There's a secret amongst the gravel pit operators in and around the South Park area of Fairplay, Colorado. The gravel contains gold!
For the longest time I was required to keep this a secret and could not tell anyone exactly where this paydirt comes from but recently I was allowed to divulge the secret of the Fairplay gravel pits. If you look closely at the operations of many of these gravel pit operators, you will notice a Trommel sitting amongst their equipment. Most of these operations are legitimate gravel operators and some are there just for the gold - it is far easier to get a gravel pit permit versus an open pit gold mining permit.
The gravel I was able to source from these pits was before it went through the trommels and is unsearched but has been classified down to make it a workable product for gold panning. Each bag contains a guaranteed quarter gram of gold. The gold ranges in size from 12 to 40 mesh. All of the gold for this paydirt comes from Colorado and is sourced from one of the gravel pits or near by from the operators at London Mountain. This bag has always been more unusual than our other offerings and is not the typical river material but a gravel of sorts and offers a different panning experience. Now that the secret is out, we plan to make a vlog video next summer about the Fairplay gravel pits and the gold that is found there.
