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.

 

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[Lanny in AB]

Hey Nuggy...put a seat on top of the pump and you got one hella jet ski

That message cracked me up this morning! Nicely done.

All the best,

Lanny

 

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[Lanny in AB]

I remember once, years ago, I was detecting a shelf of bedrock that was running parallel to the river. There were lots of rocks tossed up on that shelf--grapefruit sized and larger--and so I knew that the river had cut back on that spot, made a suction eddy, and left all of those rocks high and dry, as compared to the current flow of the stream.

Well, at that time, all I had with me was a Garret Scorpion, which was a VLF machine with a low KHZ (15) circuit. It would not handle any extreme mineralization whatsoever, but on this particular shelf, the bedrock was pretty quiet. There were some encouraging signs--lots of rusty looking, clay encased material right under the rocks, tight on the bedrock.

So, I started detecting with the Scorpion. I immediately got a target. I moved the rocks to the side, scraped down into the rusty, thick material, carefully moved it around with a plastic scoop, and soon I had the target in the scoop. However, it was the tip off of an old square nail! And, it had sounded just like gold. Well, I continued hunting that stretch of bedrock, and after 30 or so tips, pieces, and entire square nails in one small section--I gave up detecting that area, and headed uphill to sniff around the entrance to an old drift mine cut far back into some boulder clay.

Luckily for me, my son came along after I'd left, prospecting that same shelf of bedrock I'd abandoned, and he liked the look of the dirt under the rocks, so he decided to pan some of the material. You could have struck me dead when he hollered at me to come down to see what he'd found.

He had panned out nice little nuggets (1/2 to 1 gram) that were scattered all along that shelf in that rusty clay layer tight against the bedrock.

He wound up with almost a quarter of an ounce of nice, coarse gold--the biggest chunk weighed in at four grams. Moreover, that did not include the flake gold he recovered, which he had in a separate glass vial.

I sure got taught a lesson that day.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[nuggy]

Hi Lanny, thanks for the kind comments - I'm hoping the washplant will progress to a recognisable item soon.


Hi Hefty - I've got a spare seat around somewhere - just need you to head on over here to be the test pilot !

Good luck guys, Nuggy.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hi Lanny, thanks for the kind comments - I'm hoping the washplant will progress to a recognisable item soon.


Hi Hefty - I've got a spare seat around somewhere - just need you to head on over here to be the test pilot !

Good luck guys, Nuggy.

I'm sure it will Nuggy, and I'm sure that Hefty would love to test out your new "Jet Ski" as well.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Hefty1]

Hi Lanny, thanks for the kind comments - I'm hoping the washplant will progress to a recognisable item soon.


Hi Hefty - I've got a spare seat around somewhere - just need you to head on over here to be the test pilot !

Good luck guys, Nuggy.

Thanks Nuggy...I will be right there.... just as soon as I find where I hid my wet suit.

 

[nuggy]

Thanks Nuggy...I will be right there.... just as soon as I find where I hid my wet suit.

(Quote from Hefty)


Hmmm - well if the bears haven't eaten it, you could try the BLM or USFS maybe, they seem to like your property.
Nuggy

 

[Hefty1]

Thanks Nuggy...I will be right there.... just as soon as I find where I hid my wet suit.

(Quote from Hefty)


Hmmm - well if the bears haven't eaten it, you could try the BLM or USFS maybe, they seem to like your property.
Nuggy

Now thats funny! Thanks Nuggy

 

[nuggy]

Glad you liked it Hefty. Myself I kinda crack up picturing a big old bear walking through the woods, a chawing on that big smelly rubber suit;
( well mine mine was kinda stinky).
Nuggy

 

[Hefty1]

Although Nuggy...I was refuring to the space suit as my wet suit to test pilot that beauty. As it might send me to the moon!!!

YAAAAAAAAAA HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[EagleDown]

Nuggy, I must say, you've built the perfect solution to those pesky gold bearing hills. Just wash them out of the way!! (lol)

Now all you need is a sluice box big enough to handle the water flow.

Very impressive! Way to go My Friend!!

