Gold prospecting

[Kiwoz]

I'm interested to visit Thailand and check out gold prospecting with metal detector, gold pan or eductor dredge. Does anyone have any such experience in Thailand and can advise on rules and regulations and pitfalls.

[gerry123]

and pitfalls. very apt that's No 1

[ezzra]

Unless you will be accompanied by a Thai speaking person, it is not advisable to go prospecting

nilly willy in Thailand, you might get harassed and shot if you trespass on to properties you are

not sure you have the rights to go there,

but I'm sure that there are legal places you can go and prospect for gold and other staff, just make

sure you have all in information before you do so....

[NeverSure]

I think we know that government forests are off-limits. That leaves private land. That requires knowledge leading to a reasonable belief that there is gold there.

Then you have to reach an agreement with the land owner, often for a percentage of any gold you find.

Gold finds are measured in ounces of gold per cubic yard of dirt. Have you ever panned a cubic yard of dirt after digging up the dirt? There might be a fraction of an ounce in that yard of dirt and you won't catch it all.

Back in the day when gold finds were rich, panning could make a person rich very quickly but they were finding nuggets and leaving the fines. Now secondary miners are using mercury to dissolve the fines out of the tailings from the prior minings. This is after they run the dirt through a sluice to catch as many fines as they can. The gold being heavy will settle to the bottom and be trapped in a felt-like material and behind bars that the water runs across.

Other than people who are in virgin mines with big equipment, not many can make a living mining for gold today.

[Kiwoz]

I think we know that government forests are off-limits. That leaves private land. That requires knowledge leading to a reasonable belief that there is gold there.

Then you have to reach an agreement with the land owner, often for a percentage of any gold you find.

Gold finds are measured in ounces of gold per cubic yard of dirt. Have you ever panned a cubic yard of dirt after digging up the dirt? There might be a fraction of an ounce in that yard of dirt and you won't catch it all.

Back in the day when gold finds were rich, panning could make a person rich very quickly but they were finding nuggets and leaving the fines. Now secondary miners are using mercury to dissolve the fines out of the tailings from the prior minings. This is after they run the dirt through a sluice to catch as many fines as they can. The gold being heavy will settle to the bottom and be trapped in a felt-like material and behind bars that the water runs across.

Other than people who are in virgin mines with big equipment, not many can make a living mining for gold today.

I gold prospect for a living and only use a pan to check out an area or for clean up at the end of a days dredging. When the weather or location does not allow dredging I use a metal detector.

[pgrahmm]

Not sure that you could find a quicker way to get in trouble as you'd most likely be on royal land if panning for gold....especially as a farang in place where possesion of certain woods land Thai nationals in prison.......

[chuckd]

I have heard of a very large gold operation going on in Wang Saphung, Loei province.

As the locals explain it, the raw materials are trucked from Wang Saphung to somewhere near Udorn where the raw materials are then sluiced. Tandem trucks with double trailers run highway 210 all the time carrying the unprocessed dirt. It's about a 150 kilometer one way trip.

I can't for the life of me figure out the financial justification for trucking rather than bringing a sluice to the site, but they have their reasons.

You could nose around in Wang Saphung but be warned, I have also heard it is a very high security area with lots of strong arms around.

[FritsSikkink]

It isn't allowed, you would be working without a work permit.

[pigeonjake]

I have heard of a very large gold operation going on in Wang Saphung, Loei province.

As the locals explain it, the raw materials are trucked from Wang Saphung to somewhere near Udorn where the raw materials are then sluiced. Tandem trucks with double trailers run highway 210 all the time carrying the unprocessed dirt. It's about a 150 kilometer one way trip.

I can't for the life of me figure out the financial justification for trucking rather than bringing a sluice to the site, but they have their reasons.

You could nose around in Wang Saphung but be warned, I have also heard it is a very high security area with lots of strong arms around.

they might not have water for the sluice,,

[RustBucket]

There is lots of gold in the Loie mountain range.

There are foreign companies who hold mining licences and are quite efficient at processing the gold ore.

I am pretty certain that you have to pay the government 7% and of course whatever you have to pay under the table to get a mining license in the first place.

Dredging?.... I am not 100% certain that this is a good way to get gold here.... There are crocs and snakes and stuff in the water... I certainly would not feel comfortable scurrying around under the surface not knowing what is behind me. Most of the mining here is hard rock. There is a bit of panning going on with the poor country folk picking up tiny amounts of flour gold in the sands.But dredging I am yet to come across.

Mind you. I am actually very interested in gold mining and have been for some time now. I have often thought about it in Thailand but to be honest I am very wary of the local people and once they get a whiff of a farang gold mining, then there is an ever present risk of finding yourself at the point of a gun. Especially if you look like you found some. I am sure they would love your nice shiny dredge.

I am not trying to put you off, if you wanted to then go for it.

But if I were you, I would seriously put your focus into somewhere that is guaranteed to be a lot richer in gold and is at the moment still untapped. Somewhere the licenses are much easier to get hold of and where you will be a lot more encouraged. A place where I have had my interest for a while now, and it is NOT Thailand, but no so far away from here.

If you are seriously interested and can get a decent dredge over here, you can PM me.

[Soutpeel]

I think the OP has been watching too many gold mining shows on Discovery channel and fancies himself as a bit of a Walt gold miner

[Kiwoz]

Been dredging & detecting Australia & NZ for over 35yrs

[Kiwoz]

Discovery channel is not real.

