Placer Claim Mined Out?

[desertgolddigger]

I belong to a local club that owns a claim. This club has had this claim for many years, and acquired it after the old timers had mined it previously, and others after they commercial outfits closed up.
I walked quite a bit of the 160 acre claim, and noted that just about every wash had been worked. Most of the surface nuggets has also been detected by those with gold detectors. In other words, this place has been picked over and over and over.
But I m a stubborn type of person, and I figured, just watching how people ram their puffer and blower drywashers, that some gold was just being blown through them. maybe not much, but some small stuff that never got a chance to settle behind the riffles.
I know many of you would never go to the effort of digging for three to four hours through the tailings in these washes. Again, I'm a bit stubborn, and anyway, I just wanted to have some fun locally, instead of driving 300 miles roundtrip to something that gives a little more for less effort.
I've spent the last three weeks, digging a few times a week along about 30 yards of wash, and have recovered just about a gram of gold. That might not seem like much, but I have only dug up 5 grams, not counting this one gram in almost 20 years out here drywashing in the desert of southern California.
As you would know, things always seem to go wrong. My gas powered blower motor decided it was time for the repair shop, and haven't heard from the shop in two weeks. So I purchased a WORX WG521 corded electric leaf blower to use with my Royal Large drywasher. I'm using a portable generator to provide the power. And it actually is working better than with my old gas powered blower. I have to run the blower on the lowest speed, or I just blow everything through the riffles. Results are very good, as I am getting gold specks so small that I will have to use the Blue bowl in order to recover them.
I'm not only getting a little gold, I'm having some fun, and I am getting a good workout. I've lost 10 pounds since I started. So things are going well.
I'm still digging test holes around the old time hard rock mines in the hope I will find where the gold has drifted downhill below these mines. So far just a couple specks here and there. I figure I just have to move laterally one way or the other before I get something better Of course, I' don't really know if the old timers stripped the hillsides. Even if they have, they apparently aren't as thorough as I am. I hope that I may be lucky and find a larger piece of gold that the old timers, previous placer miners, and detectorists have missed.
Hope everyone is having as much fun as I have been having.

 

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[Reed Lukens]

Gents, I performed another experiment. This time, after milling 12 bucket of ore, I noted that possibly 1/2 was stuff not ground to 100 mesh or smaller.

I ran this poorly ground material again, and reduced it by about 1/3rd. I ran the poorly ground material from the second run again, and reduced that by about 1/3rd again.

This fine material I panned to see if there was gold present, and was shocked when there actually was more gold in this tiny batch as compared to my average for 10 cups of finely ground material.

I can only think that dozens of buckets with sand consistency that I threw away was richer in gold than what I got with material ground on the material I panned.

I need to find some way to improve the way my material is pulverized. Apparently a chain mill isn't very efficient at grinding material down to 100 mesh and smaller. This is the size I need to get all the available gold out of the rock I haul home. I just can't believe I may be only getting less than 50 percent of the gold in this ore because of poor grinding.

Anyone know a better way to grind ore better than a chain mill?

Also, I called Mark Keene at Keene Engineering, and he spent about 20 minutes explaining Shaker Tables. He also said that for my situation, a table isn't really something I should have. He talked about the 48 inch sluice I have, and what I can do to make it work better at processing my ore. This discussion lead me to think I should toss the magnetic riffles, and the black ribbed matting, as they are rather inefficient for my purpose. He said not to install the metal riffles, but yes, install the fibrous matting and expanded metal that came with my sluice. Of course, he also mentioned the Miracle Mat, but at $295.00 for a 35x35 section of mat, that is a big ouch. Anyone heard if this mat is good?

Anyway, I've reduced my sluice to the metal frame. I need to secure the three sections that fold. Then I have to silicone all the cracks, holes and gaps in preparation for modifying it to what Mark recommended.

This is a cheaper way to process the gold ore than the shaker table, but it's still going to cost me for that mat, the two 150 gallon water troughs, and the material to create a 3 inch siphon tube that goes between the troughs.

I also have to buy Clay-be-gone. and more Finish soap.

Never knew how difficult making processing crushed ore could be with solving so many technical issues.

