Bedrock and Gold: The mysteries . . .

[Lanny in AB]

Do you love to chase the gold? Please join me--lots of gold hunting tips, stories of finds (successful and not), and prospecting poetry.

Nugget in the bedrock tip:

I had a visit with a mining buddy this past weekend, and he told me of an epic battle to get a nugget out of the bedrock, and of what he learned from the experience. I thought some of you might like to learn from his mistake.

While out detecting one day, he came across a large sheet of bare bedrock. The bedrock was exposed because the area had been blasted off with a water cannon (a monitor), by the old-timers! It was not fractured bedrock, in fact it was totally smooth.

He was not optimistic at all of the prospects of a nugget. But, for some reason (we've all been there) he decided to swing his detector over that bedrock. After a long time, just as he was about to give up on his crazy hunch, he got a signal, right out of that smooth bedrock.

There was no crevice, no sign of a crevice, nada! So, he had to go all the way back to camp to get a small sledge and a chisel. The signal in the rock intrigued him, but he still wasn't overly optimistic. For those of you that have chased signals in a similar situation, sometimes there's a patch of hot mineralization in the bedrock that sounds off, but this spot, according to him, was sharp and clear right in the middle of the signal, not just a general increase of the threshold like you get when you pass over a hot spot in the bedrock.

Anyway, he made it back to the spot and started to chisel his way into the bedrock. If any of you have tried this, it's an awful job, and you usually wind up with cut knuckles--at the least! Regardless, he kept fighting his way down, busting out chunks of bedrock. He kept checking the hole, and the signal remained very strong.

This only puzzled him all the more as he could clearly see that it was solid bedrock with no sign of any crevice. He finally quit at the end of the day, at a depth of about a foot, but still, nothing in the hole.

An experienced nugget shooting friend dropped by the next morning to see him, and asked him how the hunt was going. My buddy related his tale of the mysterious hole in the bedrock, and told the friend to go over and check it out, and see if he could solve the riddle.

Later in the day, the other nugget hunter returned. In his hand was a fine, fat, sassy nugget. It weighed in at about an ounce and a quarter! After my friend returned his eyeballs to their sockets and zapped his heart to start it again, he asked where the nugget had come from.

Imagine his surprise when he heard it came from the mystery hole!! He asked how deep the other guy had gone into the bedrock to get it. "Well, no deeper" was his reply.

So, here's the rest of the story as to what happened. When the successful nugget hunter got to the bedrock, he scanned the surface got the same strong signal as my buddy. He widened out the hole and scanned again. Still a solid tone. He widened the hole some more so he could get his coil in, and here's the key and the lesson in this story, he got a strong signal off the side of the hole, about six inches down, but set back another inch into the side of the bedrock!!

My unlucky friend, the true discoverer of the gorgeous nugget's resting place had gone deep past the signal while digging his hole!!

Now, of course, a good pinpointer would easily solve this problem. The problem was, my buddy didn't have one, so why would he widen the hole, right? Well, the other guy was the one with more experience, and that's why he did. It was a lot more work, but what a payoff!

So, my buddy's butt is still black and blue from where he kicked himself for the next week or so for having lost such an incredible prize.

Some nugget hunting lessons are harder than others to learn. . . .

All the best,

Lanny


P.S. When in gold country--check the bedrock, regardless of whether it looks likely or not! Mother Nature likes to play games sometimes.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[Lanny in AB]

Sushi--I like the clock analogy. You're looking at it (the dark line) from the nine O'clock to the three O'clock position--face of the clock perpendicular to you (if it was the pilot's/aviator's dog-fighting clock, this shot was taken from the six O'clock position, and that would put the dark strip at the 12 O'clock position for the same clock orientation). (Football analogy, from the sidelines from goal post

to goal post

. The dark line runs about two and a half to three and a half inches wide.

I believe that you're looking at around four feet of formation in that shot--I got in closer for that shot as I wanted the dark stuff to show clearly in the picture.