[pigeonjake]

Discovery channel is not real.

youve just burst my bubble,,,,

havnt felt this bad since i was told santa wasnt real

[ATF]

Been dredging & detecting Australia & NZ for over 35yrs

With all due respect you should be a billionaire by now or reconsider your employment options.

[Kiwoz]

Holiday time

[Jip99]

For advice on gold prospecting try the Roxy Bar in Pattaya soi 6 - I understand the girls in there are adept at digging for gold!

[willyumiii]

I think we know that government forests are off-limits. That leaves private land. That requires knowledge leading to a reasonable belief that there is gold there.

Then you have to reach an agreement with the land owner, often for a percentage of any gold you find.

Gold finds are measured in ounces of gold per cubic yard of dirt. Have you ever panned a cubic yard of dirt after digging up the dirt? There might be a fraction of an ounce in that yard of dirt and you won't catch it all.

Back in the day when gold finds were rich, panning could make a person rich very quickly but they were finding nuggets and leaving the fines. Now secondary miners are using mercury to dissolve the fines out of the tailings from the prior minings. This is after they run the dirt through a sluice to catch as many fines as they can. The gold being heavy will settle to the bottom and be trapped in a felt-like material and behind bars that the water runs across.

Other than people who are in virgin mines with big equipment, not many can make a living mining for gold today.

First, prospecting is not processing yards of dirt with a pan or even heavy equipment.

Prospecting is locating an area that has gold bearing rock, soil or gravel.

A pan here, a pan there until you find some flakes dust or maybe if very lucky a nugget.

It was usually done to find the "hard rock source" of gold in a stream.

You work your way up a gold bearing stream, taking samples as yo go, with your pan.

When you stop finding traces of gold in your samples, you are above the source.

Then you go back to the last spot you saw gold in the pan and start sampling the dirt going up both banks of the stream,

mapping and recording how much if any was found in each sample.

A very long and tedious process.

This process may lead you to a quarts outcropping, exposed or not, that is the source of the gold.

Then the work begins, the mining, drilling and blasting into the hill to remove the gold bearing quartz.

If you can see any gold in the quartz with the naked eye, it may run one ounce ( troy) to the ton.

Most ore mined, does not pay this much.

After removing the ore ( quartz) the milling process begins.

A very laborious in itself and expensive process.

Mercury is used in this process to capture the very fine "gold dust" that wold be washed away without the add,ed weight of the mercury.

"miners are using mercury to dissolve the fines out of the tailings from the prior minings"

Mercury does not dissolve gold!

Mercury sticks to or amalgamates with gold. Binding to it and making very fine particles stick together, making them possible to recover.

The mercury is later "burned off" by heating the amalgamated mix, called "amalgam" until the mercury vaporizes into a highly toxic gas.

​This is a dangerous process that has often resulted in mercury poisoning from breathing the fumes.

It can be fatal!

Mercury is also very destructive to the environment, poisoning streams and aquatic life even when it is just used in a pan.

Prospecting is just a matter of locating the gold.

Recovering the gold or mining is an entirely different,expensive, and destructive ball game.

That is why most "prospectors" would just file claims on the gold bearing areas they located and sell them to others.

It is usually not hard to find someone willing to sell you a gold mine.

But remember, the definition of a gold mine is: A hole in the ground owned by some lier!

Factor in the corruption, thievery and complications of being a non Thai doing anything in Thailand....

Wise up, save your money and your hide, and just buy some gold at the jewelery shop in Bangkok!

[chuckd]

I have heard of a very large gold operation going on in Wang Saphung, Loei province.

As the locals explain it, the raw materials are trucked from Wang Saphung to somewhere near Udorn where the raw materials are then sluiced. Tandem trucks with double trailers run highway 210 all the time carrying the unprocessed dirt. It's about a 150 kilometer one way trip.

I can't for the life of me figure out the financial justification for trucking rather than bringing a sluice to the site, but they have their reasons.

You could nose around in Wang Saphung but be warned, I have also heard it is a very high security area with lots of strong arms around.

they might not have water for the sluice,,

Good point. Hadn't thought of that possibility. Thanks.

[geronimo]

I would imagine using a metal detector is a good way to find gold on a beach. Not in its natural form, many people lose gold chains when swimming and I remember seeing folks doing that in Hua Hin many moons ago.

[Kiwoz]

Ok. Thanks

[Jessi]

"Work Permit" comes to mind.

The Thai's will let you dig for gold when you find it they will kill you and take the gold, saves them doing all the work.

[Kiwoz]

Also ends the supply.

Better to share..same as New Guinea

[daveAustin]

Echoing others, you could try but don't let any Thai see you or know what you're up to. You can't be seen to be taking anything off the natives... they'd have your head off for 100 baht! As the guy mentioned above, regards metal detectors, scouring Pattaya/Patong beaches for rings & chains early morning is your best bet.

[Norrad]

There was another thread on this with a few members who get together and go out prospecting.

Ah, found it: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?/topic/566730-Anyone-For-Gold-Detecting-Next-Week-End?

There was a company up in Loei who used to offer guided tours to go panning and detecting, as well as looking for rubies and sapphires. Not sure if they are still around though.

Sent from my ASUS_T00I using Tapatalk 2

[Kiwoz]

Very good. Thanks

[CMHomeboy78]

Maybe you've seen the classic movie "The Treasure of Sierra Madre."

Substitute Thailand for Mexico and you will get some idea of what might be in store for you if you strike paydirt here.

[pigeonjake]

to many have been watching yukon gold,,, pay dirt this and sluice that,,,, f u c k i n g h e l l

[Kiwoz]

Sad comment

[Stradavarius37]

Thailand is full of gold diggers already - move along sport, move along....