at the edge of the water about 30 minutes earlier, and having a plastic tiki key ring, and incoming tide, they could have ended up anywhere and were not found.

Forced to call it a day when darkness descended upon the beach we had to report back that the lost ring was still lost. However, after talking to the person who actually lost the ring it appears we may have been slightly out in our search area, so another day might turn up the lost ring in question.

Was the day a total loss? Not exactly.

I was able to open the car door of the girl who lost keys, and she had a spare key in the car.

I found $3.90 of lost coins.

And, it turns out, that at least 4 other people had lost their wedding rings on the beach – which I did find. So not the result we were hoping for, but still a successful ring finding day.

Lost Wedding Rings

If you are the owner of one of these lost rings please contact us

Ring Finder Success Story

January 4, 2014 by Nugget

Another Mine For Gold Ring Finder success story.

A damsal in distress lost her ring on the lawn while putting her son in the car. Despite many hours on their hands and knees scouring the area nothing showed up.

Local ring finder Al came to the rescue. Despite a wild Wellington weather day and an area littered with false targets he persisted. In this case persistance equalled reward. The shiney gold engagement ring eventually popped out of the undergrowth making one damsal a very happy girl.

Our knight in shining armour packed up his metal detector and rode off into the rain – ring found, job done!

See if you can spot the ring he uncovered with some skilled detecting work…

Lost Ring Found

What Is A Sluice Box – Gold Mining Equipment

November 3, 2011 by Nugget

If you are new to prospecting for gold you may be wondering what is a sluice box? Seasoned gold miners use terms like sluice box all the time but not everyone knows what a sluice box is and how it works.

Let us look at what a sluice box is.
Basically, the sluice box mimics a river bed. It acts like a river bed in that it washes gravel down stream. Because gold is extremely dense (heavy for its size) it always works its way down through all the other rocks to the bottom of the stream. Then it will work its way down into any tiny cracks and crevices in the stream floor. In a sluice box these man made crevices, or riffles as they called in a sluice, trap the gold so it can be recovered by the prospector.

Building a sluice box:

Building a sluice box is something that gold miners have done for many years. In the early days sluice boxes were built bigger and bigger as gold mining methods became more aggressive. It was not uncommon for entire creeks to be run through a sluice box for gold extraction. In some cases they would dam a river to run big water guns that washed the sides of valleys down into the river and through a large sluice box.

For a weekend prospector building a sluice box it is usually on a slightly different scale. The home handyman can build a wooden sluicebox complete with wooden riffles and take it out to a river and successfully mine for gold.

The issues with wooden sluice boxes are that they are heavy which doesn’t make them conducive to carrying far. They are also not as durable as other materials. And while they do recover gold, their riffles are not as efficient at capturing the fine gold.

For a more portable sluice box it would be wise to make a sluice box out of aluminium (aluminum for the American readers). Building a sluice box out of metal if you are able, or buying a ready made one, will allow you to use a better riffle system. Generally, the metal sluice boxes are easier to assemble and clean than a wooden system as well.

For the most portable sluice box, and most effective riffle design, you can not beat a plastic sluice box. The drop riffle design found in some plastic sluices have a much lower water turbulence factor which means more of the fine gold is trapped in the riffles. Being plastic they are also much lighter. But probably the biggest advantage, especially to a person new to operating sluice boxes, is that they are one piece. There are no riffles to try and insert correctly in the set up, and there is no miners moss (or carpet) needed under the riffles to try and trap the fine gold. Cleaning out the miners moss from the traditional sluice box is often where a lot of gold is accidentally lost.

If you are making plans to build a sluice box, or to try sluicing in a river near you, then I wish you all the best. There is nothing quite as exciting as cleaning out your sluice box for the first time to find gold glistening in the bottom of your pan. Visit our online sluice box shop to begin your adventure today.

