Advice please

[C99]

Hello,

I spent a few weeks going up a river.Found a spot. I dug down with colour at every level and then it just stopped after I got quite into blue clay and shale mix. Is it worth digging deeper?
I went further up river.Miles of trekking. The gold was still there but far less than my spot down river. It is right by the Highland boundary fault. Finding nothing up river would have been better than finding a flake because I am proper confused about where it might come from.I need the voices of experience from people that try to find the source as I did.I failed and it still bugs me.

Thanks and peace.Good panning to you all.

Its nice to be important,but its more important to be nice.

 

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[DizzyDigger]

The blue clay mix is generally where the gold stops dropping, so
you definitely want to work down to that layer, but I've never seen
the clay layer hold gold.

I would definitely work down to it, but probably wouldn't go deeper.

 

[C99]

The blue clay mix is generally where the gold stops dropping, so
you definitely want to work down to that layer, but I've never seen
the clay layer hold gold.

I would definitely work down to it, but probably wouldn't go deeper.

Thanks Dizzy Digger,

The gold was indeed at its biggest when I started hitting shale and clay mix but not for long. I did have some success stuffing a heavy little cage with bentonite and casting under a little waterfall. I only had enough clay of the right consistancy for one try.A bit of a gold magnet the old clay.If it rolls over something it usually picks it up and holds it. I want to get hold of some tungsten for the next try instead of lead.My ball may work deeper then. I am thinking two metal hanging baskets to for a bigger ball.Working on it.Very easy to recover the gold from the clay with patience and a long soak.Bentonite is available as a clumping cat litter and natural formulation usually.Cheap experiment and the dry stuff can be mixed on the river bank.

Thanks ever so much for your advice.Humbly and sincerely.Wayne

 

[Prospector70]

Good lord, at least punch through a foot or two and sample sample sample!
Be sure to dig out round enough where you wouldnt have more gold drop through it.
So long as it is producing gold I wouldnt move on

 

[C99]

Good lord, at least punch through a foot or two and sample sample sample!
Be sure to dig out round enough where you wouldnt have more gold drop through it.
So long as it is producing gold I wouldnt move on

Hello,

My last sample digging deeper was a bit of a let down.I am digging under the water line with a henderson pump and an auger I purchased to break up the clay shale.Hard going.I was disappointed with my yield.I thought deeper would be better. I turned the hole into a trap for later. The hole trap will hold the gold like a beast now with its clay bottom.I will certainly return periodically.
So one man says dig and sample,the other probably not worth digging further.My goldbug2 didn't get excited in the hole so I lost my faith in digging deeper.Lots of work done though so hard to just walk away and know when to stop.
Inexperience I suppose.Follow the line or dig deeper.
Thanks for your input.I will heed your advice and give another few days to it.Good panning to you.

 

[goldenmojo]

What's in the Blue Clay. Is it just clay or is there a gravel mix.



This gave me some gold along with 2 large rivets, a pocket knife and some square nails, lead and fishing gear. It eventually just turned into clay with very little of anything in it, When that happened I abandoned it. I have worked other blue clay that had nothing in it of value.

 

[Underburden]

Dig SIDEWAYS along the pay layer.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Good lord, at least punch through a foot or
two and sample sample sample!

Depending on how thick the clay layer is, I would have to agree. Much depends
on when that clay layer was deposited, but if not too thick it might be worth
a shot.

 

[QNCrazy]

I have been working an area near my home for six months. During the summer, I was digging the high bench and hit a gray clay layer that wasn't paying anything. Four weeks ago, I was working downstream closer to the water line. I hit the same clay layer but there was a large river rock protruding so I decided to dig it out. To my surprise, the clay layer was only 1" thick and underneath was another layer of river gravels. It was late in the day and i only had time for one more bucket (no, i didn't get into the one more bucket routine). This was the best bucket of the day. Due to recent wether and river levels flucuating, I haven't been back. In the spring i will go back to my original hole and punch though that layer and see if the gold is there as well.

So follow Prospector's and DD's advice. try to punch through that clay layer and see what is underneath.