Gold Prospecting

Create a list of equipment used for gold panning. Describe each item and tell what it is used for. The list should include at least the following.

• a.

  Gold Pan g. Trowel

• b.

  Classifier h. Pry bar

• c.

  Snuffer Bottle i. Rock hammer

• d.

  Shovel j. Crevice Tool

• e.

  Pick k. Drinking Water

• f.

  Bucket

Define the following:

• a.

  Pay Dirt k. Dust

• b.

  Quartz l. Specific Gravity

• c.

  Pyrite m. Wet and Dry Panning

• d.

  Blond Sand n. Gold Fever

• e.

  Black Sand o. Troy Pound

• f.

  Placer p. Troy Ounce

• g.

  Lode q. Penny weight (dwt)

• h.

  Nugget r. Grain

• i.

  Flake

• j.

  Mercury (historical use) DO NOT USE TODAY

What are the following identifying characteristics of Gold.

• a.

  Specific Gravity

• b.

  Color of streak

• c.

  Color

Where are some good places on a river or stream to look for gold?

Make a timeline containing at least 15 items about the history of gold prospecting from 1600 until the present day, including the following rushes: California Gold Rush, Klondike/Yukon Gold Rush, Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the Victorian Gold Rush.

Learn about gold panning by doing one of the following:

• a.

  Do some gold panning. (preferred).

• b.

  Practice panning using flattened lead or tungsten shot mixed with sand (preferably from a river bank).

Look up the following verses in the Bible and discuss them in relation to prospecting for gold.

• a.

  Matthew 13:44-46

• b.

  Matthew 6:19-21 Skill Level I

Have the Gold Prospecting Honor.

Describe the following types of prospecting equipment.

• a.

  Sluice box

• b.

  Rocker box

• c.

  High banker

• d.

  Bucket dredge

• e.

  Suction dredge

• f.

  Dry washer

• g.

  Trommel

• h.

  Beach box

• i.

  Metal detector

• j.

  Jig

• k.

  Shaker table

Pospect for gold using at least two of the types of equipment listed in number 2 above to?

What government requirements, if any, are there to use the equipment used for number 3 above?

What are the advantages or disadvantages of the equipment listed in number 2 above.

Pathfinders are supposed to take only pictures and leave only footprints, but prospecting requires moving rocks and digging large holes. How can you reconcile these two conflicting requirements?