$5 VIALS OF PURE GOLD
(frequently asked questions at bottom of picture)
Frequently asked questions:
Q: How do you get the gold?
A: Underwater, with diving equipment, and a gold dredge on the surface that vacuums the gold out of cracks and crevices on the bottom of streams and rivers.
Q: Are these nuggets?
A: These are gold flakes, although nuggets are in the eye of the beholder. I generally class a nugget as being able to dent an aluminum pie pan when dropped from 10 inches. These don't do that, but they definitely do "clink" in the bottle. If you want to make the argument that flakes are mini-nuggets, I can't argue with that.
Q: My bottle has a dull gray flake in it, what's that?
A: Platinum, worth twice the value of gold. There's an old 1800's platinum mine above one of the rivers I'm in, and we believe it the source. Although I try to get all the platinum out, if you get a flake, your gain.
Q: Why are you selling your gold?
A: To keep the website up.
Q: How deep are you dredging?
A: In Georgia, about 3-6 feet, out west, up to 20 feet.
Q: Some of the bottles seem to have more in them.
A: Each bottle has 3 grains guaranteed. Since each piece of gold is unique, and the flakes run like schools of fish (either you're in all big ones or all little ones) the only fair way to do it is guarantee a minimum amount. Some have more than 3 grains, but none have less.
Q: Can I use this for teaching?
A: I wish you would! Few people see 24K natural placer gold (placer -- gold laying in a natural state in a stream, or on land as flakes, grains, or nuggets), and are far more familiar with the load gold (load -- mined from crushed ore, or blasted from veins underground) they buy at a jewelry store (50-75% pure is 10K to 14K). I have some vials for teaching purposes, that have 3 grains of gold + black sand (the heavy iron ore that migrates with gold in flood conditions - it is magnetic). Some of the regular vials have a few small granules of black sand in them (size of face powder), and could be used for teaching also, the sand is dislodged from crevices in the gold.
Q: What does a gold dredge look like?
A: Here's one running in Oregon, depth to the diver is 14 feet:
http://www.treasuresites.com/Dredgeearth12.jpgQ: How does a gold dredge work?
A: Gold is vacuumed from the cracks and crevices along the bottom, and over a riffle box (between the floats of the dredge) where it settles out, the rest of the material is returned to practically the same place it came from, aerated (capable of supporting life).
Q: Does gold dredging hurt fish?
A: No, it increases fish population, due to aeration of the soil. Forrest managers schedule dredging seasons just before spawning, because the aerated (dredged -- loosened, O2 added) streambed is highly sought by fish. During dredge season, a cagey fisherman always knows the best place to fish is right behind a running dredge as hundreds of fish can be found waiting for worms to roll off the back end. Sometimes we hand feed them.
Q: How big is a dredge?
A: Most are 4" hose diameter, and are powered by a 5-8 hp engine. Here's a pic of mine:
http://www.treasuresites.com/dredge1.jpg The intake hose length is 20 feet, and the weight of the dredge is about 350 lbs. Most dredges will move a miniscule amount of material (6-8 yards of unclassified material) in a day compared to what mother nature moves: http://www.treasuresites.com/arkansas2.jpg (thousands of yards/hour and boulders the size of Buicks during floods).Q: How much gold do you get in a day?
A: Most of us (including me) are thrilled to see any gold at all! An 1/8 oz day would be average for most folks, a 1/2 oz good, 1 oz great, and 2 oz's per day spectacular! Mother nature doesn't give up her gold freely, and if she did, it wouldn't be worth much. If you have thoughts of doing something like this commercially, you do have to remember you can't dive every day, there are equipment problems to contend with, and you might be in the best looking spot in the world, only to find there's no gold there and have to move. Very few people can make a living just gold dredging -- don't chuck the day job!
Q: Do you sell full 1 oz gold vials?
A: No, I don't find that much! Even if I did, I prefer splitting it up in small vials so everyone has a shot at owning or giving some to someone, and hopefully increase the number of people out there that come into contact with the gold prospecting hobby. If your kids are into finding gold you won't have to worry about finding your kids.
Q: How do I order it?
A: Just send me the following information:
#of bottles:
Address to send it to: _________________________________
__________________________________
___________________________________
If it's a gift and you want it sent direct:
Who is it To?: _________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Who is it From? _________________________________
_________________________________
__________________________________
A receipt will be sent to you separately.
These are the questions more commonly asked, but if you have more, email me:
flagold@innet.comYou can also look through past issues of "Treasure News" for information on how to get into gold dredging yourself!
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