Eagle

 

[nuggy]

Ok Hefty, wet suit - space suit, it's not needed - the dang thing is a stationary engine lol.

Thanks Eagle, glad you like it. That wash the hills away idea was tried a hundred years back, it works - but not so much fun for the guys downstream! Plenty of bigger, more powerful pumps around than mine though, and any sluice box over 6 feet wide will cope with the flow, and still able to recover some fine gold. I regularly drive past an operation running a 6" x 6" pump, running 205 horsepower. Their riffle table is 16 feet wide, well the flow separates into 2 tables of at 8 feet as below.
Good luck guys

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nice shot there Nuggy--good luck with your own operation when you get it running. Post some action photos when they're available.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Well, to head back to my previous story, the one that continues where I left off with my first nugget find on my buddy’s claim, I’ll fast-forward to this past summer. On a side note, it is true that I’ve detected on his claim between times, but I never got any nuggets under my coil.

So, you can imagine my trepidation when I went back there in the summer of 2012. To say I was discouraged is like saying a cougar is discouraged when it’s finally treed by a pack of Blue Ticks and Redbones after the cat’s thrown every trick at them it could, with none of the tricks working—I was that discouraged. That claim of his had me just as treed as a mountain lion.

However, I’m not the kind that surrenders or stays treed forever. So, I licked my wounds and decided it was time to get earthbound and hit the ground again.

I started early that day. I packed my gear, double-checked to make sure that both of my batteries for the 5000 were fully charged, and I made sure I had lots of drinking water, for it was a hot August summer’s day.

From my base camp on our claim, by the river, to my friend’s claim is an hour’s drive. Nevertheless, I never tire of that drive, as it’s a sensory feast for the eyes: countless acres of mountain pines, firs, birch, and aspens; monumental stretches of white-fanged, jagged alpine peaks; staccato glimpses frequently flash through the trees of pristine, crystal clear glacial-fed streams.

Moreover, there’s often sightings of large game: Moose, Elk, Black or Grizzly bear, and the ubiquitous views of White-tailed or Mule deer.

In the air, hawks and eagles are frequently seen, lazily riding the invisible summer thermal spirals. Ravens picnic on road kill; or, on lean days, they deliver throaty lectures from their lofty, pine-tipped pulpits. Furthermore, August fills the air with countless butterflies as well, all engaged in a delicate annual migratory dance.

Multitudinous squirrels and chipmunks busy themselves with ferrying pinecones back and forth across the cobble-strewn logging roads, intent on filling their winter caches.

However, the rare performances staged by Cougar or Wolverine keep the senses sharp and alert.

After viewing some of the aforementioned flora and fauna along the route, I finally arrived at the claim. The owner had been busy. He’d had a large excavator on the premises, and they’d shifted a lot of rock chasing a placer run hidden under a jumble of boulders.

I continued to his camp for the opportunity to catch up with him on his mining progress. For those of you familiar with the wise tradition of chewing the fat, this visiting ritual is a priceless part of building prospecting friendships, and it should never be taken lightly. Yes, it takes time to visit (time you could spend out there swinging a coil); however, it has been through this priceless miner’s rite that I have learned so much from the so many that have found gold before. And, if you take the time to be genuine and sincere, your intent is clearly received, and an essential dialogue begins—the dialogue of the daily and the routine, but also the dialogue of the extraordinary.

At the end of our visit, my buddy told me to head back up the trail to where the excavator was parked. He told me that they’d had good success in the pits they'd opened up; moreover, on the sides of a bank topped with a jagged section of displaced bedrock, they’d found some nice nuggets.

So, I said my farewells and went back up the trail.

I parked my little 4X4 at the end of a rough length of nasty “side trail” (you’d never want to take your pavement princess to a place like that!), and then I unloaded my gear: a 20-liter plastic pail; an assortment of pry-bars; a stout, long, lever-length bar; a long-handled shovel; a couple of gold pans, a sturdy pick; a collapsible wand with a super-magnet attached; a backpack with bug dope, lunch, water, first-aid kit, sniffer bottles, and gold vials included. I then took out my 5000, assembled it, tested it, and set off for the new diggin's.

