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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[desertgolddigger]

I tried to find a cheaper way to replace chains and only ran into problems with length. The chains I'm using now are just a hair to long and hit the bolt heads until they wear down a little. Not sure where KN buys chain and I doubt they will tell we need to just pay the price until we find out where they get there's. The chain I'm using now was cheaper but too long by just a little and is real loud until things wear down a little it was the security type off amazon. I have some truck snow chain cross links I need to cut and try. You could hard face weld across the end link to make it longer but most likely not worth the effort or cost.

Yeah, I'll keep these short chains, and use them, but I'll have to empty the mill enclosure every six or seven scoops, sift those contents, then run another five scoops plus what didn't get milled properly. The German chains are actually slightly harder than the US version.

I ordered more chains, but wrote instructions not to substitute. I'm waiting for them to ask why they can't substitute.

These chains are $16 per foot, so the cost for three 5 link sections is $32, a lot less than K&M charges.

 

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[arizau]

I've a question for those who own the K&M Krusher 11 inch electric chain mill.

I ordered chains from a security company who has these types of chains. But 3/4 of my order they substituted the German version of this sized chain. All dimensions are the same, with the exception of the length of each link, which is 1/4 inch shorter. This means the milling link is about 1/4 inch higher, and is causing my mill to fill up, and shut it down.

Is there any safe way to extend the end links? Or is there a way to use the chain, and have it work?

I lost $150 because of this company's decision to substitute, and I cannot send them back, as they were custom cut for me.

Yeah, I'll keep these short chains, and use them, but I'll have to empty the mill enclosure every six or seven scoops, sift those contents, then run another five scoops plus what didn't get milled properly. The German chains are actually slightly harder than the US version.

I ordered more chains, but wrote instructions not to substitute. I'm waiting for them to ask why they can't substitute.

These chains are $16 per foot, so the cost for three 5 link sections is $32, a lot less than K&M charges.

Maybe cut an upper link out then use a longer chain connecter to repair and extend overall length.
Good luck.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Maybe cut an upper link out then use a longer chain connecter to repair and extend overall length.
Good luck.

These are basically uncuttable. I don't have the equipment to do that. I've a Dremel Cutoff wheel, that wouldn't even nick it. I'll deal with it as I described. It's a pain, and slows thigs down, but maybe I can get some use from them.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

I tried to find a cheaper way to replace chains and only ran into problems with length. The chains I'm using now are just a hair to long and hit the bolt heads until they wear down a little. Not sure where KN buys chain and I doubt they will tell we need to just pay the price until we find out where they get there's. The chain I'm using now was cheaper but too long by just a little and is real loud until things wear down a little it was the security type off amazon. I have some truck snow chain cross links I need to cut and try. You could hard face weld across the end link to make it longer but most likely not worth the effort or cost.

For the over length, would a grinder be able to get them down enough to not beat up the interior?

 

[southfork]

For the over length, would a grinder be able to get them down enough to not beat up the interior?

The chains are hardened tough to grind they wear in after a run or two I'll just deal with it for now. But they sure pound the rock to dust.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Was out at the club claim again this morning. All totaled, I moved about 1800 pounds of dirt and rock. All that dirt and rock went to smoothing, or firming up our roads around the claim. I just can't see dumping it back in the wash where you just dug.

Results were one baby picker, 10 mini pickers, and about 40 small, but still, tweezible pieces of gold. There was some finer stuff I slurped up with the mercury ball.

This is definitely a fairly good spot. Might go Sunday, then weigh what I've accumulated over five days. Will let ya know. I nearly blew a gasket working so hard. Might have to back off to maybe only seven buckets per outing until I get more strength back. I'll try to move about the same material next outing, but if I get pooped like this morning, it's back to half a ton per day.

