Alloy,

That is pretty nice Fraser River gold! I've done panning and sluicing years ago as a kid but probably further down the river than your photos--they've gotta be from the Quesnel area where the big stuff comes from.

I was doing my panning in the Lillooet area but the gold there is referred to as "colours"; fine powder that is overwhelmed with black sand. Never did find out what the black sand assayed out to, but it was supposed to have a little platinum in it as well. Not worth chasing when its that fine!

I remember watching an outfit that did some testing work in the area--they washed the gravel down to the fines and ran it through a device like a cone shape, with the pointy end down, and the inside of the cone having flat rings around on the circumference, like the riffles in a sluicebox. I can't remember if it vibrated or rotated. I think it rotated, not very fast, and the fines and water were introduced in the center of the bottom and worked their way up the insides of the cone, over the riffles. Presumably the light material washed out and over the top edge. Maybe you know what I'm talking about...could have even been an early attempt at using centrifugal force to help separate gold.

I remember them all drooling over the black sand they recovered after a day of using this magical sluice. They packed up the next day and never came back.



Jon.