Gold panning on the beach?

[dmulk]

Ok....total noob question here.... the other day I was at a socal beach and as I'm walking I notice the black sand....and the gold specs reflecting in the water...

I remember reading that in fresh water, anywhere there is black sand...there is usually gold....

....so....can you pan for gold in the pacific ocean?

[DirtyHarry]

Sounds right, I'd bag some and take it home to go through. If you right -ub the only one to know!

[IntoIt]

There is allot of gold in the ocean but it is at best fine or flour gold, Lots of work to process it not nearly worth the effort...Yet.

[strock]

those gold specks you see on the top is usually fools gold especially if it moves around in the waves. strock

[pan4au]

The rule is where there is gold there is usually black sand but where there is gold there is not necessary gold. Black sand is heavy and gold is even heavier. if the area has gold there should be some gold concentrated where you find gold(mainly fine gold). It is correct that a lot of times that there is gold in sea water. Some areas has more.. such as gold beach Oregon and the grand daddy of all is Nome Alaska. If you want to pan there... take a shovel dig a few scopes out... look at the walls of the hole.. if you see some black or dark red layers take a spoon or scoop and get some of that material and pit in a gold pan and sample it by panning. a lot of the beach gold is super fine.. kind of like face powder.. I hope you can find a rich spot...

[tatertatum]

Put a drop of dawn in that pan because beach gold is so fine it can float and the surfactant with break the surface tension so it will sink.
Hope that helps
Tater Tatum

[zeemang]

Got get some and pan it, you never know...Good luck!

[stonecutter]

I seem to recall reading there is a So. CAL beach that has some fine gold in it there is a beach up in the bay area that was mined for gold. If you pan some it is a good idea to put a drop of soap in the tub. I worked the Nome beaches for about 10 days years ago and found about one oz. of flour gold it was the easiest mining I have ever done no boulders and only a few rocks, just shoveling sand into a high banker I have moved tons of rocks and huge boulders to find a lot less gold than that. good times any ways.

[au-nugget]

If you were at Oceanside beach, yes there is very very fine gold in that sand.

[dmulk]

@AU-Nugget: Coronado... looks like the same type of sand content though...

[reptwar1]

Originally Posted by stonecutter

I seem to recall reading there is a So. CAL beach that has some fine gold in it there is a beach up in the bay area that was mined for gold. If you pan some it is a good idea to put a drop of soap in the tub. I worked the Nome beaches for about 10 days years ago and found about one oz. of flour gold it was the easiest mining I have ever done no boulders and only a few rocks, just shoveling sand into a high banker I have moved tons of rocks and huge boulders to find a lot less gold than that. good times any ways.

Stonecutter, hi Ron here. I'm planning a trip to Nome in the spring and was wondering if you think its possible to get an ounce a day. Thanks in advance Ron B

[Zofchak]

Originally Posted by reptwar1

Stonecutter, hi Ron here. I'm planning a trip to Nome in the spring and was wondering if you think its possible to get an ounce a day. Thanks in advance Ron B

If it was no one would be here to post about it, we'd all be on the beach in Alaska making $1200 per day.

[hawgdawg]

Originally Posted by Zofchak

If it was no one would be here to post about it, we'd all be on the beach in Alaska making $1200 per day.

This is true . I'd be working 16 hours a day , and wouldn't quit till I had to haul it out in a quad axle dump truck .

[steveFL]

Give it a shot, you never know. Worst case it was a day at the beach. I once watched a TV program where people in the larger cities would scrape the dirt from the joints in the sidewalks and then process it for gold and precious stones. Surprisingly they did recover some. Here is a link to one of many stories... http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/urprnymanpas.html

[itsaring!]

If I lived in Cali i'd try it. In Florida you got a better chance at a tooth fairy leaving you a $1000 bill

[Dirtfishin]

Originally Posted by itsaring!

If I lived in Cali i'd try it. In Florida you got a better chance at a tooth fairy leaving you a $1000 bill

Amen bro, the only yellow metal we get from the beach is the already process stuff ie. jewelry. I lovey he Gold fever shows, I'm a GPAA-LDMA member for life.

[vegasplayer]

there is zero gold it is piewright fools gold
if i saw a person panning the beach i would explain that to them

[Vermonster]

The only place I have heard/seen that is in Alaska. They literally set up sleuces on the beach there. Here, however, as some have said, it's not gold......

[MTJosh]

Yes, there is gold on the beaches of socal. But not in any amount worth panning. Socal mountains have no shortage of gold in them and over millions of years of erosion gold has washed down to the beaches. One of the first big gold rushes in CA was at Placerita canyon north of LA in 1842. Spanish and Mexican mines operated before the area became the US. During the Depression people even set up sluices in the LA river to get enough gold dust to buy food. Too bad now the rivers are cement lined and the rivers and creeks have been dammed so no natural flow of sediments that would allow gold to make it to the beach. Always creepy driving along the cement jungle knowing that 100-200yrs ago that same river had steelhead runs that would clog the river there were so many. And the wetlands had ducks and geese that would block out the sun when they took off with the tens of thousands of birds in the air. There was a reason the natives along the coast didn't have much or any warfare. There was so much food, no reason to fight for territory. I have panned many of the local creeks and always find some color. Just don't plan to make a living doing it. Just another hobby and gets me out of the city for the day. Though one small gold ring detecting at the beach has more gold than all my hours of panning total over years.
Much of the sand on local beaches was brought in. This isn't bad for panning as some is from offshore. The ocean levels were so low thousands of years ago the gold deposited on beaches was way out there then. To put into perspective the San Francisco bay didn't exist till 7-9000 yrs ago. The scientist in me agrees with rising sea levels. Been going on since the end of the last ice age. Oceans much lower when places like NYC was under 200ft of ice.
Have fun panning where ever you try. chances are you won't find much but I may even try one day so I can say I found gold at the beach here in LA.

[Digger Dug]

gold is where you find it.