Yes, you don't need a shaker table for that stuff... but a small miller table is all you need -

Miller Table Recovery Gold Dust Concentrating Table - Royal Manufacturing Ind

Recovery Miller Table

www.royalmfgind.com

https://www.royalmfgind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/00130-pic-2.jpg

 

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[southfork]

This is my high-tech wash plant low buck mining company.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Yes, you don't need a shaker table for that stuff... but a small miller table is all you need -

Miller Table Recovery Gold Dust Concentrating Table - Royal Manufacturing Ind

Recovery Miller Table

www.royalmfgind.com

https://www.royalmfgind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/00130-pic-2.jpg

Reed, I have the Royal Miller Table, and I found out it's warped in the center by about 3/32 inch. This means that I can't get a proper water flow from side-to-side. I have just boxed the darn thing up, as I was so frustrated seeing gold move down the table when I had a side-to-side flow. Problem was the flow was too string because of the central warp.

I can't even use it as a finishing table, because of that warp. And no, seems they think I'm just not setting the thing up correctly. I watched their video on it, and did exactly what they said with no good results on anything but larger than 100 mesh gold.

I had a modicum of success with it, but mine isn't capable of catching the ultra fine gold. I may try again to get it tuned, but right now I consider it time consuming as compared to my panning.

 

[arizau]

Reed, I have the Royal Miller Table, and I found out it's warped in the center by about 3/32 inch. This means that I can't get a proper water flow from side-to-side. I have just boxed the darn thing up, as I was so frustrated seeing gold move down the table when I had a side-to-side flow. Problem was the flow was too string because of the central warp.

I can't even use it as a finishing table, because of that warp. And no, seems they think I'm just not setting the thing up correctly. I watched their video on it, and did exactly what they said with no good results on anything but larger than 100 mesh gold.

I had a modicum of success with it, but mine isn't capable of catching the ultra fine gold. I may try again to get it tuned, but right now I consider it time consuming as compared to my panning.

With your description and having watched part of the Royal setup video..... I'm pretty sure you are setting it up at too steep an angle/trying to use it before proper setup is achieved.
Keep notching up the end equally and you will get the desired "flat water" flow. A miller table is most efficient when almost flat.

Good luck

PS I would be inclined to start with a flat table and make angle adjustments dependent on feed size and processing speed... probably quicker as long as the waterfall is even.

 

[desertgolddigger]

With your description and having watched part of the Royal setup video..... I'm pretty sure you are setting it up at too steep an angle/trying to use it before proper setup is achieved.
Keep notching up the end equally and you will get the desired "flat water" flow. A miller table is most efficient when almost flat.

Good luck

PS I would be inclined to start with a flat table and make angle adjustments dependent on feed size and processing speed... probably quicker as long as the waterfall is even.

Arizau, I probably need some kind of electronic level. I'll see if such exist in a small enough size for the table.

 

[arizau]

Arizau, I probably need some kind of electronic level. I'll see if such exist in a small enough size for the table.

Don't bother. Any level will work if you want to use one. The video didn't did it?

 

[desertgolddigger]

Gents, I boo-boo'd. A few days ago I said I ran my chain mill material, and then ran the material I got out of. it that was larger than 80 mesh.

I wasn't thinking properly, and you probably knew I wasn't.

I failed to realize that the gold I thought I got from running that larger than 80 mesh material (99 percent was just below 80 mesh), actually wasn't the result of running it again several times, but was because that larger material didn't fit through the 80 mesh screen.

In other words, running the material several times, is a waste of time, as most of the gold was already liberated on the first pass, and I wasting my time running it multiple times, and also wearing out my chains.

I must take the "BIG DUH!!!" award for being so stupid. Again, a learning process. I just wish my brain processed things faster.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Don't bother. Any level will work if you want to use one. The video didn't did it?

It didn't, but I tend to do things backwards, unconsciously. So I need a digital level anyway, for daily tasks, like laying level concrete slabs for my chain mill when I move it out to my back-back yard.

It'll allow me to start with a flat surface, and I can make adjustments from there.

I do almost all my home repair and maintenance myself, so a new tools is always welcome.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Download the "Level App" to your phone. It's the best level around and it's free.
Like arizau said, use the Royal table and set it up almost flat. Even a warp in the center shouldn't matter because you adjust the table to the gold, . All you want is just the slightest angle in the very beginning, then you adjust it down to where the black sand starts to move, while leaving the gold in place. After that, you can steepen it a touch more, but you want the gold to barely move at the most.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I made my weekly trip to that old tailing pile to dig out more gravel. But just a little over two buckets into the tedious, time consuming process, I said enough is enough. No more gravel that only produces a thin line of near microscopic gold per bucket.

