Prospecting with the Black Light.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=49666.msg354789#new
It is all very well to use a black Light for looking for treasure hidden inside walls, but can the black light aid the prospector? You bet it can.

It is common knowledge that certain gemstones can show up brightly under UV lights. You can research the different colors that gemstones have on the Internet. There are several good books to read about this as well. You will need to research and get a few books because the topic is so big I cannot cover it all here.

How can the Gold prospector use this knowledge? Gold does not have fluorescence, after all. Before I go into how to do this you need a shortwave UV lamp with the safety glasses. Short waves are better for this than long waves. Always wear the safety glasses with the shortwave lamp (seeing is a good thing). You don't want to damage your eyes.

Okay we are panning for gold and getting a little color in our pans. We are in a gold producing area that is known for gold. Would it not be interesting to trace the source of the gold to its original source?

Although gold does not show up under UV light there are minerals that are likely to show up in gold placer areas. We all now the heaver minerals and sometimes gemstones show up in pans because they are heaver than most of the common river elements.

The Florescent minerals that are usually likely to show up with gold placers are:

Agate, Beryl, Chalcedony, Cyrtoline, Huttonite,Opal, Petrified Wood,Ruby, Scheelite, Spinal, Sapphire, Quartz, Zircon and fossils and bones.

These do fluoresce.

Want to find the source of the outcrop?

Walk up the stream or river and sample with your pan. Wash and swirl the light material off then remove the black sand with a magnet.

Then cover yourself and the pan with a blanket and shine the black light on the pan. Notice the colors the black light gives the gemstones and minerals. I am assuming again you are in an area known for gold.

Well, you might ask how these pretty colors can help you find the outcrop. It is simple really, follow the river upstream and take samples. You will notice more and more florescence as you get closer.

When the florescence disappears you are near your outcrop. Then you can look for the lode or go down the river sampling and when the colors appear again, that is where you need to sluice or dredge.

Just because gold does not show up under a UV lamp does not mean you can't use one to find golds source.