2012-02-07T20:48:54Z http://blog.theweekendprospector.com/atom.aspx Quick Blogcast tag:blog.theweekendprospector.com,2009-08-23:88cb3f0d-e670-40cf-a8ee-aa74b2fd03ac Patti W. admin@theweekendprospector.com 2009-08-23T21:45:00Z 2009-08-23T21:45:00Z I'll bet that&nbsp; you have never thought of prospecting for gold out in the rivers, streams,&nbsp; mountains and dry washes near areas where you live.&nbsp; Well I have been doing this for a very long time and thought that I might just try and entice you to do the same.&nbsp; Especially since the price of gold is hovering right around the mid nine hundred dollar mark.&nbsp; It sometimes goes higher or lower depending on the market makers and commodity traders. <br><br>A lot of people have recently packed up their camping gear and headed for the hills so prospecting for gold has come back into vogue again.&nbsp; Gold hunting and mining in the sunshine and fresh air has its benefits as well.&nbsp; Young families with children have a great time prospecting and you can actually find some good gold if you know what to look for.&nbsp; There are some tricks to this trade and I am going to talk about them in this blog which I will update from time to time.&nbsp; <br><br>Many people have been fooled by what is called fools gold both greenhorns and small miners have been deceived by this look alike metal that shines just like gold.&nbsp; I once had a fellow bring me a sample in a glass jar that looked like gold but testing proved it to be iron pyrite.&nbsp; Iron pyrite has the color of gold and can be heavy like gold.&nbsp; There are some differences though that you can usually see and test for in the field.<br><br>Testing is one of the most important steps in figuring out the differences between gold and pyrite.&nbsp; Gold is soft enough to scratch and usually does not have sharp angular edges but pyrite does.&nbsp; Gold flattens when you pound it with a stone or a hammer.&nbsp; Pyrite crushes to powder when you hit it with a hammer or a stone.<br><br>Gold can be found with a gold pan, a dry washer, a sluice, a dredge, a high banker, or a metal detector.&nbsp; Some people just go out and find black sand because it can contain values like platinum group metals along with gold.&nbsp; There are actually companies that will buy black sand from you.&nbsp; <br><br>There is an awful lot more to tell you about mining, gold prospecting, mining tools, and gold in Arizona where I live but it will have to wait until my next entry.&nbsp; For those of you who would like to know more immediately please fill out the box on your left and send me your email address and I will get back to you.&nbsp; If you want to get going fast go to my web page:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.theweekendprospector.com">http://www.theweekendprospector.com</a><br><br>Have a great day!&nbsp; Patti<br><br><br>