I walked around the area, trying to figure out what prospectors look for when deciding to sample a location. I just don't know what they are looking for. More colorful rock outcrops

Anyway, I was about to drive away, when I decided to peek into the pit all this gravel came out of. I looked carefully for anything that wasn't gray colored or like that. I noticed a few areas with nearly black streaks in them. I didn't have my hard rock kit, so I had to use my Paleo Pick to chop at the rocks, and pry what amounts to three fist sized rocks.

I just finished milling them. The blackish color is from iron oxides, I'm assuming, as once it hit water, everything turn rusty color.

I figured I'd struck out again, but finished with that rusty mess. I nearly dropped over whan I got a very thick line if the ultra fine gold. I sucked that up with the mercury ball, then redid the panning a second time, and got about half as much as the first. The third panning was about half as much as the second. This gold is so small, apparently it gets moved very easily with the adjacent material.

I'm going to crush the first milling tailings, as about half the material was still in the crusher when I shut it down. Then I'll redo all the material tomorrow to see if there's any more gold.

What's amazing is those three fist sized rocks produced more gold than I've been getting in a week. I'll be back out there with a sledge hammer, chisel, and crowbar to remove what looks like a few buckets of this blackish material.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Gee!! I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see if the material from the mine still had more gold in it; and it did, about like the third panning mentioned above. I put thr rest in a rock tumbler, turned to ball mill, and am running it overnight. Tomorrow will tell me if this microscopic gold was trapped in the 1/16 and larger particles.

I prepared my prospector's box for the Monday outing Hopefully I can dislodge some of the stuff I see, and maybe some that's still hidden.

 

[arizau]

I'll be back out there with a sledge hammer, chisel, and crowbar to remove what looks like a few buckets of this blackish material.

Don't forget to wear safety glasses.

Good luck.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Don't forget to wear safety glasses.

Good luck.

Yeah, I've got plastic safety goggles, and a face shield.

My problem is the stuff usually finds a way past all my safety equipment. But at least I try to use common sense, even if something always finds a way to circumvent my safety precautions.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I crushed and processed the second half of the ore I managed to remove from the mine. Again, the blackish type ore was embedded in the white rock with yellow streaks through it. And it produced even a bit more gold than yesterday. The gold is still very small with a smattering of larger specks.

When I start chopping at the rock on Monday, I'll have to take down more of the sides. Don't know how someone can work in a narrow pit less than two feet wide in the area where this good ore resides.

I browsed a video of a gentleman miner showing exposed veins on his claim. The rock is exactly what I am seeing in this pit, and the dark mineralization is very similar. At least I now know what to look. If there happens to be an exposed vein, I would be jumping up and down. I doubt my luck would be so good.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Rock crushing, and basically all processing is stopped while I move all my equipment into the back-backyard.

I just got tired of the dust on my patio next to the house, and laundry area.

Put in some pavers (recycled), and moved the crusher this morning before things heated up. Still have to install the remaining pavers along the fence to raise my ore bins off the dirt. I don't want whatever is in my dirt eating away at the metal bins.

Yesterday I finished putting together my Shelter Logic 8x8x8 framework which will go over my sluice and equipment shelving. I've got to pour six concrete footings with the j-bolts to hold it down so the wind doesn't make it sail over the fence into the neighbors yard.

Also have to build a platform for the sluice so the end can be high enough so the discharge end is over the first 110 gallon water trough. I also made the 3 inch diameter siphon tube for between the two troughs.

Probably a few more weeks of work to get it all set up so I can resume processing the rock I have on hand. I'll try to take some pictures of everything once I'm done.

 

[OldBillinUT]

I belong to a local club that owns a claim. This club has had this claim for many years, and acquired it after the old timers had mined it previously, and others after they commercial outfits closed up.
I walked quite a bit of the 160 acre claim, and noted that just about every wash had been worked. Most of the surface nuggets has also been detected by those with gold detectors. In other words, this place has been picked over and over and over.
But I m a stubborn type of person, and I figured, just watching how people ram their puffer and blower drywashers, that some gold was just being blown through them. maybe not much, but some small stuff that never got a chance to settle behind the riffles.
I know many of you would never go to the effort of digging for three to four hours through the tailings in these washes. Again, I'm a bit stubborn, and anyway, I just wanted to have some fun locally, instead of driving 300 miles roundtrip to something that gives a little more for less effort.
I've spent the last three weeks, digging a few times a week along about 30 yards of wash, and have recovered just about a gram of gold. That might not seem like much, but I have only dug up 5 grams, not counting this one gram in almost 20 years out here drywashing in the desert of southern California.
As you would know, things always seem to go wrong. My gas powered blower motor decided it was time for the repair shop, and haven't heard from the shop in two weeks. So I purchased a WORX WG521 corded electric leaf blower to use with my Royal Large drywasher. I'm using a portable generator to provide the power. And it actually is working better than with my old gas powered blower. I have to run the blower on the lowest speed, or I just blow everything through the riffles. Results are very good, as I am getting gold specks so small that I will have to use the Blue bowl in order to recover them.
I'm not only getting a little gold, I'm having some fun, and I am getting a good workout. I've lost 10 pounds since I started. So things are going well.
I'm still digging test holes around the old time hard rock mines in the hope I will find where the gold has drifted downhill below these mines. So far just a couple specks here and there. I figure I just have to move laterally one way or the other before I get something better Of course, I' don't really know if the old timers stripped the hillsides. Even if they have, they apparently aren't as thorough as I am. I hope that I may be lucky and find a larger piece of gold that the old timers, previous placer miners, and detectorists have missed.
Hope everyone is having as much fun as I have been having.

