Prospecting the PNW

[BoulderTroll]

The first time I picked up a pan was the summer of 2020. I was about to go on a backpacking trip in central Idaho, and I knew the place had a rock mining history. So I bought a pan, watched some videos on YouTube, and set off to learn how to do it. When I finally did see that first color in the pan, I was hooked.

It’s been a few years and I have got a little more experienced. As well as spending hundreds of dollars some pocket change on equipment ;-)
I’ve been wanting to start a journal of sorts, and figured I’d do it here. I can share my experiences with others getting started, and seek some advice from those that know way more than me.

 

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[Assembler]

Thing of the past, look up your local lapidary club….

Not completely just check them out as the people there can direct you.
The lapidary club may not be in every town.

 

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[BoulderTroll]

It was a bit early for the season, but with the stresses of work and life, I couldn't miss an opportunity to get away and spend the night in the mountains. It was still very cold at night, but very worth it.

So I packed up the truck, and took the dog up for a scouting mission. Wanted to find out how much snow was left, and how far we could get up the road. Was able to drive up further than expected, but not as far as I had hoped. Was also able to scout out a few promising looking spots to look for gold this summer.

What caught my eye was some bedrock that forces all the river through a small gap. Just downstream it widens out, and water slows down dramatically. I had found similar situations in the past that had left a nice flood layer. So question of the day:
When you're scouting a new area, what kind of things do you look for when decided where to start testing?

 

[BoulderTroll]

It's finally getting to the best months of the year, and snow decided to melt, and rivers are running high. I took advantage of some good weather, skipped work and spent a couple nights in the mountains. When I saw the river level, I decided to do more exploring than prospecting. Decided to hike up a drainage that had some exploratory work done back in the 1800's, to see if there was anything worthwhile. Collected a few samples, and more than once wondering if I'm getting to old to be doing stuff like this.
I did find the leftovers of a cabin, a handful of adits, and what I assume to be a smelter (based on the chimney and refractory bricks) and some really interesting looking rocks. Haven't crushed them up to sample yet. I don't expect much out of them based on the old reports of the area. But the primary goal of this adventure was to find a spot that my boys would have a blast camping at and exploring around, and I think I nailed that one!

 

[Oregon Viking]

Nice! Especially that rock.

 

[Assembler]

Nice! Especially that rock.

View attachment 2155054

All of the rocks could contain nice minerals / values.
Crush and pan is a good start.

 

[BoulderTroll]

All of the rocks could contain nice minerals / values.
Crush and pan is a good start.

I will be doing that when I get the time. I don't believe it's free milling, and primarily a silver producer.

There's a lot of public records on this one, especially since they had put in an application with the DMEA (Defense Minerals Exploration Administration). Which they denied, and there hasn't been any development on the property since. But all the drilling and testing didn't show enough values. But those rocks still look pretty

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

https://www.treasurenet.com/attachments/cabin-runis-jpg.2155036/

Now a dayz realtors call that a fixer-uper

 

[BoulderTroll]

Been a very busy and eventful summer! Lots of camping with my boys, hikes to explore some old mines, epic backpacking trips, and many weekends along the rivers washing pans.
Last weekend I found the best spot I have ever worked. (I know it's not a lot for some people) First sign that it was going to be good was very interesting layering of the gravel. Then I got to the packed crevice below it and started getting pans like in the photo. 5-6 of those good pans gave me the best single day total I've had by far!

Now all I can think about is getting back up there and finish cleaning the crevice.... and how many weekends can I spending the mountain before my wife gets annoyed with it?