New Member Needs Advice

[Needing_Help]

Hello. I am a new member who could use some advice from anyone on here who has mining experience. First I must explain that I am an amateur prospector. Last summer, I went to north-central New Mexico with my nephew because he wanted to look for gold. To make a long story short, we found some nuggets on and below the ground, but while moving leaves to uncover what made the metal detector beep, we found hard solid rock which has quartz and gold mixed with other minerals. I used a pick to remove some of the rock and took it to our local university. A geologist told me that it is incredibly rich gold ore, containing some copper, silver, and other metals as well. Since then, I paid for and filed a 160 acre claim for placer and lode mining. I sold the nuggets to buy a newer SUV and some tools. But, I honestly have no idea how you are supposed to mine hard rock, or how to remove the gold from the rock. The gold is soft and can even be scraped off, but I know this is not how it's done. Can someone please explain what steps I need to take? I have included a photo of one of the small pieces of the rock which has gold veins and where the quartz is. I no longer have the nuggets, but am going to collect some more next month. Any advice would be helpful.

 

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[dirtwizard]

check out the section of this forum under "hard rock mining"

the ore will need to be crushed then the gold is separated from the powdered rock. too many methods to mention but they all seem to involve water and gravity. good luck!

 

[dirtwizard]

Hard Rock Mining

 

[Needing_Help]

Thank you! I greatly appreciate it. There is running water right on the claim. I'm just hoping that it won't cost too much for heavy equipment. After I showed the nuggets and specimens to the geologist at the university, he strongly suggested that I have an expert examine the area if I plan to mine. I'm not sure how much they charge though.

 

[Terry Soloman]

It should only cost around $180,000.00 or so to get started. Good Luck!

 

[Needing_Help]

$180,000? Wow!! I didn't know it would be that expensive. I might have to stick with collecting the nuggets then. Even though there is lots of gold in the quartz veins, I'm not sure that those veins won't end only a couple of feet in. I'll probably use a pick, sledge hammer and other tools for a while and see if it continues or just stops. I'm also going to check the big stream below where we found the nuggets and these veins. Also, I now realize that I need a better metal detector. I appreciate the information guys.

 

[Needing_Help]

Here is another photo. The yellow circles show pyrite and the red circles show some of the copper. I've peeled and picked much of the gold from this particular rock and sold what I had removed. I probably should have left it the way it was, but I know to wait now. After thinking about it, I don't know if I could get any mining equipment back there into the area since I have to walk 2 miles just to get to it. It's literally in the middle of nowhere.