ITV Wales news gold panning

Drat!! Not viewable outside UK would have loved to see the badge man make a fool of himself.  Reckon I'l have to crank up my greying imaginationto get a picture.  Give'um hell Brian.

Dennis
Tillamook, OR USA

PS: It's a custom on every river, stream or creek going back hundreds of years predating the Crown or any established country.

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Brian what or how big is the gold normaly from the rivers

AU

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		Quote:			Posted by Ridge Runner
	Brian what or how big is the gold normaly from the rivers AU

Good question Ridge Runner

On the Wen and Mawddach the really coarse gold, mostly worked out now, was found near the mines above these two rivers. Just below the Gwynfyndd mine, in a very deep pool, many feet of sludge impacted on top of the bedrock is a very rich mix of minerals. There are rumours of guys trying to dredge into this, and even divers bringing up buckets full of small nuggets, but this location is too visible for any commercial operation to succeed. Local farmers report any activities to the Crown Estate and the Forestry, who don't actually own the river, start harassing. A former mine manager described the geology to me, and I did my own research. Pritchard Morgan, the so called Welsh Gold King, installed Berdan pans in the 1890s to crush the pyrite rich gold bearing rocks, and much was lost into the river. There are also natural gold reefs which have never been properly explored in the river, because the Guardians of the Mawddach stopped any full scale exploration in the 1890s. The Guardians were salmon riparians, and their business was selling fishing licences when the salmon fishing was really good way back then. As you go further downriver the gold is crushed up, so by the time it gets to the estuary it is practically invisible. However, there are really good spots on the Mawddach which have never been panned, solely because they are in public view. The same principles apply to the Wen, but the gold there is mostly from natural reefs and undefined sources near to the Rhobell Fawr volcanoe, as the main mine above the river was of relatively poor quality. Where the Wen meets the bigger Mawddach, panners have to dig many tons of loose gravels to get a few grams of very fine gold. That is why I concentrated on the mid section of the Wen, just above the bridge, where there are still millions of pounds worth of nuggets waiting to be found. According to one of my local contacts there are guys going in there at night, digging away where I was, and these could be the same guys who are trying to put others off with stories of panning being banned across the whole of North Wales. Lights are seen across the valley by locals, but the Forestry don't bother sending out their staff at such late hours. As soon as I have dealt with some business at home I will take a look and see if the reports are true.

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