New Guy with a lots of questions

C

colddigger

Jr. Member
Jan 26, 2014
38
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Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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If everything is running right, the gold isn't going to go anywhere... That being said, I wouldn't just leave it on willy nilly for no reason either lol
 

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That looks a hell of alot better than mine. Where do you get the rubber mat and mesh from?
 

both at the local hardware store, pretty cheap, whole thing only cost about 40 bucks to put together, and that's with a couple "beer cuts" that had to be redone.... :laughing7:
 

Gaining knowledge of basic hydrology will help determine a starting point on you waterway. Placer gold is gold which has been moved from it's origin location by weather, erosion, gravity or water. In your case these deposits are known as alluvial (deposited by water movement). Eluvial gold is gold deposited by erosion or disintegration from it's primary source (anything but water, wind gravity etc.). Even though gold is heavier than water with enough hydraulic force it can be moved down stream form it's origin. When the hydraulic force needed to move each piece of gold becomes less than it's weight the gold drops out of the flow of water. Stand back and look at the whole picture. The sand or gravel bar you speak of was created in the same way. Look for anyplace on your river/creek where the water slows or eddies (swirls around an object) large boulders, tree roots, etc. You talk about working the outside bend of the river but then talk about digging in the sand bar. Usually on a bend in a creek or river the bars are on the inside of the bend where the water slows. Since water flow/pressure is ever changing the material it moves is dispersed in layers and streaks. The heavier materials (and gold) drop out according to their weight. The proverbial "Pay Streak" is what your looking for so sampling as it has been explained above is how you find one. There most likely will be many. Typically the heavier larger gold would drop out first with the lighter smaller gold further down the flow of water. But high water events such as floods caused by significant rainfall and seasonal snow melt can cause gold to be just about anywhere. Now that I've probably completely confused you...... Welcome to the T-Net, and there's nothing better to cure the "Gold Fever" than getting wet and dirty. Good Luck !
 

Hey colddigger!! Welcome to TNet from the Bayou State of Louisiana!! Sounds as if you have a good start at your craft!! You will enjoy the site and the folks here are very informative!! GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!
 

Im not going to say that didnt confuse me. LOL. I understood the placer part, but not the sand bar part. Im going to draw it and post a pic of it. Maybe I am explaining it wrong.
 

Sand can be tricky because it can be moved by both water and wind. Knowing the area and the typical weather patterns is helpful. Lets say the river your working flows west and the prevailing winds blow east. After a high water event the sand will be deposited in an area where the light material falls out of the current. Gold is heavy so it generally won't be deposited there. It will be further up stream where The bigger cobbles are. The problems arise when the wind moves the sand in the area of the cobbles. Test with a pan before you start collecting buckets. A day or two just testing with a pan can pay off big. Here is an easy way to do this considering you said your on private land. Go to the hardware store and get some of those small flags red, yellow and green. The kind used to mark sprinklers. Pan a hole and mark it. red bad, yellow ok, green good. You will start to see how gold works there and then mine.
 

15 degrees sounds a little steep. somewhere around an inch per foot is what most suggest, but its highly fungable due to other factors like water speed/pressure/classification size of your material.
I highly recommend this video by Prospectingfool on youtube for some great advice:

Nice looking setup you have there!

Of course if you want to skip classifying all together, get a Bazooka Gold Trap! :)
 

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment... Too many good sheet metal sluices out on the market to compete with, a homemade wood is nice for the person who wants to build it, but I don't know about marketability lol...
 

So you met a girl and on the 3rd date you're watching prospecting and she thinks it might be fun AND she has a river.
I think you already struck gold :thumbsup:

Welcome to T-Net
 

LMAO! Yeah, she was pretty awesome! We broke up about 3 weeks ago, but we still get along. It was a great team, but I have other spots if she doesnt let me come over. But I think she will.
Prospector70 that was a very helpful video. Thank you
 

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here.jpg gold.jpg
This is the map of the river I have been working. I finally got it to load. The sand bar with the arrow and the X is where im digging. Is that the right spot, or should I move elsewhere?
 

You should go downstream on the inside of the bend just past the second sand bar. Right on the tailing edge of that bar. IN the pic, just left of the start of your last arrow.
 

Hey Kazcoro! I didnt check that spot. I walked out on it and it was silty near the front side. The bank across from it has a layer of gravel exposed in it also. Should I test that too? You see where I am digging ( mostly because its the easiest to get to and thats where I found gold too) Why is the gold falling out there?
 

Gold is lazy, it's sits down the first chance it gets and takes the shortest route to get somewhere. Draw a line from the front side of the first inside bend straight down river through the back side of the last inside bend. In theory that will be the most likely path your gold has taken. That is the now. See the line going threw the front of the bar? Your in a glacial area correct? Get a topo map of the area or look at Google earth. Look for the bigger picture where did the river or glacier flow way back when. Once you see the path draw another line as I described above. A good starting point for sampling would be places that are the same then as now.
 

Thats really cool ! So the last sand bar the gold should be on the front corner, right? Do you think any falls into the really deep parts? With big rocks, should I dig in front or behind? Do you have an idea for a shovel that when you bring up the dirt it doesnt get washed off? Any ideas about the sandstone ledges?
 

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