All the best,

Lanny​

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[SushiDog]

Thanks for the clarification Lanny....okay....I have the orientation on it now....so we all know that a great geological event happened when this area was formed, and let's say for the sake of argument that it averages 2 inches thick....what is not so important is the rock lying underneath this "event layer".....well....can we really discount this rock as "not important" as what is lying on top of the "event layer?" Then we take the event layer itself....again....something big happened to create the "event layer", and I would agree with others here that perhaps it was due to a landslide....however! Are we now talking about the proverbial "chicken and egg" conundrum? In order to create the "event layer", something had to be on top to slide down to create it, and perhaps that would be the remnants of what is lying on top of the "event layer" now? Wow Lanny! What a detective story!!! Perhaps you have a university nearby who you could make an inquiry to....like the geology department, and try and get an handle what you are LQQKing at....if perhaps you could just have a university give you the dates of the different layers that we are seeing, that would start to unravel some of the mystery....one thing is for sure....those are gorgeous mountains, and you are really blessed to be in such beautiful country! Perhaps you could get an aerial view of the area, or better yet, pull a Topo on the area to get a birds' eye view of the total picture....I hope you pursue your investigation further Lanny because I am hooked on what the pictures show! (smile) SushiDog

 

[Lanny in AB]

Sushi--I'm thinking more of a cutaway view (because of the road cut through the deposit) of a side-view of a stream/glacial streaming event, where the heavier stuff was running in either a stream or a stream-like circumstance, and the heavier stuff was naturally running lower down in that run. It may have been deposited over another previous run, or it may have slid off and been deposited over it.

The only way to know is to test it and see what's running in that dark band, what's running just below it, and just above it. The reason for this is that sometimes a deposit has been stood on its head by titanic forces. I found a great deposit up north once that was exactly that way--it was stood on its head. The gold (all pickers in the quarter to half-gram range) and the garnets were well above the gold. That's right, above! (In fact, fine sand was below it!!) So, you always have to test--with Mother Nature, you just don't know what titanic events she was toying with on any given day.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[SushiDog]

Okay....this last explanation was really good Lanny, and I am glad you shared this experience with me....I learned a lot from your last post, and I hope to learn more.....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Halito Lanny,

"So, you always have to test--with Mother Nature, you just don't know what titanic events she was toying with on any given day".

Now those are words of wisdom that everyone who dredges or prospects should really pay heed to!!

I had moved my 5" T.E. to an area I'd never tried before. A few cabin sized boulders and many smaller boulders that by dent of a bit of straining and a few well placed expletives, i could wrestle out of the way. Now, keep in mind, I started out in what looked like normal overburden, (what I mean be normal is, rocks, boulders and gravel.) I figured (because of the particular area,) bedrock would probably be about 3 to 5 feet down. Anyway, as I dredged, I started to opening up a pretty wide area so that, if necessary, I would be able to easily terrace it to the bedrock. BUT, about 2 foot down, I broke through a "crust" of rusted materials, (much like the streak in the picture of the cut,) and into.......well, I can't even call it sand, it was more like dust. That is to say, more fine than what we normally think of sand as being. Now, strange as it might sound, I been picking up (manually,) 1/2 to 2 gram nuggets off of the 3" layer of rusty materials.

I didn't really trust the strength of the crust since I had broken through it so easily, so I "long-armed" my suction nozzle down into the fine material and found that it was about 2 feet thick. But, under that 2' of dust, it looked just like the surface that I had started out on. And, the the area that I cleared on the (what should I call it?) underburden? Well, the part I uncovered showed absolutely no gold as far as I could shove the suction nozzle. Go figure!!

Though I have a "thing" about Keene products, you have a sweet set-up there Lanny. Now, since you have 2 air compressors, run back to town and get yourself an air operated auto-body air chisel. Sure helps get into those thin cracks.

The 5" dredge is without a doubt the only way to go. A four inch can be operated by one man, but it's s-o-o-o-o slow, while the 6" really needs 2 men to get the most out of it. Now, the 5" can be moved around and operated by one man, but can move materials fast enough to keep 2 men busy.

Congratulations on your new "toy". May your nights be mellow and your riffles always be filled with gold.

Eagle

 

[SushiDog]

So Eagle....in your opinion....based upon your experience....do you think there may be some gold in that "event layer?" I know it's probably an unfair question to ask of you because we are not there LQQKing at the area in person....what you did post about the photo's made sense, along with the post Nuggy made as well.....you have to admit that those photo's just make you want to salivate with curiosity!....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

So Eagle....in your opinion....based upon your experience....do you think there may be some gold in that "event layer?" I know it's probably an unfair question to ask of you because we are not there LQQKing at the area in person....what you did post about the photo's made sense, along with the post Nuggy made as well.....you have to admit that those photo's just make you want to salivate with curiosity!....SushiDog

Halito SushiDog, from what I can see in the picture, I'd expect to find some gold in the streak. But, based on previous experiences, (such as my post above,) I would expect that most gold would be on top of the streak, with smaller particles mixed into the top inch or so. But, as Lanny has noted; we have no idea what kind of geophysical event caused this composition. And again "But", if you look at the last photo, there is only one large piece that appears to be "water worn". And only about a half dozen gravel sized pieces. Now, scroll back up to the photo with the streak. You've probably noticed that the materials above the streak seem to have more mineralization than below the streak. That seems to denote that (along with the streak,) they were deposited at different times, and from different areas. Also, below the streak, (much like in the last photo,) rounded materials are sparse, leading back to the thought that it is mostly eluvium. Whereas the materials above the streak have quite a bit of water rounded gravels in it.

