Gold/Quartzs and a little gold

O

omnicron

Bronze Member
Jun 14, 2012
1,017
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Caldwell, Idaho
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Gold/Quartz's and a little gold

Thought I would share my first gold/quartz find. It almost got tossed as it was in the oversized material that I usually just visually search but for some reason I spent more time looking this time :)

The gold is what I found in 3 1/2 days of dredging. I was trying to get up on Wednesday morning but didn't make it till that evening. I shut down and cleaned up on Sunday around noon. I'm really happy with what I ended up recovering :)

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22 grams
 

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nice , good nugget, and very good amount man! what size dredge you run ? awesome, go ahead and quit you day job,:laughing7:hell your pics have me ready to quit mine, well just getn up and i am ready to quit mine ,lol.
 

I'm running a 4" dredge with a homebuilt 3 stage keene style sluice. No need to quit my day job as I lost it a month or so ago. This is my day job now, just wish it was closer to home but I have to drive 60 miles (1.5 hours) to get there. I have to leave my wife and 3 kids home and well I feel real bad about that. If I don't find a job by the time snow falls I don't know what i'm going to do...I'm thinking about trying the Snake River and it's flour gold being my sluice is designed for fine gold recovery...
 

very cool that you are resourceful enough to do what it takes to make a buck for your family, now that is american, hats off to you man. i respect that!
 

Damn nice work.
1000 bucks for 3 1/2 days of doing something you love.
Not gonna lie, kinda jealous.
Let me know if you need some cheap labor, u buy the plane ticket ill give you a full summers hard work for food, shelter, and a 15% cut
Lets say 1000 bucks a week, figure 52 weeks a year you should easily clear 52K which isn't great money but should pay the bills.
Here in the Midwest we dredge in the snow for a quarter of that take so don't let winter scare ya, just knock the ice off the floats once in a while.
I remember last winter I had to break 2 inches of ice to dredge. Some say its crazy but I don't think it's that bad. Get yourself a dry suit or a 7mm wetsuit and you won't care about the cold. In fact I have to stay in the water if its over 40 degrees out or I get very hot.
I guess it all depends how serious you are and how many screws you have loose.
Btw, good luck on the job search
 

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I thought about dredging in the winter at my spot BUT there is no way for me to get there after the snow flies due to over 5' of snow and I don't want to pack my dredge in piece by piece over a 1/4 mile. I already have 5 wetsuits from a vest style to full body with hood. The water is already so cold that my full body 7mm suit isn't cutting it, I had to double up with the vest below the full suit till I can get my suit heater built.

Thanks
 

If you make that heater be sure to put a filter on it. I had a clog in my first homemade heater and got burned when it let go. This last spring I invested in some 7mm bogs boots instead of the normal scuba boots. I have zip up legs on my 2 piece 7mm suit so I put the suit over top of the boots. My feet stayed toasty warm in the freezing spring run off. When it's Really cold I also wear a 3mm one piece and 3mm socks under the normal getup. Good luck the rest of the season
 

Wetsuit heaters work great when made right and cook ya like a lobster when not. Know when to hold'm and when to fold'm and walk away as hypothermia is indeed a nasty adventure. A tent with a propane heater sure helps but 5' a snow by by by-John
 

OC , there are plenty of spots on the Snake with a lot of fine gold, but it can drive you crazy trying to catch it ! Good luck
 

Hoser John said:
Wetsuit heaters work great when made right and cook ya like a lobster when not. Know when to hold'm and when to fold'm and walk away as hypothermia is indeed a nasty adventure. A tent with a propane heater sure helps but 5' a snow by by by-John
Click to expand...

I agree, to much snow when it flies! I've been researching heaters and am close to finalizing getting pieces and parts...just waiting for payment of the gold I just sold.
 

rodoconnor said:
OC , there are plenty of spots on the Snake with a lot of fine gold, but it can drive you crazy trying to catch it ! Good luck
Click to expand...

I have read that, I'm hoping that my sluice on my dredge will catch it as it is designed for fine gold recovery. Take that 22 grams I recovered, 21.5 grams was all -30's (the smallest I classify to) but I think most of what I am recovering is -50's, I'm going to buy a -50 screen and find out. I just hope that there is a location on the snake by me that I can dredge.
 

omnicron said:
I agree, to much snow when it flies! I've been researching heaters and am close to finalizing getting pieces and parts...just waiting for payment of the gold I just sold.
Click to expand...
...as hoser said ....make ya claw out of your own skin if things go bad....make sure you built it right....been there done that and its no fun....at all
 

Screeech!! #holycrap #drool #cleanmydrawers

Wow dude thats what im talking about! Thats being a BOSS. What is your your recommendation for a dredge?
 

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