Big Boulders - vigin ground?

[Fullpan]

When I dredged on SF Yuba river in Ca., I fantazised at night about blowing up the ten-15 ton boulders that were randomly scattered
along the river. I just knew there would be ounces of virgin gold underneath. Has anybody actually tried this, or spent weeks trying
to winch these monsters?

 

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[419GottaMinute]

No, but I've had nightmares about getting trapped under one of the BIG ones upstream from the bridge at mineral bar...goosebumps thinkin about it right now

 

[NeoTokyo]

Have you thought about using and inflatable bladder along with a winch?

 

[Reed Lukens]

Yup moved lots of them, broken, blasted, ecobusted, jacked up, good gold.

 

[Fullpan]

When you say ecobusted - you mean the expanding "foam"? And which method, hypothetically, do you prefer?

 

[kuger]

I have winched a bunch of em,but had one that there was no way a winch would move and it was on private property so had the land owner bring down his back hoe.We tried moving it with that....didnt happen.We decided to chain brace it back as well as we could and likely against my better judgement,I proceeded to dredge out out it(if it did go,it would have been quick,I wouldnt feel a thing...wouldnt have to worry about drowning )I had been getting good gold all the way to it and behind it so I just knew the glory hole was beneath.....long story short as I got through the over burden surrounding it,I exposed rocks and oak wook timbers still preserved and holding that rock in place!What really amazed me was that in the 150 years or so since that had been done,the gravels had became hard pack again,need less to say there were no easter egg sized nuggets....actually was very little even flood gold

 

[Fullpan]

Kuger - I've heard several stories like that. Its amazing what the old guys accomplished without gasoline powered equipment! Was your boulder in deep
water or shallow? If in deep water, you think they "turned out the river" to get to it?

 

[kuger]

Kuger - I've heard several stories like that. Its amazing what the old guys accomplished without gasoline powered equipment! Was your boulder in deep
water or shallow? If in deep water, you think they "turned out the river" to get to it?

...that was the other oddity Fullpan.....that was a 20' deep hole(to bed rock)and was in a part of the river I didnt think...or there was no evidence of them turning the river,but must have?

 

[goldenIrishman]

Years ago I read an article in the GPAA mag that told of a couple of guys dredging up in that neck of the woods. The came to a waterfall and knowing how gold likes to settle into glory holes in places like that they decided they just had to gt to the bottom of it and see what was there. Of course there were some monster boulders at the base of the fall that they couldn't winch out of the way, pry up, or move in the usual manners. To solve their problem they hit on the idea of sinking 55 gallon drums into the water, lashing them to the boulders and then pumping them full of air again. That did the trick and their efforts were rewarded with a major glory hole that besides the usual small nuggets and flakes held a 13+ oz nugget that was shaped like of all things a Banana! So it can pay to do all that work and to exercise the brain by thinking outside the box. (or in this case drum)

 

[Reed Lukens]

Yes, it's a powder. Guys prefer things that go BOOM

 

[calnatv]

When I dredged on SF Yuba river in Ca.,

You mean you used your portable filtration unit ?

Camping at my claim one night the miners from the claim below mine came by for a visit. He said they had been working for several days moving a Volkswagen bug sized boulder and did well using their portable filtration unit on the material under it. They asked how I did. I said pretty good. I was proud of the gold I had found using my portable filtration unit They then proceded to show me several vials of the gold they recovered. Needless to say, I didn't bother showing them my gold.

 

[Fullpan]

great video - thanks, Reed.

 

[Fullpan]

That was my portable filtration unit - calnatv in 1st pic. 2nd pic, my better-half with gold-hiding boulder in background. There are about ten of those
monsters in the vicinity. She's standing about ten ft from river just a few ft above water-line and bedrock.

 

[Fullpan]

To explain a little more about 2nd pic - Found my best gold/quartz nugget ever about 25 ft from where Joyce is standing. This was the outside bend of river
The boulders seemed to have fallen from mountain above long ago. There was evidence of coyote-holin between boulders although I couldn't tell how old.
And finally, jabbing my suction nozzle blindly under the boulder I could reach from the river, I recovered almost a 1/4 ounce of "black gold" (covered with a
thin crust of black mineral). So, wondering what others would do in this situation?