I wish I could tell you that I'd found nuggets all over those excavations, but I can't. In fact, I couldn’t locate a single piece of gold anywhere they’d dug. And remember this—it was hot. I was sweaty, thirsty, and gritty all over, but remembering my previous experiences of similar frustation, and having learned something, I found a shady spot and took off my gear, ate some lunch, drank some water, and then had myself a brainstorming session while I relaxed.

After some reflection, it was obvious I’d seen many dig holes punctuating the pits he’d excavated. And, yes, I was finding targets, but they were all small pieces of bucket and track—the tiny pieces that drive you crazy. Nevertheless, as I looked around, I noticed a ramp built to get from one dig site to the next, and its material had not been disturbed in any way. Furthermore, none of the material on the pad had been disturbed where the excavator was parked.

Well, I knew I’d find a lot of blade and track bits on the ramp, and I certainly did! I hit a row of new trash that trended upslope for about twenty feet, with bits detected from one foot to six-inch intervals. It was boring and discouraging.

Then, I got a slightly different tone, which turned out to be nothing but bits of old square nails. Next, I dug more pieces of bucket and blade. I was ready to quit and head over to the pad the machine was parked on. However, I told myself I’d keep with it until I hit the top of the ramp. I excavated three more hits--all trash. Just before the ramp topped out, I got another signal. I stuck the wand with the super-magnet into the hole, expecting to see that hedgehog-like imitation put on by the bits of blade and track sprouting from the magnet.

Imagine my surprise when there was no display of metal quills.

I dug the wand around more vigorously, figuring I’d somehow missed the steel fragments—no contact. I waved the coil over the hole—the signal was still sweet and strong.

Now, if you’ve done this before, there are still a bunch of targets that are non-magnetic, so there’s no time to do any happy dance until all other options are exhausted—it requires careful investigation.

Therefore, isolating the target in the scoop, I proceeded to shake the scoop, settling any heavier items to the bottom. Then I waved the tip of the scoop over the coil—no signal, so I dropped that material on the coil—no response there either. I dumped that material off to the side and kept at the material in the scoop until there was only a bit of dirt left. The signal rang loud and clear each and every time I ran the remaining dirt over the coil. Next, I slid the small pile of dirt to the tip of the scoop and carefully dropped it on the coil.

Whap! Growl!!

I blew off the dirt and there it was—a sassy, golden (1.5 gram) beauty, sun-tanning itself there on my coil, in the warm August sunshine.

There’s more to this story, and one day I may get around to telling about the fun surprises Mother Nature’d prepared when I went nugget shooting on the excavator pad—when I’m able to find some more time, that is.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[trsrseeker]

Hard work and thinking outside the box led you to the gold!

 

[63bkpkr]

Lanny,
As always an interesting story with flavorful wording and another unique view of the country you play in. The photo of your
'gear' is also interesting: big bottle of Bear spray, K-Bar knife, marine grade 12 gauge (is it a Marlin), 'the green pan', pick and
a snuffer bottle all essential items. Thanks once again for the share.........63bkpkr

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hard work and thinking outside the box led you to the gold!

It was successful, and now that I think back on it, detecting the ramp and pad meant I had virgin ground to work for the other spots had been hit hard--naturally so, because they'd spend some serious coin excavating the sites.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny,
As always an interesting story with flavorful wording and another unique view of the country you play in. The photo of your
'gear' is also interesting: big bottle of Bear spray, K-Bar knife, marine grade 12 gauge (is it a Marlin), 'the green pan', pick and
a snuffer bottle all essential items. Thanks once again for the share.........63bkpkr

Hey buddy! So good to hear from you again.

Wow--you've got a good eye for the "essential" gear. That defender is the Remington Marine (exceptionally reliable)--stainless steel, then nickel-plated, complete with the synthetic stock. I can pack that baby anywhere, including have it stand guard by the river when I'm dredging or when I'm prospecting and hit a rain shower--and it's always ready to rock and roll if and when trouble shows up: heavy buckshot for the first round, then 3-inch magnum rifled-slugs, chased by some 2 3/4-inch rifled-slugs, if things ever get that far. That's the nice thing about a full-length defender--lots of round capacity.

