Our Prospectors
We work with a very small team of dedicated Gold Prospectors here in Scotland. It's important to us that none of the people we work with source gold using environmentally destructive commercial methods. For these artisans, first and foremost this is more than a hobby, it's a lifestyle which they have passionately invested time and energy into, culminating in long days ending in tears of joy or frustration. A long, hard day of labour can reveal anything between 0.1g to a couple of grams, if you are very lucky and experienced.
Gold Prospector
FACT FILE
NAME: Leon Kirk
PREFERRED METHOD: Gold Panning
PREFERRED LOCATION: Secret rivers - sorry, I don't want to reveal more!
FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS: Dry summer months - when the water is low in the river you can access deeper sands and gravels.
BEST DAY RESULTS: A huge 16.5g nugget, and a total day find of 50g.
SECRET METHOD/RULE TO SUCCESSFUL GOLD PANNING: Using the best equipment you can (see link for Leon's shop below).
WHY I DO IT: Nothing beats being out in the Scottish wilderness on a warm summers day doing the job I love the most !
LIFE TIME TOTAL: Don't actually know for sure - a lot - but I've never kept track of it!
Leon Kirk from Glasgow is undoubtedly Scotland's most famous Gold Prospector. Leon has made numerous appearances on television, as well as being frequently in the news regarding the amazing stashes of gold and gold nuggets he has found.
Leon is old school, preferring to pan his gold, assisted by suction pumps that he designed for the purpose himself. Leon sells gold collecting equipment and runs gold panning classes to help finance his hobby. You can sign up for classes, buy first edition books on gold and even a full set up of your own gold prospecting equipment at his wonderful website - www.goldpanningsupplies.co.uk
In his spare time, Leon likes to make new prototypes for gold prospecting equipment, admire his gold collection, and watch 'Gold Rush' on the Discovery Channel.
Gold Detectorist
FACT FILE
NAME: Prefer to remain anonymous - though you can call me 'The Nugget Man'!
PREFERRED LOCATION: Various rivers and glens around the Scottish boundary fault.
FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS: A slight breeze to keep the midges away.
BEST DAY RESULTS: Several nuggets totalling up to 12 grams.
SECRET METHOD/RULE TO SUCCESSFUL DETECTING: Studying the geology first and then simply patience. And then a little more patience.. and then a little more!
WHY I DO IT: The thrill of potentially finding record breaking nuggets.
LIFE TIME TOTAL: 100 grams plus.
Like many gold prospectors, our Gold Detectorist does not want to be known to the public. When he's not looking for gold, he enjoys travelling around Scotland in his campervan and teaching his grandchildren the methods for gold prospecting. On the lookout for trophy pieces, this method is of course, much slower, but the Detectorist reaps larger rewards for his patience! Detecting for gold can also be instrumental in identifying potentially high-yielding areas for gold panning.
Gold Sniping
FACT FILE
NAMES: Davey & George Munroe
PREFERRED LOCATION: Scottish Highlands.
FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS: Cold winter water- it has less algae bloom so visibility under water is much better.
BEST DAY RESULTS: 15g.
SECRET METHOD/RULE TO SUCCESSFUL SNIPING: Choosing remote locations that have not been worked for gold before.
WHY WE DO IT: We enjoy getting out of the house and being surrounded by nature.
LIFE TIME TOTAL: At least 150g.
Davey and George are brothers who spend as much free time as they can sniping for gold. They often camp out on location as the areas where they search are very remote. At the end of the day, they enjoy a spot of fishing and relaxing around the camp fire with a cold beer.
The process known as sniping involves using a snorkel to search the riverbed. The kit for snipers can be expensive - you'll need a diving suit, and a good, snug fitting mask & snorkel. A blunt tool such as a screwdriver or crevice scraper is essential too. Top tip: A dry suit definitely has advantages in the chilly Scottish water!
Loose nuggets or flakes of gold are much heavier than the sand, stones and rocks in the riverbed. Once the gold is trapped in a crevice, its weight causes it to displace whatever sand or gravel is in there and the gold works its way to the bottom. There it is likely to remain, unless it's dislodged by the forces of nature… or by the persistent patience of a gold prospector sniping!