I am thinking of gold panning and prospecting for a hobby. Does anyone have any insight or information about this. I have done very limited research. My research is watching gold rush on TV. Does someone need a permit to grab some buckets of rocks from a river? Are there any rules or regulations? Is there any good websites or YouTube channels someone can recommend? Thank you in advance for advise or information.
I looked into it a bit a few years back, and you're ok panning on public land. The Calgary area doesn't really have the right geology for it though. I've heard there is better luck up on the North Saskatchewan river. Or down in a place like Rossland BC, where there are old gold mines.
Never really found any good resource sites for it, but I haven't looked recently.
Lastly, we finish off with an image of all of the world’s mined gold in one cube with dimensions of 20.5m. If it was all melted, it would fit within the confines of an Olympic Swimming Pool.
Gold owes its status as a precious metal to its rarity: all the gold mined throughout history would fit into a square box with sides of around 20m in length. That’s not because of a failure to mine more. Gold is rare throughout the Universe because it’s a relatively hefty atom, consisting of 79 protons and 118 neutrons. That makes it hard to produce, even in the incredible heat and pressure of the ‘chemical forges’ of supernovae, the deaths of giant stars responsible for creating most chemical elements. There’s even doubt that supernovae are up to the job. Recent research suggests that even more violent events, such as collisions between neutron stars – the ultra-dense cores of dead stars – may be needed. No wonder the stuff is so expensive.
Applied for a placer licence (cause wtf not) and sent in my cheque for $50. Received the licence surprisingly quickly, government never did cash the cheque
I did a bit of gold panning years back (over 10). You used to be able to join panning clubs which had claims you could pan (rules of what you could do i.e. no dredging or sluice boxes) . Don't know if there is anything like that anymore. You don't do it for money, just the experience as you would make more money picking bottles, but it was a great way to see some of the back country.
China released data on its gold holdings for the first time in about six years, but investors say the guessing game about the country’s actual inventory continues.
The People’s Bank of China on Friday published figures on its gold reserves for the first time since 2009. Its official gold reserves stood at 53.3 million ounces, or 1,658 metric tons, in June.
The last time China reported official figures was in April 2009. Back then, the figure stood at 1,054 metric tons, according to Ross Norman, chief executive officer at Sharps Pixley.
The latest total is about half what the market thought it was. The market was generally expecting a total of well over 3,000 metric tons, according to Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter.
“There is much evidence that [China’s] holdings are actually at those higher levels, which makes one wonder why they would feel compelled to understate the total now,” he said.
Gold panning and prospecting
