7 Buckets..

[DizzyDigger]

Before leaving the Calif. desert are to come home, I scooped
up 7 full buckets of raw material to work with once I got home.
They came from 3 different locations on 2 different claims; one
club claim there was a limit of 2 buckets allowed, and the balance
came from Ken's claim over closer to Hwy. 138.

We got rained on for a couple days, and this material was shoveled
out of the holes to dry. Didn't have time to run it through the trommel,
so it's basically just unclassified dirt/rocks that I'm hoping to find some
decent color in, as it all came from holes producing nice flakes and fines.

Initial plan was to take it over to one of my local creeks and run it through
the sluice box, but with the cold temps (really cold!) most creeks are frozen
over for awhile. Also got to thinking that the salmon may not appreciate me
introducing a completely foreign soil into the streams..so, I'm working all the
material right here in my little shop.

It's labor intensive as this is "dirty" dirt, so many buckets of water going
into just getting the stuff clean enough to pan. I'm classifying to #8 and
#20 mesh, then panning down the #20- material to concentrate it and
get rid of the dreck. Once I'm down to near black sand I dump it off into
a tub, and then re-classify those cons through #30 and #50 mesh classifiers,
and then run that material on the miller table. Larger material is just panned
out.

Gone through 2 buckets so far and am not too pleased with the results. BUT,
still got 5 more to go, and I know one of 'em has just gotta hold a picker, or
at the very worst some nice fat flakes!

Yes, indeed I am the "Ultimate Optimist"!


Starting bucket #3 this morning..no pics yet, but would be glad to post a few
if folks are interested.

 

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[TerryC]

DRECK! Whoa, been a few years since I heard that word used for dirt! Good choice. (You get the LIKE for the word DRECK!) TTC

 

[KevinInColorado]

DRECK! Whoa, been a few years since I heard that word used for dirt! Good choice. (You get the LIKE for the word DRECK!) TTC

i second that!

Also, yes, please post pictures

 

[DizzyDigger]

Snapped a couple shots while grabbing lunch..

The Dirt


GOT MUD??


From left to right: #2+ Mesh, #8+ Mesh and #20 Mesh+


Where it all happens. Stacked in the tub are 2, 8 and 20 mesh classifiers.


Results after cleaning up the cons from 6 Drywasher runs of about 15. gal ea.
Got one nice chunky piece (about #12 mesh in size) and some small stuff. Had
hoped for more, but certainly won't throw it back!

 

[DizzyDigger]

This third bucket seems to have the most color in it, so far. I'm
just now panning down the 20- material till it's basically black sand
with some light material blended in still, and then and saving the
condensed material.

I'll re-classify it to -30 and -50 mesh, then run it all on the table.
Should have pics before morning (took a 4 hr. nap, so odds are
it'll be a late night).

 

[KevinInColorado]

Looking forward to seeing the results :-)

 

[DizzyDigger]

Going to try and include a short video of the miller table cleaning
it all up. Unfortunately, while I'm great with still imagery, I know
bupkis about video editing, so what I shoot is what ya get..

 

[425jesse]

Mike! Glad to have you back in the PNW!! Good luck on you buckets, and stay warm! Love the Pictures!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Good to be back in the PNW...sort of..

Unfortunately, the pics are gonna have to wait till I find something worth
taking a pic of, and 2 pieces of #50 mesh flypoop don't qualify.

That's 3 down, and 4 buckets to go. I know there is gold in there somewhere...it's just
that I ain't found it yet. The next bucket comes from an entirely different location,
so hopefully there's some chunky goodies to be found..

 

[TerryC]

You may not call that a BIG success, but it is CERTAINLY not a FAILURE! Nice. TTC

 

[KevinInColorado]

That's the spirit...
Not skunked =a step on the right direction. Now you just need to find the hot spot!!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Starting on bucket #4...time to find some decent gold!!!

 

[russau]

go directly to the LAST bucket to find gold! its always in the last place i look!

 

[kazcoro]

go directly to the LAST bucket to find gold! its always in the last place i look!

Reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy. He says that people always say what they were looking for was in the last place they looked. No kidding, he says. Did you keep looking after you found it? Gold isn't the same, but it still makes me giggle.

 

[DizzyDigger]

go directly to the LAST bucket to find gold! its always in the last place i look!

You may very well be right!

I've got one 5 gal bucket I was saving for last, and
it came from a hole I know was producing nice gold.
Last I heard the fellow that gave me the bucketful
had 3 small nuggets totaling over 3g. in his cleanup
that afternoon. Way my luck has been going, he gave
me a pail of his tailings as a joke..

The other 6 buckets I filled myself from the same spot
that Ken and I had pulled .5g of flakes out of the day before.

Bucket 4 (so far) is not thrilling me in the least.

I'm starting to feel like some of those guys on Gold Rush..
..lots of work and little to show for it. Firing up the Miller
Table now, and hoping the Miller Table will show some gold
I didn't see while panning. Still got the +20 material to pan
down; maybe there's a nice piece hiding in there?

Should have the results in a couple hrs.

 

[425jesse]

Good luck!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Thanks Jesse, but apparently the "luck" is in the remaining
three buckets, 'cause it sure wasn't present today.

Can't believe I hauled several hundred pounds of dirt (that was
thought to be decent material) 1300 miles .... invest all the time
to work every grain of it carefully..only to find out it's completely
barren of gold.

Kinda ironic, ain't it.

Down to three full 5 gal. pails, so tomorrow. If it's not raining I might just
take it down on the riverbank and pan it out there using the Super Sluice.
Probably take about 3 or 4 pan's to do it all, and would save about 2 hrs.
of panning it down with the small, finish pan that fits in the tub.

I hauled it all the way home, so if there's even 1 color in that bucket I'm
gonna find it..

 

[425jesse]

Me and the boy went to the raging a few days ago, brought A number of buckets of -1/4 material home. One, two, three strikes we're out of the old ball game!! fun to be out, not much color to speak of! Better luck tomorrow for your remaining materials!

 

[Astrobouncer]

It works the same way for me. I found a great spot near a road last month. Every pan was 20+ colors so I went ahead and classified out a 5 gallon bucket to take home. Super heavy lots of clay, hard time getting up the bank to the car due to the weight (and the steep bank). Got it home and started working through it, about 5 specs in the whole dang thing. Crazy but that's how it goes sometimes.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Still got the last 3 buckets (5 gal. ea.) to run, but took today off
to let my back heal up a bit. Carrying 5 gal. pails of water in and
out of the shop tends to wear it out...must be getting

Astro, unfortunately I hadn't classified this material before shoveling
it into the buckets. It was too damp to run through the drywasher,
but my buddy told me it was the "good" material and should hold some
gold. If it was the good material, then the hole we're working has
all been mined out some time in the distant past. The Coolgardie area
has been worked now for over 100 years, and I guess it's possible that
we've dug into a spot that was worked "back in the day".

That, or there just ain't no gold there!