What have you been up to lately? Any time for prospecting? If I ever get to your neck of the woods again, we'll go chase some of that sassy California yellow metal! And, if you're ever on the way up here (when the weather's favorable)--we'll tear into some hillside, channel, or bedrock and see what sassy gold Mother Nature's been hiding in the land of the chosen frozen.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Lanny,
My prospecting is down to thinking and getting ready for the coming year. One of my favorite rivers recently went from 100 cfs
to just short of 30,000 cfs in four days. With that much flow so early in the year there's bound to have been a lot of ripping and
tearing and the release of all sorts of new heavies. In my mind I've four places picked out for 2013, now lets see what is going
on with work come summer.

I've been addicted to firearms for many years, not that I own more than a dozen but I've looked at many a different type and
have a feeling about them. Yours makes a superb defense weapon out in the bush or anywhere for that matter, but with the
heavy slugs it will stop most anything the north american coninent has to throw at it. They are also reliable and therefor are
worthwhile having around.

I would be delighted to be out with you in either local!

All my best, Herb

 

[63bkpkr]

Quite a few years ago, like in the early 60's, I was doing some mountain exploring and found myself in a sizable radius between a low mountain and the next higher peak. The place was littered with Champagne bottles, the kind with large bubbles in the dark glass and with the necks having been sweated on after the main bottle had been made. Alas, all of them I saw had been broken. At the time it never dawned on me that "these boys had struck it rich" and that the place needed a LOT of new searching. While I was circling the area looking for clues I came across a monitor nozzle, the first and only one I've ever seen out there.

Years later I came across an article about the "Blue Lead" and learned that it had been found and worked in the area where I located the nozzle. Upon reading the story the internal light bulb in my head came on and I recalled noting a large swath of barren ground off to one side and further up the hill from where the miners had consumed all the Champagne, it had been hydrauliced. There are times when it seems the only thing in my head is the light bulb, , as there is so little grey matter in there it takes years before part A and part B come together to make a 'Ta Da moment'.

The nozzle has a 10.16 cm exit end, is 20.32 cm tall and weighs 6.35 kg and I remember hiking out with it around my arm and thinking nothing of it. I would guess a worker put it down in an unusual location and when it came time to pack the monitor units up to move them to the next hill the nozzle was overlooked. There are several more large hydraulicing sites further up the mountains from this location and it is possible that the equipment from this site and its miners went there, minus one 4" nozzle. The moral of this missive is that in life we come across important clues that indicate details about reality, either current or historical. To have the foresight to realize what the clues tell us as we find them can make the difference between a casual find or a tremendous one.

I wish all of us good thinking during our winter hiatus from being out in our various locations of mountains, forests, streams and the like and that we will be able to bring together all our faculties to produce a tremendous find in 2013.

63bkpkr

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hi Lanny,
My prospecting is down to thinking and getting ready for the coming year. One of my favorite rivers recently went from 100 cfs
to just short of 30,000 cfs in four days. With that much flow so early in the year there's bound to have been a lot of ripping and
tearing and the release of all sorts of new heavies. In my mind I've four places picked out for 2013, now lets see what is going
on with work come summer.

I've been addicted to firearms for many years, not that I own more than a dozen but I've looked at many a different type and
have a feeling about them. Yours makes a superb defense weapon out in the bush or anywhere for that matter, but with the
heavy slugs it will stop most anything the north american coninent has to throw at it. They are also reliable and therefor are
worthwhile having around.

I would be delighted to be out with you in either local!

All my best, Herb

Herb,

I would love to get together sometime to chase some gold with you. I read your second post about the hydraulic site littered with the champagne bottles. It's stories like that, ones where they hit a rich deposit of gold, that get my blood pumping. I wish I'd have been there with you--it sounds like a fantastic site to hit with a quality metal detector. Hydraulic mining was notorious for leaving a lot of gold behind.

That nozzle you have is a great relic, one worthy of treasuring. Nice photograph of your find by the way.

All the best,

Lanny