 

[Hoser John]

Nuttn' to it with a snatch block and a 20 ton winch. Just like a reverse puzzle,remove a piece at a time and good to go. Many MANY pounds done this way in 92 1 1/2 miles up from Purdone crossing,which is where this pic is from,at the bridge and not site upstream. Water depth is your predicating matter. At Drivers flats boulders the size of busses were moved with 2 massive air bags, a 8, 6 and a 4 barrel floating winches and over a million recovered by Ray and the boyz from my old hole I turned them onto to. Firemen,rays son and darkie,and ray too all dead now though,IRS drilled SD box at Gibraltor savings in Auburn and got a half million...aaaa yes dayzs of old when miners were bold,NOT like todays that's fer sure-John

 

[midnightmoon]

Years ago I read an article in the GPAA mag that told of a couple of guys dredging up in that neck of the woods. The came to a waterfall and knowing how gold likes to settle into glory holes in places like that they decided they just had to gt to the bottom of it and see what was there. Of course there were some monster boulders at the base of the fall that they couldn't winch out of the way, pry up, or move in the usual manners. To solve their problem they hit on the idea of sinking 55 gallon drums into the water, lashing them to the boulders and then pumping them full of air again. That did the trick and their efforts were rewarded with a major glory hole that besides the usual small nuggets and flakes held a 13+ oz nugget that was shaped like of all things a Banana! So it can pay to do all that work and to exercise the brain by thinking outside the box. (or in this case drum)

goldenIrishman ... digging through my stuff here ... found it!

A vendor sent along some interesting copies of his clippings with a purchase last year. Gotta love people like that!

Reader's Digest, Sept 1994, "Is There Gold In Your Backyard?" tells the story; may be the one you mentioned.

It was George Massie himself. And of course, he was dredging. Anyhow, there was a truck-sized boulder in the way, once he floated it out, "... nestled under the rock were 800 ounces of gold nuggets worth more than $600,000."

$600,000 in 1994. I would do the math and figure out today's price ... but being Easter weekend I am already sick to my stomach with Peeps and Snicker eggs.

It is out there! I wish each and everyone of you a glory hole in this lifetime.

 

[kuger]

goldenIrishman ... digging through my stuff here ... found it!

A vendor sent along some interesting copies of his clippings with a purchase last year. Gotta love people like that!

Reader's Digest, Sept 1994, "Is There Gold In Your Backyard?" tells the story; may be the one you mentioned.

It was George Massie himself. And of course, he was dredging. Anyhow, there was a truck-sized boulder in the way, once he floated it out, "... nestled under the rock were 800 ounces of gold nuggets worth more than $600,000."

$600,000 in 1994. I would do the math and figure out today's price ... but being Easter weekend I am already sick to my stomach with Peeps and Snicker eggs.

It is out there! I wish each and everyone of you a glory hole in this lifetime.

I have swam n that hole,and dredged the area.That situation was a perfect storm so to speak....the old timers couldnt divert the river there,and the hole was deep enough they couldnt pump it out,so it never was worked.Also the boulders were in a way that the gold was allowed to pocket and not blown out which is common with waterfalls.....very few of many I have dredged ever paid much right at the bottom

 

[Fullpan]

Kuger - same way with potholes. Very few pay off. Unless there is difficult hardpack/cemented material to punch thru, I assume they have either been cleaned out or just not "gold-catchers".

 

[MadMarshall]

CALNATV I wonder how much of that gold they found was used to offset the time equimpment ect ect plus 2 men splitting the total I wouldn't be suprised if your profit margin and theirs were in the same ball park maybe??

 

[kuger]

Kuger - same way with potholes. Very few pay off. Unless there is difficult hardpack/cemented material to punch thru, I assume they have either been cleaned out or just not "gold-catchers".

FP,yep,as you know most of those are barren.....but.........a buddy pulled a 2 lb nugget from one just a few years ago!!!There is a local creek here that is just loaded with them,and when we were kids we just knew that millions were in the bottoms of em,some so deep you had to just about stand on your head to get the cobbles out.....very few had even a few dollars in them.I never have fully understood why,I mean gold goes in,its not coming out?I always figured it has something to do with the very way they are formed.A pebble in a vortex basically through millions of years bores the hole,I guess a nugget would be worn to dust in the same way.You still would think that at least some "new",nuggets would hold in em?