M-3 GoldenIrishmans Monsoon Mining Thread

goldenIrishman said:
Good point Hefty. At most I'd be running about 30-40 yards a day. This is of course provided I have good access to water. I may have to,scale it down of I don't have a way to get enough water into the site. My little Toyota and trailer can only haul so much. If I can get a site that a tanker truck can get to though.... well I'm sure you get my drift.
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Back filling as ya go of corase...should not need a POO for that.
 

goldenIrishman said:
At most I'd be running about 30-40 yards a day.
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Dayyyyummmm... that's some serious yardage for a small scale operation. Sounds like you're planning on bringing in a mini-excavator and a small wash plant. I'd definitely want to see some photos and video of that operation. That's the kinda stuff I dream about. :thumbsup:
 

azblackbird said:
Just curious... once you find claimable land and file a POO, do you think the BLM or FS will let you live on your claim?
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I think Jeff missed your previous question az. He has to drive a mile or so each way for cell/internet connections at his current spot and only does it once or so per day. Probably went to last thread posted and missed it.

Yes to living/working the claim on BLM land.
 

There is a LOT that you have to take into consideration to be able to live on a claim and not have BLM come down on you hard! Everything from trash removal to sanitary facilities. You can also only have so much ground opened up at a time. How much is up to the local BLM agent. The steeper the slope, the less they will allow. There is no set formula for this (although there should be). On flat ground it can be as much as 20 acres and on a steep slope less than one.
As far as equipment goes, I'd like a small backhoe - loader for digging and moving the dirt. I know I can do 30-40 yards a day with that. My main worry is water of course. I'll need settling pond(s) so I can reuse every drop I can and that's going to mean a set location for the wash plant. The terrain is going to determine just what I can do without having to break the bank to get the gold. I do need to make a profit after all.
 

Water would be the least of my worries. Finding available ground that hasn't already been pounded to death, and that could support a 30 - 40 yd. per day operation would be my biggest worry. :dontknow:
 

There are lots of areas that while they're too Mel,for the big boys to bother with can still be very lucrative for a smaller operation like mine. It isn't going to be a 24-7 operation. I an on taking a couple of,days a week and using them to locate other areas to claim and,work. That way when one is dome, I can move right over to the next one. All of the eggs are not going to be in one basket.
 

I had no idea the area you were in was so rich. How many ounces of gold do you figure you can get if you can run 30 to 40 yards per day?
 

The testing is showing about $75 a yard. That would,be around $3k a day for a 49 yard day if it keeps up at that rate. Only reason the big guy s aren't working it is because they're small deposits and they'd have them cleaned out in no time.
 

So you're getting roughly about 3 grams per yard, does that sound about right? Do you realistically think you can do 50 yards per day on the ground you've tested? Sorry for being so inquisitive, but you're living my dream and before I make the same move, I just want to make sure I can be realistic in my projections. Do you mind if I ask you more questions? I want to learn everything I can from somebody who is actually out in the field each day, and who are living their dreams just as I hope to do one day. I'm presuming prospecting/mining is now your full time job, would I be right in that assumption? If you don't mind me asking, how are you funding this project? Reason for asking is I'd like to kind of get an idea of what my monthly expenses might be. You're the only one that I know of who is actually out here in the deserts of AZ mining and prospecting on what I presume is a full time basis... thus the reason why I am very interested in your adventures. Most everybody else who is mining on a small-scale seems to be either in CA or AK and are usually dredgers. Arizona is my home, so I'm especially interested in "boots on the ground" reports from people here in AZ who are small-scale miners. I hope you understand. Thanks for all your efforts and good luck to you. :thumbsup:
 

I understand what you're saying Az. Seems you're not the only one living vicariously through me and my reports. I hope you understand that I have to be tight lipped with a lot of the information you're asking for. I won't divulge anything in regards to finances or locations. Lets just say that I've got income to keep me out in the field for as long as I want to be there.

I understand you wanting to do the same thing and the younger you can start, the better off you will be in the long run. Do all the research you can and then do some more! Certain people on here that have known me for a long time know I don't do anything without doing tons of research. Get a good understanding of geology, hydrology and lots of experiance before you even consider going full time like I have. Be sure you have income set up to keep you going no matter what happens. Get the best gear you can afford and be prepared for just about anything. Try to travel light as possible.

There is of course a LOT more bit I'm on a phone doing this and my eyes are starting to cross..... Oh... my expense for a month here varies between $300 to $500. It all depends on how much fuel you go through, how much you eat etc etc etc... do get a BBQ propane bottle and the adaptor hose to hook up your stove! For the price of a pair of two packs of Coleman propane I get the equivalent of 8 of the twin packs. Saves big bucks!!! I keep,an pair of the Coleman cylinders on hand as back up.
 

While I don't expect you to give us daily reports given your circumstances... however, I would appreciate at least a summary of your weeks activities. Things like geological conditions of the areas you're prospecting, sampling reports, type of equipment you're using, etc. Those would be of interest to me without divulging any of your secrets. I'm waiting with baited breath for you to file your claim(s) so you can really give us the lowdown on how a small-scale mining operation in the AZ desert would work. Thanks for the updates and I wish you continued luck. :thumbsup:
 

Weekly reports? I don't think so here folks! There are a lot of times I don't have service and I'm not going to drive around looking for signal. Besides, I gave up weekly reports when I retired so I could do this.