For those interested, I dug ten five gallon buckets, classified with a 1/4 inch screen. That means I had 28 buckets of rock, and that doesn't count about 500 pounds of rocks bigger than fist size I had to toss on the bank. Sure is hard work for such a little amount of gold, but what I'm getting is what's left from previous miners, and probably some gold washed into the wash from the hillsides.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Was out at the club claim again this morning. All totaled, I moved about 1800 pounds of dirt and rock. All that dirt and rock went to smoothing, or firming up our roads around the claim. I just can't see dumping it back in the wash where you just dug.

Results were one baby picker, 10 mini pickers, and about 40 small, but still, tweezible pieces of gold. There was some finer stuff I slurped up with the mercury ball.

This is definitely a fairly good spot. Might go Sunday, then weigh what I've accumulated over five days. Will let ya know. I nearly blew a gasket working so hard. Might have to back off to maybe only seven buckets per outing until I get more strength back. I'll try to move about the same material next outing, but if I get pooped like this morning, it's back to half a ton per day.

For those interested, I dug ten five gallon buckets, classified with a 1/4 inch screen. That means I had 28 buckets of rock, and that doesn't count about 500 pounds of rocks bigger than fist size I had to toss on the bank. Sure is hard work for such a little amount of gold, but what I'm getting is what's left from previous miners, and probably some gold washed into the wash from the hillsides.

some folk like to scrub the big ones to get anything flattened on them

 

[southfork]

Was out at the club claim again this morning. All totaled, I moved about 1800 pounds of dirt and rock. All that dirt and rock went to smoothing, or firming up our roads around the claim. I just can't see dumping it back in the wash where you just dug.

Results were one baby picker, 10 mini pickers, and about 40 small, but still, tweezible pieces of gold. There was some finer stuff I slurped up with the mercury ball.

This is definitely a fairly good spot. Might go Sunday, then weigh what I've accumulated over five days. Will let ya know. I nearly blew a gasket working so hard. Might have to back off to maybe only seven buckets per outing until I get more strength back. I'll try to move about the same material next outing, but if I get pooped like this morning, it's back to half a ton per day.

For those interested, I dug ten five gallon buckets, classified with a 1/4 inch screen. That means I had 28 buckets of rock, and that doesn't count about 500 pounds of rocks bigger than fist size I had to toss on the bank. Sure is hard work for such a little amount of gold, but what I'm getting is what's left from previous miners, and probably some gold washed into the wash from the hillsides.

Wow I need you working with us when working hard rock I never run more than a bucket start to finish per day. I wash a few more when placer mining but not much lol.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Wow I need you working with us when working hard rock I never run more than a bucket start to finish per day. I wash a few more when placer mining but not much lol.

It's definitely hard work. There's still gold on the club claim, but not a lot.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I'm too pooped to mine tomorrow, so here's what I got out of 32 buckets. 3/10 gram. Not great, but it's better than what I was getting in the same amount of buckets a few months ago, less than 1/10 gram.

I'm hoping I may find a big picker, which have averaged 1/10 gram each. They're fairly rare, with my finding only about two dozen in three years.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Still not going out placer mining. Last trip did me in, so maybe sometime this week I'll go. Maybe I'll get lucky, and find some bigger stuff.

Been working hard up at the Sky's the Limit Observatory and nature Center fixing things our visitors have made a mess of. Also refinished 12 astronomer work table that it seems no one tried to keep from deteriorating in the 2 1/2 years I was away. Did get help doing that from a local science professor from the local college with that, which I'm grateful for. Also made new Orrery barrel tops I'm hoping might last a few years out in this desert environment. I've also been grading, with a Harrow pull behind, the parking lots and driveway entrance. I'm trying to get things looking nice for the upcoming Night Sky Festival the weekend after next. It's a lot of work, but it is our biggest money maker of the year, and need to make sure the paying patrons like what they see.

Oh, I did a weigh of the gold I've collected over the years since 2003. While nothing like you guys dig up, I'm pretty happy with the 33 1/2 grams of the yellow stuff. Over 10 grams is mesh 50-70, and my 1/10 gram and larger pickers only amounted to 2 grams in 14 pieces. Sure wish I could find a biggie like Southfork just got, but most gold is the tiny stuff here in our area. I can bet the larger gold has been buried under yards of dirt and rock over the eons.