Unfortunately, I had a thought while typing the above; the cut through these materials was possibly (probably,) made by blasting and that being the case, everything I've said so far might be entirely useless rhetoric. The easiest way to check this part out is: study the vertical wall carefully, looking for horizontal scrapes, which would indicate it had been cut out with a "bulldozer". Not finding any "MIGHT" indicate that it was in fact blasted out. And if that IS the case, everything would be so broken and disturbed that all bets are off.

As far as the salivating, I'll have to plead the 5th on that!!

Eagle

 

[SushiDog]

Eagle....you have given the best explanations so far, in my opinion, and I totally agree with you....we do know a road was cut some time or another....either man made or by nature.....when you raised the blasting scenario, that never entered my mind....SushiDog

 

[nuggy]

Hi all, the following to the tune of "beat it" Wear a white glove and point to the sky and then the 5 o'clock position, with rhythm.

You see some dirt - that looks interesting,
you wonder what is contained in that thing
is it gold bearing or really quite bare
or would I just do better working over there
well Pan it - just pan it.

Take samples from the top and middle
put it in water and then jiggle jiggle
sample the bottom in more than one place
if you miss it you will feel the disgrace
then pan it- just pan it.

Keep the pan with you when you wander around
it comes in handy for testing the ground
theres gold hidden in gravel and sand
but it's far better to have in your hand
so pan it - just pan it.

Dang it - somebody showed up, so this will probably only ever have the 3 verses. Hey I can't help it it's just my sense of humor, later Nuggy

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle and Sushi--it wasn't removed by blasting, and I will do a sample, pan it out, and see what's there--if anything. I've been at this long enough to realize that sometimes, even though a formation looks stellar, in reality, it may just be a burned out dud. Great comments from both of you.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nuggy--loved your enhanced, musical poem! You've captured a lot in those lines.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[SushiDog]

Lanny....thanks for giving us a piece of the puzzle....the area in question was not blasted out....well....I guess for every question answered, many more questions arise.....the key here is the road....why? The road could have been a natural "path" that was once a waterway of some sort.....a ravine, or perhaps, a natural contour.....since I have not seen the road, I am guessing that it was cut and leveled by machinery.....here is one question that arises from this scenario: IF the road was cut and leveled by machinery, where did the cut go? Is there evidence that shows the cut was just pushed over the side? The best detective work on this Lanny was postulated by Eagle, in my opinion, and I think he is right on the mark with his analysis.....I still believe a Google Earth shot for a Topo would be the best bet right now....this Topo will give you some leads and idea's, but not necessarily give you any answers per se....I bet I could spend all day there intrigued by so many different formations.....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle and Sushi--it wasn't removed by blasting, and I will do a sample, pan it out, and see what's there--if anything. I've been at this long enough to realize that sometimes, even though a formation looks stellar, in reality, it may just be a burned out dud. Great comments from both of you.
All the best,
Lanny

Lanny, I figured out (by studying the streak,) that it wasn't blasted. Too "uniform".
I entended to come in and post that last night but got "tied up" for hours doing a coin search. Sorry.

As for the "stellar formation", I've also seen quite the opposite. An area that held absolutely no attraction for me.................. until a friends 9 year old son came running into my camp wanting to know if the 2+ pennyweight nugget he had clutched in his grimy little hand was gold.
I asked where he had found it and he led me up the side of a hill, about 3 hundred yards from the river, where he showed me the finger marks where he had "plucked" it off of the top of a gopher mound.

That tends to reinforce the old saying: "Gold is where you find it".

Eagle

 

[SushiDog]

***Eagle....although we know the road was not blasted, it could have, and then was cut by machinery to leave a nice smooth face along the rock....
***Lanny....I believe you mentioned in one of your earlier posts something about glacier activity.....one thing I learned from this is to put myself in the area as a whole, and the location.....I believe that a good possibility of that "event layer" was in fact produced by a glacier a long time ago, and that would explain the "crushed" appearance of the rift....and when the glacier was done doing its work, and melted, a stream was created, and quite possibly gold or gems were deposited there....just a hunch....SushiDog

 

[nuggy]

EYE CANDY WOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEE,

A friend and sometime employer called in today and showed me his collection of 8, recently found (over last 6 months or so) nuggets. Over two ounces in total.