Howdy I enjoyed reading your posts. I could offer a suggestion based on my own experience with what some call "micron gold". I am a small operator working a claim that contains a healthy amount of gold that defies gravity taking an unbelieveable amount of time to settle out of water.
My first encounter with the stuff came after collecting erosion fans from the bottom or lowest elevation of pre cambrian boulder fields. All of it was dust so I ran it through a mini sluice with ribbed matting and very little angle/flow. The result was that the first 6 or 8 inches of riffles would be filled with material that looked like tan sand no metallic property visible. It's funny now but this would annoy me so I just washed it away and continued on to repeats finding nothing that resembled gold. Jump ahead 25 years and one day I am driving along and notice something that looked like turbodites. A quick dry test and there was the same stuff as before the heavy micro sand and lots of it. No wet process worked after months of numerous different tries. Making it into precious metal clay then smelting that worked but not very well. Now I screen it down to 200 mesh and direct smelt it using a soda ash/ borax flux along with bismuth as the capture metal. Use the same bismuth in sucessive batches until it gets to 45% saturation. Next cupel the prill from your cone mold then you should see a pretty yellow button. Learning the process isn't very difficult the gear isn't very costly. I learned smelting from Jason at Mount Baker Mining and Metals on Youtube. Your flux recipe may be different I hope this helps you. The pic is of an early smelted PMC try.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I was out at the distant pit mine, and waste rock tailing pile. Seems my ore acquisition of a few days ago was what the original miners missed. I found very little to chip out, maybe half a bucket.

What I thought was iron oxide in the walls was just a coating of something brownish black.

I managed a few more buckets of low grade ore from the pit.

This probably is my last visit to that area until the fall, when it's cooler, and I can actually prospect. Temperature in our area has been the mid-90's for about the past week, and it's only going to get hotter,

So I will go back to my placer mining on our club claim until the fall, working by floodlight until the crack of dawn.

I stopped by the club claim to dig some of the less than 1/4 inch rock from a mine tailing pile. I thought that maybe this smaller stuff might contain some gold. I was wrong. There was absolutely nothing, except for a few specks in the dirt that came along with those pebbles.

I've got enough low grade ore to keep me busy for some time. I figure I'll do half a bucket a day whenever I get the chance. Maybe I'll occasionally get lucky with a good half bucket now and then. There are the brownish pieces of rock that Gold Tramp says is good ore. It's just scarce.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Tailings are material from a mill or washplant. if you're finding it around a shaft, adit, or prospect hole its waste rock or hopefully highgrade.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Tailings are material from a mill or washplant. if you're finding it around a shaft, adit, or prospect hole its waste rock or hopefully highgrade.

Sorry, I don't always call things by the correct term. Just lack of experience. Most people know what I'm saying though.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I went placer mining today. Didn't do that well, but at least I got 1/20th of a gram from 10 buckets. Sometimes I get good gold, and sometimes is like today.

Tomorrow I'll be working on my setup for sluicing. I'll have to put water into the two water troughs to see if the faucet attachments are water tight. I've the feeling I'll have to silicone around the inside where the faucet sticks into the trough, and also add more wraps of pipe tape. Hopefully I can fill everything, and test, and adjust the sluice tomorrow.

I finally got the shelter framework attached at four points, so now I have to install the covering. The shelter is mainly to let me feed the sluice without having to sit out under the sun. It'll also contain quite a bit of my related equipment for processing the concentrates from the sluice.

Hopefully I'll get a few pictures to post of it all tomorrow.