 

[russau]

My hat is off to you DGD for your efforts !I'm sure that place is a better place due to your efforts !

 

[desertgolddigger]

Got my milling chain. Seems he company didn't like my instructions about not substituting. I did get what I ordered, but it's one continuous chain. I doubt I'll be ordering from them anymore.

I read online that an angle grinder will cut steel with a diamond blade. I ordered them from Amazon, and hope it will cut this hard chain.

I just have to figure out a way to anchor both ends of the chain so I can cut a link.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Grab a link in a vice and lop it off.

 

[russau]

When I built my chain mill I used old truckers tie down chain that I found along side of the road . I cut the chain links with my angle cutter with metal cutting disc' and it worked fine ! I didn't see a need to buy any special Diamond cutting blade .

 

[desertgolddigger]

Been staying home or working up at the Observatory lately, because of our recent heatwave. Been close to 100F for over a week now.

I decided to drain my small panning, and cleanup sluice basins, so I could reprocess the sludge. In the process of lifting my cleanup sluice basin, I cracked the plastic, so I had to purchase another at Tractor Supply. This one is bigger, so It can go quite a while before needing cleanout. Big enough that I now can use a 2.5 gallon bucket to catch the material falling off the end of the sluice.

Results were quite good from that sludge. I got lots of that tiny, sticky gold. I tried repanning it, and found more, even smaller gold, but ended up dumping that material back in the catch bucket for another go through the cleanup sluice. Seems that every time I rerun the material, the gold keeps getting smaller. There were countless specks that individually are just visible with a 10X loupe.

Sometimes I wish I had a gold shaker table, but they are just too expensive for my small operation. I haven't even paid for my chain mill yet, from the rock ore gold. I'm probably up to 5 grams, or more, which I believe is only about $250 worth.

 

[russau]

I wonder your club could / would be able to afford a shaker table for it's member's use (maybe for a small fee ?) OR to other's for a higher fee ! I have heard of this being done in other area's ! I had a complete clean up set up in my back garage for people to use ,BUT it's all gone now that I can't get out doing what I love'd to do !

 

[desertgolddigger]

I wonder your club could / would be able to afford a shaker table for it's member's use (maybe for a small fee ?) OR to other's for a higher fee ! I have heard of this being done in other area's ! I had a complete clean up set up in my back garage for people to use ,BUT it's all gone now that I can't get out doing what I love'd to do !

Nope, all the claims they filed are for placer. That's what the majority that do any mining do.

A lot of them are detectorists. One or two are hard rockers, and mostly search for hard rock deposits, and mine them.

The greater majority are campers, and only go camping, and to the club meetings. Club meetings draw the most participants. I think that is because they have two raffles, one for things and equipment, and the last for gold that is raffled.

No one mines seriously. The most serious are the detectorists.

So the club really just owns placer claims where members and guests dig at campouts, and scratch out a few pieces of small gold.

I think that originally the members were into mining, but have moved more into a social thing. The few serious diggers scoured the washes very quickly with drywashers, and what remains is what I've been digging up. Once I finish, just about nothing remains, except for that 1 to 4 percent of very small gold my drywasher kicked out.

I really wish there were other active hard rock miners, but those who ARE active, mostly work by themselves. It's difficult finding gold deposits. The big ones were mined out a century ago, with mostly tiny prospects that are found now.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Question to those who do hard rock mining.

First, I've dug below the big mines on our claim. What I've found looks like a white version (melted quartz) of a lava flow. None of the previous hard rock miners on our claim seemed interested, or never found what I've uncovered in downhill depressions below the main mines.

The question is, do you think fine gold might be trapped in this lava like quartz flow, that apparently was expelled from these vertical mines when formed, or is it just not worth it. This quartz is super hard to break with a sledge hammer.

 

[russau]

yep ' I know what you mean........ I used to belong to a club of lookie lou's and few doer's ! That club folded !