I realize that some of you out there are living vicariously through me and my reports. If you are able to do this kind of work still, then you shouldn't be living it through me. Get yourself out there and have your own adventure. It makes no difference if it's for a day, a week or a lifetime, sitting there reading about someone else's efforts and adventures when you are capable of them yourself is just wrong. So get out there and "Get er done!". Those of you that can't get out to do this are of course welcome to hang out for as long as you wish.

I will pass along what information I feel won't cause any possible problems with my operation. Asking just how I'm working an area is like asking a big business how they make their product. Any methods I use are being dictated by the terrain and how much money I have on hand at the time. Right now I'm using testing type gear to locate deposits. Plain and simple I've not decided on equipment yet as I don't want to waste my money buying things that are not going to be needed.
 

goldenIrishman said:
I realize that some of you out there are living vicariously through me and my reports. If you are able to do this kind of work still, then you shouldn't be living it through me. Get yourself out there and have your own adventure.
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I'm chained to a desk until at least October. My data mining operation goes into full swing during the summer months. Every day I have to sort out the bad data from the good data and then process and massage it so it's salable to my clients. If I don't stay on top of it, then things can get out of control in a big hurry. Since my operation requires constant monitoring, that means I can't leave the house for more than a day or two at a time.

Right now you're the only game in town for those of us who dream about gold prospecting as a full time venture. Hopefully I can learn from your triumphs and mistakes, and what and how you do what you do to make a living prospecting for gold. I feel that learning from your real life adventures out in the field might help me to have a better understanding and a possible advantage of some sort before I make the jump to full time gold mining. Just little things like how you save money by using larger propane bottles is what I'm interested in and find a great help. Believe me, I'm taking notes!

I was hoping that you would be more amenable to those of us who are new to this business, and help us out more by telling us what you're are doing and why you're doing it. I'm not asking for any secrets, I'm just asking that you share your knowledge to those of us who are at a disadvantage right now and not able to do what you do. You're living the dream that many of us long after all our lives. :thumbsup:
 

goldenIrishman said:
Actually it's just a couple inches shy of 8'. Turns out that "Mule" is a rare model. One ton rating, 4 cylinder EFI with an automatic. It needs a little talc but is a great truck.
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Might be a camper shell on this side of the state that will fit it. It was on my kids Nissan when he sold it and the buyer isn't using it anymore. I'll check on it when I get a chance.
 

AZ. Its not you but I'm not going to post every single detail of my operation here on an open forum. This is because of security worries. Believe it or not there are people that surf these forums looking for information on potential victims to steal from. Don't think I'm right? Ask those that have staked claims and then bragged about it online on my to have someone back date paperwork on the same piece of ground. Ask those in the detecting section that have had a good area stripped out from under them because they opened their mouth on a forum. I am not going to give any thieves a chance to do me the same way. If I say I'm working a site in Gold Basin, I mean that I'm somewhere on that map bit I'm not going to advertise the grid cords for where I'm testing. Get my drift?

As far as helping you out goes, I'd be more than glad to. (Which way did you come in? Just kidding.) I AM an amicable person. Ask anyone on here that actually knows me. I've done all I can to help those starting out in every way I can short of digging the gold for them. I have spent years learning all I can about placer mining and to be honest, I'm still learning new things every day. Knowledge is something I have always given freely but you have to keep in mind that what works for me, may not work for someone else. Any time you have a question feel free to p.m. me and I'll tell you what I can. Just don't expect me to post a lot of the info you mentioned in an open forum.
 

goldenIrishman said:
The testing is showing about $75 a yard. That would,be around $3k a day for a 49 yard day if it keeps up at that rate. Only reason the big guy s aren't working it is because they're small deposits and they'd have them cleaned out in no time.
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That sounds like 2 grams/yd. If gold goes up, you do slightly better than $75; if it drops, slightly worse. If you work 4 days a week avg and only 30 yards/day, that is still $9000 a week or nearly $470K a year. If you can keep that up, you can put lots into retirement after you pay expenses.

So if you can find ground that averages about $75/yd (~2 grams/yd) to keep you going 10 years (even at the reduced yd/day and days/week), you can "retire" to less rich ground of less work and still get along just fine. Most of us work a 9-5 job for years to retire to do something like you are doing now, though perhaps not as intensive as you wish to do. :)

I hope you find plenty of areas that run 2 grams / yard in areas where you can set up to work 30 yards minimum per day.
 

Thanks Dave. Oh.... wait a minute here!!! I thought I was already retired! Or was that just tired? I'm so confused!!!!!
 

Mad Machinist said:
Might be a camper shell on this side of the state that will fit it. It was on my kids Nissan when he sold it and the buyer isn't using it anymore. I'll check on it when I get a chance.
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Mad... I've got a shell on the truck already. Thanks anyway though.
 

Retired already; yeah, I know, hence the quotes. That's the irony of it. :)
 

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