How do you rate 10 small flakes per shovel full?

[Jeff95531]

Well, I've been looking for gold around boulders lately...getting skunked. I don't know, wouldn't you check these out?


I decided it was time to go to a "known gold location" to get my spirits up. I should say upfront, that my previous missions of scouting locations of "known gold" have all ended before they began. Every trail and road had a closed gate.

So the other day, soon as we get off the pavement, the sign says road closed 1 mile. Why? Let's find out. Sure enough..rock slide!



So, within that mile of range, I find this! A perfect little holding pool, sluiced by mother nature.


Only problem? It was cemented gravel. My first! Great! Nothing I had on me could budge anything free. Found myself wishing I had an M-80. I got nothing and got pretty wet doing it. Found a culvert...cool! Attacked by swarms of mosquitos inside culvert. Ran!

Last spot, a 2-3 site campground right off the road. I poke at a couple larger rocks and not getting much material. Then I see a culvert coming out of the mountain, below the road...pouring out about 3 feet off the ground. When I start moving towards it, I see a little water fall with large rocks around the base of it. This is loose and I get a full shovel full and clarify it. I discover the clarifier is too big for my bucket and switch to my largest pan. As I rinse out the pan, I see a couple small pieces. I'm encouraged again.

All told, about 10 very small (1/2 the size of a pinhead each). And where are the pics of those? Since this was my first time using a snuffer bottle, ...well, I learned a lot without having much to show for it.

SO! I hope they clear that road soon. What about you? Would you go back?

 

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[southfork]

I hate panning and love to sluice I guess I like breaking the law also lol .

 

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[Lanny in AB]

Any time you're finding gold, it warrants further exploration.

It's the size of the flakes that could be the determining issue.

You'd need to run a test, let's say a ten five-gallon bucket test of material through a high-banker or a river sluice (with pieces that small, you'd have to regulate your flow very carefully, and it would take much longer to run your material than material with larger gold; you'd also have to classify it due to your lower flow rate because of the small size). After a test of that size, see what you've been able to catch, then, weigh those little bits up. That will tell you if it's worth it or not. (Factor in the time it took you to run the sample, gas used for the high-banker, hours of shoveling for the river sluice, gas used to get you there and that's it you're worried about the cost factor! If not, and it's just for fun to see what's there, you probably won't care anyway.)

How deep did you dig? If you dug deeper did the gold get bigger? How far was it to bedrock, or could you not tell?

If the gold that size is right on the surface, you need to sample layers going down to see what happens.

Watch your indicator rocks (the heavies: pyrite, galena, ironstone, hematite, etc.) and see if they get bigger as you layer down.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Jeff95531]

I have panned in that exact same location society hole? Found a fair amount of fines i dug behind the rock closest to the river

Yep Society Hole and I too found flour and fines there. It just wasn't enough for me and way too much work as I never could get to bedrock where I thought the gold should be. As you know, that area of the Smith is subject to massive flooding and IMHO, by the time it gets there, it's been ground up pretty good AND distributed in a VERY large area...too big to find good gold. But, I could be clueless too.

 

[Prospector70]

I learned this song when I was 14 years old'
I liked it better than "Mama told me not to come"

Out In The Country

Whenever I need to leave it all behind
Or feel the need to get away
I find a quiet place, far from the human race
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Whenever I feel them closing in on me
Or need a bit of room to move
When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime...

I stand alone...
Three Dog Night

On the road to shambala is still one of my all time favorites.

on topic, 10 flakes per shovel would have me calling in late for dinner. I'd see if I could get four or five hundred shovels washed through the Bazooka before dark or I keel over hehe

 

[Jeff95531]

Lanny...Have you ever written anything in detail about pyrite, galena, ironstone, hematite, etc? Like in Bedrock&Gold or prospecting tips? The more I learn the more I know how little I know. And of course it's done for fun now, but I sure would like to make it a "job" of hitting the big one someday. That's why I am now carefully mapping and making notes at Smyth Creek 2.

TYVM for dropping by and comments Lanny. Greatly appreciated!
Jeff