The good stuff, these would be the biggest chunks in the several pounds of gold he has recovered in that period. Nuggy

 

[EagleDown]

Uh Oh!! Now you've done it my friend. I'll have to go to the Doctor now and make sure that my heart is O.K.

Thanks for sharing that awsome photo!!

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nuggy--now that's a shot that's designed to get the blood pumping this time of year! The snow's still holding on in the mountains, but it's finally warming up and hopefully, I'll get to swing the detector over some snowless ground up at in the goldfield!

Thanks Nuggy for posting the shot of those incredible pieces. Nicely done.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

While working on my writing, I came across a note I'd made on a panning session with a greenie one day.

I find that too many people don't respect bedrock's ability to hold gold. Especially what appears to be bare bedrock.

Not long ago I had a cheechako out with me--he wanted to learn to hunt for gold. He'd studied up on the basics of panning; he'd read a lot of books and articles on the subject; he'd seen some videos on techniques and practices; he was ready to tear up the hills to get some gold.

Let me say that he sure got after it in a big way. He dug holes on slopes packed with river-run; he dug holes on the downstream side of boulders; he dug holes in gravel bars; he dug holes in the active stream proper as well. However, after his lengthy toils, all he was getting were little specks. He came back to me quite downhearted, almost feverless (gold feverless, that is).

After all, he'd been out to get some gold with all that learning and knowledge, and he'd expended a lot of energy, worked himself into a sweat (it was a hot summer's day), and he had very little to show for it.

I took him back to the spot on the river where I'd been with him earlier in the day when he'd set off to light the panning world on fire. While he was off settin' fires, I had stayed in that one spot. It was a place where the river had shifted course that spring, and in doing so it had exposed some nice bedrock.

The bedrock was now a foot or so above the river proper. It didn't look like much, as there was no gravel covering it (no bulk material to run), and that's why he'd left--he wanted to run material. Well, let me tell you, he certainly did run material, but now his back was sore, along with all kinds of muscles he'd wished he'd never insulted.

Anyway, I showed him about three tablespoons of material I'd gathered in my gold pan--I'd liberated it most carefully from cracks and crevices in the bedrock. It had taken quite a bit of time to get that small amount of material, I explained to him. Nonetheless, you could just tell by looking at his face that he wasn't impressed with the volume of my sample--far too mass-less for his liking it was.

Why, after all he'd read, and listened to, and watched about prospecting--his entire volume of doctrine had taught him nothing if it had not taught him to crusade until he found some good dirt! A place where you could dig, sort, screen, work and wash until you finally found what surely lay hidden within such bulk.

So, I asked him if he'd like to wait while I panned that pathetically small amount of material down. With a pessimistic shrug, he waited.

Well sir, it only took a bit of washing before things, beautiful golden things, started peeking through the accompanying black sand. And what do you know, lots and lots of fines, nice flake gold--in fact, there were pickers in there to boot!

Now, I must confess. I knew what to look for. This wasn't your garden variety bedrock, and it had been under the water for the last ten years at least (remember that the river channel had shifted). However, being under water wasn't what made it so flush with gold. Its structure was what alerted me to its possibilities. For you see, it was bedrock engineered with hundreds of perpendicular plates from two to three inches high, bedded on top of more solid bedrock. I knew that these little plates had been sluice-boxing for many years, and all I did was clean those riffles out.

Clearly--it didn't take any volume to get gold that day. It took patience, understanding, and an eye for likelihood, but not volume.

So, guess what cheechako did the rest of the day? That's right--he staked out his territory right then and there and worked that bedrock until the sun headed to bed. When he stumbled back in to camp that night he had a nice catch of sassy gold, and his very first picker--you'd have thought he'd found the Hand of Faith nugget the way he carried on around the fire.

What's the purpose of this tale? When it comes to bedrock, most people, especially beginners, don't give bedrock the respect its due. Why is that? Most prospecting books don't give it the respect it's due either--that's certainly most curious to me. And yet, it's one of the most productive places you can check if you want to get a nice little pile of the yellow metal, and often enough, a nugget or two.

Yes, it's true, you can dig holes, move big rocks, strain muscles, sweat, swear, and find gold, but for a solid shot at finding a good concentration of gold in a small area with a small amount of volume, you just can't beat good bedrock. But, it doesn't hurt if that bedrock has been doubling as a sluice-box for years either--nope--not one bit.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[SushiDog]

Lanny....as always.....thanks sooooooo much for teaching this cheechako a valuable lesson indeed!!! (smile) SushiDog

 

[SushiDog]

Question: Was it possible to pass your metal detector over this bedrock to get a signal? Or, even a good pin pointer? SushiDog