Yes and also can be found in bedrock
A long-tom is a type of sluice box used in gold mining. It separates gold particles from gravel using running water and riffles. Miners can manually shovel gravel into the long-tom and then agitate the contents to separate gold from waste material.
Gravel is made up of small, rounded fragments of rock. These rock fragments can be derived from a variety of sources and can vary in composition depending on the location where the gravel is found.
Some of the minerals found in the state of Indiana include coal, limestone, gypsum, and clay. Indiana also has deposits of sand and gravel, as well as small amounts of oil and natural gas.
Loam typically contains a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay, along with organic matter. While loam can contain small amounts of gravel, it is not a dominant component. Gravel is more commonly found in sandy soils.
Gravel typically consists of a mix of different minerals, including quartz, feldspar, mica, and various rock fragments. The specific mineral composition can vary depending on the source of the gravel, but these are some common minerals found in gravel deposits.
One method to separate gold and gravel particles is by using a gold pan, where the heavier gold particles will settle to the bottom while the lighter gravel particles can be washed away. Another method is using a sluice box, which utilizes flowing water to separate the heavier gold from the lighter gravel. A third method is to use a gold trommel, which screens out the larger gravel particles while allowing the smaller gold particles to pass through.
The gold is heavier than the gravel so water is slowly swished until all that is left is the gold.
A gravel can typically be found between two layers.
Gold is heavier than sand and gravel, so when a mixture of gold, sand, and gravel is agitated in a pan or sluice box, the heavier gold particles settle at the bottom, often catching on the ridges or grooves designed for this purpose. This process, known as panning, uses the difference in weight between the gold and lighter sediments to separate them.
The gold pan was used as a tool to separate the gold from the other river gravels. Gold is more dense than the gravel and will works its way down through the gravel under the right conditions. The gold pan helps provide these conditions. A miner would fill the pan with gravel and water. He or she would then agitate the material in the pan by shaking it side to side or in a circular motion. This would loosen up the gravel and allow the gold to sink to the bottom of the pan while the litter gravel was washed out of the pan by the moving water.
in the ground ;)
Placer gold is found in river beds. The gold is heavy and settles and is concentrated in the river gravel. You mine it by digging up this gravel, placing it on a sluice with a rough bottom surface (e.g. a sheep fleece) and washing it down the sluice with river water. The gold gets trapped in the fleece and when this is dried the gold can be shaken out. You can also do the same thing (in smaller quantities) with a wooden or rusty metal miners pan (hence panning for gold).
Alluvial deposits contain gravel and sand along with valuable minerals like gold. These deposits are formed by the erosion and transportation of materials from upstream sources, typically found in riverbeds, floodplains, or delta regions. Gold can accumulate in these sediments due to its high density, making it easier to extract through mining processes.
To obtain gold from river water containing sand and gravel, one common process is panning. Panning involves agitating the mixture in a pan, allowing the gold to settle to the bottom due to its high density. The lighter sand and gravel can then be washed away, leaving the gold behind.
Gold is largely found in a pure form, as it does not oxidise or form other compounds (though it may be found as an alloy in some cases) You either pan it out from river sediment, like those found in Yosemite - if found in large quantities the sand and gravel is washed over devices like shaking tables and collected. You can extract very small particles of gold by washing the gold-bearing sand in mercury (in which gold dissolves) and then boiling the mercury away to leave the gold, though this is not recommended at all. Otherwise mineral seams bearing gold are crushed to gravel-sized pieces, and the gold smelted out with a furnace.
Lumber, Gold, Sand, and Gravel.
Lumber, Gold , sand, and Gravel