Fancy a bit of 69ing?

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Filed under: Articles, Gold Panning — Norfolk Wolf

I thought that might grab yer attention; yer six mad the lot o’ yer.
What I was really referring to was the old 49’ers in the Californian gold rush. My mate “Newcastle Les”, has gold-pan will travel; not to California, but bonny Scotland. They had the British gold-panning championships there recently and old Les ended up in the finals.
So what’s it all about then? Is there really enough gold about to make it worthwhile to give it a go?

The answer is yes, if you know what you are doing and where to do it to get the best results. A bit like mettlin’, you might have all the gear, but it’s luck rather than expertise if you find stuff without the necessary knowledge. Of course everyone welcomes a bit of luck, but this is never a substitute for knowledge and the nack of getting the best from your equipment ; whether it be a detector or a gold-pan.

You can actually hire the gear and have a go where the championship was held. This is at the highest village in Scotland called Wanlockhead, in Dumfries / Galloway, just over the border.

Les going up against (and beating) British champion Vince.

Wanlockhead village.

Here is a bit of information that I have managed to dig up on the subject.

SCOTTISH GOLD

SCOTTISH GOLD NUGGETS

The nuggets above are from different streams across Central Scotland.
They have mostly been panned, though a few were found by means of a metal detector.

A Scottish Gold Rush

In the 19th century, around 1860, there was a “gold-rush” in the northern Highlands to a locality in the county of Sutherland - though, as can often be the case, there was more rush than gold.

Nonetheless, left to its own desserts and a couple of dozen decades, this occurrence can replenish itself to a small degree. Scottish gold is of a generally high grade, that is to say, fairly pure. The water is also panned for gold in the small burns or streams, ubiquitous throughout the country. The Ochil Hills of Fife and some streams in the county of Angus are among the most popular areas to try one’s hand, but there are others. Access to some sites is however not permitted.

Nuggets with attached matrix can be found, but well-crystallized gold on matrix, is much less common. Near Aberfeldy, in Perthshire, a rare, small find of matrix gold was found some years ago.

Gold Panning in Scotland

SCOTTISH GOLD

Each of the ten bottles above represents a different stream - spanning Leadhills (Lanarkshire) in the south, to Kildonan (Sutherland) in the north. The vial across the top contains some unidentified silver-coloured nuggets.

Gold is found in situ as micro-flecks in quartz veins over a fairly large area of the Highlands. The main occourrence is around the highland Boundary Fault. This forms the Southern border of the Highlands region which is centered around Tyndrum and Aberfeldy area (Argylle and Perthshire). The most famous deposit was at Leadhills and Wanlockhead, but with the decline of the gold, the attention was turned to the rich lead deposits found in the area. The gold can still be found in situ in the surrounding Lowther Hills in small veins.
As the gold gets eroded out of its matrix, it eventually drops into the nearest burn as nuggets, great or small.

Nowadays, the best way to get some gold from this area is to pan for it.
At Wanlockhead, one can learn and practice the art of panning and pan for the precious metal itself, as small nuggets and flecks, in the surrounding burns… Wanlockhead has been host to panning contests, including the World Gold Panning Championships

Is it beginning to grab yer yet? Just think of all the occasions around this time of year that you spend trying to find somewhere decent to go mettlin’. Go on, what are you waiting for? Get a bit of the old pioneer spirit boy and fork out for a goldpan and get yerself up there; there really is gold in them thar hills! John