Garnets and Gold

C'mon Let's Find Treasure!

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY PATTI ALBRECHT

Children love toys...but most love digging in the dirt and splashing in water even more! Tell a child you're going to go find treasure and let the squeals of excitement begin.

Garnets are a bright red gem found in the gravel along the shoreline at Ruby Reservoir, south of Alder. They are plentiful and big enough for even a toddler to find. Toss a shovel of gravel into a gold pan or pie plate, submerge in water, shake a few times, slowly let most water flow out, then quickly flip pan and contents upside down onto ground. The shaking in the water causes the heavy garnets to settle to the bottom so when flipped upside down the garnets will now be on top. Most will be the size of a BB or pea. Kids and adults alike will enjoy picking them out of the gravel. A leisurely way to find garnets is to walk slowly toward the sun with your eyes glued to the sandy gravel in front of you. If the sun is positioned correctly, cranberry glints of light will catch your eye…behold the garnet.

Gold panning is another fun way to enjoy the outdoors AND maybe earn a little extra cash. Even if your kids are young, they will be able to do it. Gold is heavy, so even a 3-year-old will be able to find gold in his pan.

A little research is required when deciding where to prospect for gold. Places where placer gold have been found in the past offer the best chance of finding it today: gulches around Helena, Butte, Deer Lodge, Townsend, Norris and Emigrant. Supplies for a family outing should include: gold pans, a vial or pill bottle to put gold in, a shovel and 5-gallon bucket. The bucket is handy to haul dirt and great to use as a stool when panning.

Narrow down the gulches of exploration to the ones that have a stream in which to pan. Reading how the water flows in the stream will help to determine the best place to dig. Where the water slows is where gold will be found. Good choices are: the inside bend of a stream, the downstream side of boulders, or where a narrow stretch widens out. Once you pick your spot, push aside rocks and dig down as far as you can or until you hit bedrock or a hard clay layer. Scoop some of this material into the pan, submerge it in water and shake the pan back and forth. There are countless different styles of panning but the basic idea is to agitate the sediment in the pan so the heavy gold will settle to the bottom. Then tilt the pan and move it so water washes in and washes out the lighter top portion. Repeat these steps until only black sand and, hopefully, gold is left.

A fun way to practice and see how gold settles is to mix fishing weights, BB's or marbles into some dirt and then pan in a tub or pool in the backyard. Experiencing how easy it is to keep this fake gold in the gold pan will boost any panner's confidence. With gold being valuable, a family outing could make memories and a little cash.

Patti Albrecht is the owner of Earth's Treasures Fossil & Mineral Museum Gallery in Downtown Bozeman.