Mine For Gold – New Zealand’s Number One Gold Mining Website

October 3, 2011 by Nugget

Mine For Gold, the website, was set up to provide the best information and gold mining equipment from around the world direct to you. While there are a few other sites selling gold mining supplies we found that there was room in the New Zealand and Australian market place for a site that specializes in quality equipment.

One of the problems that a person shopping for gold mining equipment faces is knowing what works and doesn’t. What tools live up to their hype and which ones are fools gold. Without buying them all and testing them for yourself there is no real way to know – until now! We at Mine For Gold only sell you the products that we ourselves personally endorse. They are proven to perform in the field and where possible we supply the ones that have the best manufacturers guarantee. We give you our word that any product not found to be living up to our own high expectations will not be endorsed on this website.

We do not have the lofty goal of being New Zealand’s number one gold mining website without understanding the responsibility that places upon us to deliver. Having secured exclusive distribution rights for many of the top gold mining supplies to both New Zealand and Australia we believe we are well on the way to giving you the best possible gold mining tools shopping experience.

Gold mining is once again becoming a popular pastime for both young and old alike. It is one of the few sports that can accommodate the whole family at the same time, and it does not cost a fortune. In fact, it is a hobby that can more than pay for itself. Even young children can begin their own gold empire with supervision and instruction. Getting your children involved early will inspire them to become entrepreneurs in their own right, and it is certainly more healthy than video games. We have a good range of junior products that will make their experience that much easier.

Alternatively, if your family is a little older, you may opt to work together and greatly increase the amount of material you can process in a day. One of our Highbanker Sluice Boxes, or perhaps even a Trommel, would be the way to go in this instance. These machines have been proven time and again to return high yields when situated in gold bearing country. And with the aid of The Gold Lab and its amazing ability to recover high levels of even the finest gold, more profit per shovelful is possible.

Whatever your gold supplies needs are, if we haven’t got them, we can source them. With contacts all over the world, and regular orders coming in all the time, we can supply almost anything. Use the Contact Us feature to make any special requests.

You can trust New Zealand’s number one gold mining website – we deliver.

How To Make Money Without A Job

October 1, 2011 by Nugget

Gold prospecting has long been a favorite past-time for people looking to make an extra few dollars. In The Great Depression gold prospecting was more than a hobby, it was how many man made a living. When there was little or no government support for out of work workers a person had to work to eat. When there were no jobs to be found, gold was literally a way to print money.

Today, gold mining is still a way to make money without a job. With the barest minimum of equipment it is possible to head into the hills and come home rich. You can increase your odds by learning how to find gold and equipping yourself with the right gold mining tools, but there is still nothing to stop you grabbing a gold pan and trying your luck.

Do not make the mistake of believing that gold prospecting is easy money. It is not. Although, gold mining today is a much easier task than it was when many men were driven into the gold fields last century. Today, most prospectors can sleep in the comfort of their own bed, or a hotel bed, at nights. Even if they choose to sleep in a tent, they have many of the comforts of home plus the added safety of GPS units and Cell phones in case of emergency.

Gold prospecting equipment is also much more advanced today. There are metal detectors, plastic sluice boxes, and portable pumps that can all increase the efficiency of the gold mining operation. Gold recovery is much more efficient too. The tools used by the old timers were not set up to capture the fine gold efficiently, and even much of the heavier gold managed to escape them.

All the advantages of the modern gold miner do not guarantee great riches, but it is possible to make money without a job, which is good if you don’t have a job. It also means that you can work when you want to, and not have to work when you are told to. How many of us would rather fire our boss and set out on an outdoor adventure than turn up to our boring jobs day after day?

At almost $2000 US dollars an ounce, it doesn’t take too much gold to replace the income from an average job. And there is always that small possibility that you might find that big nugget that will set you up for life. It is potential of great reward that spurs many prospectors on, just as it is why the lottery and casinos are so popular.

Most people have the dream of making money without a job – the successful gold prospector lives that dream.