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Ok, there is no prospecting magazine that you can pick up, and no store you can walk in where you don’t see so many different gadgets that you eventually get a glazed over look on your face like a kid coming down from a sugar rush.
So in this section of GottaGetGold we are going to talk about as many different gizmos and gold getting gadgets as we can. This section will be huge and so we will do our best to sort them in a way that will make it easier for you to find them.
Whether you’re a new prospector or a seasoned professional, a black sands magnet is a time saver and when properly used can help the efficiency of your fine gold recovery. Black sand is made up of primarily magnetite, hematite, and iron. A black sands magnet picks up the iron and magnetite when you press down the plunger which brings the magnet to the bottom of the casing. The problem with this, as many people who have used black sand magnets can tell you, is that a black sand magnet can also pick up non magnetic material by trapping it in the black sand itself. You risk not only picking up different kinds of sands but your gold as well which could seem to make the whole process self defeating. 
Well you can virtually eliminate this problem if you go back to your school days playing with magnets through tables and desks. First, be sure you have panned your material down and removed the rocks so you are left with mostly black sand and other small heavies. Next move all of the material to one side of the pan with enough water to cover the material. Now, press the plunger and tap it once over the black sands. Yes, as of now you have picked up a good amount of black sands and whatever else it pinched in its magnetic grip. Now lift the magnet so the material is right at the water line and move it over to the blank side of your pan. Let go of the button and the material should fall into a circular pattern. Now comes the fun part. Press the button again and put the magnetic end underneath the pan and move it back and forth in one direction. Just for ease of demonstration lets say you are moving it north and south. You will see the black sands and other magnetic material aligning and creating a somewhat rectangular groomed area rather than the circle you started with. Please note that the thinner you make the original pile the less likely you will be picking up anything other than black sands when you go to the next step. Now move your magnet back over the top just at the water line and press the plunger down once more. Move the magnet back and forth from east to west until it picks up all the black sand. Now you can dump your black sands and be confident that almost nothing else is in it. By thinning and aligning the magnetics in the one direction you have dropped all the non magnetic material, including the gold, to the bottom of the pile. By going the right angle way in picking it up and as high as you can hold the magnet you will leave your gold, heavy non magnetic sands, and other metals behind.
By using a little extra effort you can assure yourself that you will not only save time, but your gold as well.
A Snuffer Bottle carries many purposes when you are out prospecting. You can use it to suck up small gold out of your pan to later put in a vial. You can pan your material down to concentrates and store them in the snuffer bottle for later panning. You can even use it to suck small material out of small cracks that a hand suction dredge wouldn’t work in. I have even seen snuffer bottles used as squirt guns in a pinch.
The basic principles behind a snuffer bottle are easy. In essence a snuffer bottle is a plastic bottle that can be squeezed to create a suction effect, sucking water, gold, and material into it for later distribution. This is another simple yet ingenuous gadget that the old time prospectors would have shot each other for.
Most snuffer bottles come with an additional cap and a small hose that barely fits into the end of the bottle and goes the full length of the snuffer bottle. This hose is invaluable and if you lose it you might as well get a new bottle. By placing the hose so that it is halfway down the bottle at least you can suck up material that will go off to the sides and not squirt back out the moment it loses suction.
Snuffer bottles are also good if you don’t want to carry glass vials around with you. If you drop a snuffer bottle the only real risk is the water and some of the material squirting out on impact. However if you drop a glass vial the consequences can be much more shattering. Cleaning up after a glass vial too can also be dangerous to both you and anyone else who finds a piece you missed with their bare feet.
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