Gold has never stopped attracting people. Through thick and thin, urban and rural living, people go looking for the precious metal every chance they get. For 99 percent of folks, gold investing however can be done online or through in-person purchasing. However, there is the one percent out there who just wants to do things the hard way, even if it means getting their feet wet or their fingertips dirty. Gold panning, for example, has become extremely popular among Kiwis just wanting to pick up a few pieces of raw gold for themselves the old-fashioned way. It’s simple to do, takes only a few tools, and patience. And, most interestingly, natural gold-finding doesn’t require the Internet or stock market exchanges to put into effect.
Finding Gold Is Something Anyone Can Do With Persistence
There are multiple ways people can find gold naturally. And the best thing about gold-hunting in nature is that your investment in terms of equipment is one time, and your ongoing cost is time and energy. The latter two are simply your choice of how much you want to put into the effort or not, but many who really want to go after a gold find the hunt entertaining, adventurous, and fulfilling.
Gold panning, obviously, is the easiest way to get started. The equipment requirements are straightforward as well. One just needs a few large, flat metal or plastic pans as well as some waders for being in the water for an extended period of time. A good backpack, walking stick, map, GPS tracker, and food and water make up a day’s walk in and out. And, finally, make sure you have a good pair of hiking boots. It makes all the difference. Sneakers won’t hold up and often lead to twisted ankles. Once you have a good location target figured out in terms of a creek or river likely to have panning potential, then it’s time to pick a day and hoof your way into the location. Make sure you have told people where you are going ahead of time and bring a partner versus going alone. Safety should always on the top of your mind, even when having fun panning for gold.
The second easiest option is metal detecting. This option costs a bit more. There are bargain-basement units available for very affordable prices, but in practice, they are a waste of money. The ability for these units to pick up well is poor. Expect that you’re going to spend a few hundred dollars (NZD) on some quality equipment. You should also spend some time practicing and training to understanding how to read the monitors correctly for the best finding results. Once you have your equipment dialed in, then it’s time to target your likely locations. When it comes to gold, you’re unlikely to find major gold veins with a metal detector; they are simply buried too deep. Instead, your focus should be beaches, river banks, parks, and campsites. Why? People lose things, and these places are prime for finding lost gold jewellery, coins, and similar as well as money and other items as well. Remember, one lost finger ring of 14 or 18 carat gold can be a couple of ounces of gold, well worth the trouble.
The third approach towards finding natural gold is mining and geo-spelunking. In short, you’re hobby mining. This isn’t something to engage in on the fly. Looking for bits and deposits of gold takes a lot of understanding of the land you’re moving through, and you can be putting yourself in some tight situations. It should definitely be a group effort and only practiced by those with experience and skill in adventure mining. Additionally, you have to keep in mind whose land you’re on when you go mining. Not every private landowner will be thrilled about the idea of someone poking around on their acreage to make a profit. And public lands often have plenty of rules that may restrict any mining or digging up resources as well. So, make sure to do your research first before going to a location. You don’t want your first mining foray to end the day at the local constable station cooling your heels waiting for a barrister.
Processing Your Raw Ore Gold Findings
The normal approach for handling raw gold would be to smelt it and turn the raw ore into refined gold. Fortunately, those who go hunting for gold in the wild don’t need to worry about trying to figure out what to do with their findings. At Gold Smart, we can easily process raw gold ore, along with any other kind of second-hand gold that one might have sitting at home that isn’t useful anymore. Because Gold Smart functions as both a buyer as well as a consolidator, we’re able to take large lots of gold as well as small and put them all together for refining into new gold bullion bars. These in turn get resold to the industry for new use. And the personal sellers get ready to cash at gold’s latest recycle prices in exchange.
Investing in Gold Without Field Hunting is Easy Too
Of course, one doesn’t have to go out in the wild to find gold. It’s quite possible to invest in gold in a far more urban manner; you simply go to a store and buy it or pursue it through various investment tools.
The most traditional manner is to buy gold in bullion form. That said, one should expect to pay a sizable price for the precious metal in its purest form, the ideal investment target of 24 carats. Gold’s feverish run has made a lot of people a lot of money, and though the rally has taken a breather in the last few months, there’s no shortage of flag-waving supporters who claim gold is on a march to US$2,000 and beyond. That sentiment, while experts might disagree will occur in 2021, still continues to keep gold at a very high price of $1,850 an ounce currently at the beginning of the year. The most common form one will then find it intends to be sovereign coins as they provide the easiest investment with government-issued weights and face values, making their quality and content easily discernible.
Alternatively, the next most common form tends to be jewellery. Gold in this form comes in a variety of quality types, better known as carats. 24 carats tend to be the most expensive and purest form, but gold can also be bought in lower qualities as far down to 10 carats. All of them are investments as well as adornments, but with the historical rising trend of gold over the years, each category could effectively be investment income down the road a decade from now. Jewellery has long been a means for investing in gold and culturally it was a well-practiced method for families to transfer value from one generation to the next. Today is no different.
For physical gold purchasing and investing, the best place to go a gold dealer that specializes in gold items for investment purposes, as well as has a strong reputation for trust, quality, and reliability. Gold Smart meets all of those requirements and regularly carries a wide assortment of gold bullion, whether in the form of gold bullion bars or gold sovereign coins from different countries and governments. Some of the best choices include the classic South African Krugerrand as Canadian Maple Leafs and American Eagles. All three are well known for utilizing close to 24 carat gold.
Finally, there is the digital world. With a click of a button, people can invest in gold through multiple channels. However, the choices all tend to be common in the form of stocks. Exchange-traded funds allow people to invest in gold by buying stock shares in a fund that buys gold. Company stocks allow similar investment in gold through companies that make money mining the precious metal and their business success doing so. However, none of these choices actually have an ownership in gold like a physical purchase.
Removing the Risk, Enjoying the Gain
Again, Gold Smart can provide you solid channel into a gold investment by purchasing gold that’s real, solid, and worth every dollar paid for it. We stock the highest quality gold investment choices, and we can provide options for safe storage of gold as well. With a long-standing history in New Zealand for supporting gold investors of all types, we have helped people consolidate their retirement savings, start new investments, save for the future, and create viable hedge assets that aren’t caught up in the latest business directions. In short, we have provided people an easy, reliable way to make gold a viable part of their financial lives without the risk that people face online or trying to buy gold through harder to evaluate forms. Gold Smart is your best New Zealand choice for gold investing, and when you try investing with us, you might wonder why you hadn’t done so sooner.