PurpleGolds Gold Prospecting Journal

[mytimetoshine]

Most likely your gold is not stuck to the rocks which everyone seems to think is the case. Do a test:

Wash your larger rocks in a separate bucket and then at the end of the day. Pan that out and more often then not there is nothing. Unless your digging super hard pack I would not worry about it washing the rocks.

Also shoveling directly into the bazooka could be smart, could be dumb.. a lot of time the gravels in the water hold much less gold then dirt out of the water. So I would suggest if the pay is better out of the water. You bucket the material..

Sometimes I use bucket grizzlies. This will screen off the biggest stuff but doesn't take up any time really. That way if your hauling buckets your not just carry rocks but more of the pay.

 

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[goldenmojo]

If there is clay stuck to the smooth cobble it may hold some gold. We have areas of rough cobble here and it can hold two or three small colors on some of them. The question always becomes what is the best use of time versus take. You had a really good take and you are destined to get much more.

 

[PurpleGold]

I like the idea of cleaning the larger stones in a separate bucket and panning that at the end of the day. I really do need to know if it's a waste of time or not. I should never assume anything and always do tests and experiments to prove or disprove my theories. I do know the gold where I'm at seems concentrated in the top 8" of soil just under the cobble stones. There is no clay at this spot. It actually seems to decrease and almost completely fall off over 1' deep. This is why I assumed it could be stuck to the bottom of the large stones. But goldenmojo has hit the nail on the head as well. I will be testing things to see what the best use of my time versus what I get for the effort. Thanks for the advice.

 

[PurpleGold]

I got out to A Bar today. I ran my 30" Sniper for about 4 hours. I did not classify this time. I dug the same relative area as my last outing but this time I didn't bother going more than 8" deep. I brought out a full size pick and which made easy work of the over burden. I shoveled straight into my bucket then just slowly dumped into the zooka. I'll clean my cons tonight. I almost have a complete set of classifiers and am waiting on my 100 mesh to arrive in the mail. I'm going to start nailing down my cleanup process. I'm pretty much using kevinincolorado's cleanup method from his blog. Pics of gold to follow later....

 

[GoldpannerDave]

At the time I was thinking that the classifying was essentially washing the bigger rocks clean to make sure all the fine gold is washed off. But I think you all are right that I could move double the material and maybe more just letting the bazooka do its thing. Next time I will hand wash the bigger rocks in the bucket then toss them and run everything else through the zooka. I can't friggin wait to get back out and it may be three weeks before I get another day off.

Great idea, have a second bucket with water to wash the larger rocks in. Sounds great. More gold...sound great.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I got out to A Bar today. I ran my 30" Sniper for about 4 hours. I did not classify this time. I dug the same relative area as my last outing but this time I didn't bother going more than 8" deep. I brought out a full size pick and which made easy work of the over burden. I shoveled straight into my bucket then just slowly dumped into the zooka. I'll clean my cons tonight. I almost have a complete set of classifiers and am waiting on my 100 mesh to arrive in the mail. I'm going to start nailing down my cleanup process. I'm pretty much using kevinincolorado's cleanup method from his blog. Pics of gold to follow later....

I hope you have over twice as much as before!

 

[KevinInColorado]

I hope you have over twice as much as before!

Me too!
...and thanks for the shout out and for your trust. If you need any support with the cons processing, just ask!

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

I can hardly take the suspense Purp!! Let's see that bad Sally!!

 

[PurpleGold]

So I did not do as well as last time. Somehow I think classifying helped. I processed about the same amount of material. I felt like I spent a decent amount of time clearing the Grizzlies. My water flow may have been a bit slow. My total take yesterday was .09. I'm not satisfied with this and I'm going out again today.





I think I'm going to sample some other spots today. I'm also going to go for a bit more water into my zooka.

 

[PurpleGold]

I hope you have over twice as much as before!

I hoped so too. My methods are improving. I'm thinking the gold is where you find it so maybe I just wasn't in it as good as last time.

 

[Mountain gold]

Hey, been there done that!!! I went to Arapaho bar two weeks ago and got pretty good gold ( I don't weigh it, scales and obsessions with weight are my wife's thing, not mine) but last week I went back and dug in exactly the same place, I never classify since I got a BGT but I got significantly less gold. It seems that the gold there is supernatural and likes to relocate when you aren't looking. Just keep going but sample each time you go to find where it is at that moment, then as Kevin says "shovel faster". You are doing just fine, don't give up!!!

Mountain gold

 

[PurpleGold]

Hey, been there done that!!! I went to Arapaho bar two weeks ago and got pretty good gold ( I don't weigh it, scales and obsessions with weight are my wife's thing, not mine) but last week I went back and dug in exactly the same place, I never classify since I got a BGT but I got significantly less gold. It seems that the gold there is supernatural and likes to relocate when you aren't looking. Just keep going but sample each time you go to find where it is at that moment, then as Kevin says "shovel faster". You are doing just fine, don't give up!!!

Mountain gold

Hahah yeah it is supernatural gold

 

[PurpleGold]

PurpleGold's Gold Prospecting Journal

So I went out again yesterday due to my prior days disappointment and well I'm disappointed again. I dug deeper in the same spot to test the depth as I was thinking maybe I skimmed over it on the prior day. I spent about 4 hours and processed about the same amount. I did classify gown to 1/8" again as I like how clean and easy it is to feed. My total take was .06g
Here's a shot of my +30 mesh .


I really need to get my classifying steps down. I really make a mess in the kitchen and splash water everywhere. I'm using the 5 gal bucket size classifiers. I'm using 20, 30, 50, 70 and 100 size mesh. Anyone have any advice on how you classify your cons at home?



So little...

 

[SchoolOfHardRocks]

Even though you didnt find as much gold as you had hoped for you learned that the gold isnt any better as you dig down- thats a win! Maybe sample other areas and then drop the sluice in? Using the bgt i wouldnt classify. You may be losing a little fine gold but the more material you can dig would probably make up for your loss and then some... I personally hate classifying lol. Good luck and keep sharing

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

That's right Purp, I was in a slump too for the passed 2 weeks. Arapahoe bar is getting beat up pretty bad and most of the good ground is getting dug fast.
I do have a spot that is producing pretty well. Are you going to be around this weekend? I'll be digging both Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.
From my samples there is only 100-150' of ground that hasn't been turned over in a while. Almost ALL the rest of the panning area is beat to living crap. I'd say if the water stays low by the end of this month most all of the paystreak will be turned over.

 

[PurpleGold]

That's right Purp, I was in a slump too for the passed 2 weeks. Arapahoe bar is getting beat up pretty bad and most of the good ground is getting dug fast.
I do have a spot that is producing pretty well. Are you going to be around this weekend? I'll be digging both Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.
From my samples there is only 100-150' of ground that hasn't been turned over in a while. Almost ALL the rest of the panning area is beat to living crap. I'd say if the water stays low by the end of this month most all of the paystreak will be turned over.

Seriously, every chance I get out to A Bar its like the cobblestone bars have been lifted and moved (by human hands). I might be able to head out on Sunday.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Classifying to less than 1/4 inch to feed a bazooka is NOT a good idea. The fluid bed works best filled with a range of material from 1/4 inch down. If it's full of all finer material, you start losing fine gold

 

[GoldpannerDave]

So I went out again yesterday due to my prior days disappointment and well I'm disappointed again. I dug deeper in the same spot to test the depth as I was thinking maybe I skimmed over it on the prior day. I spent about 4 hours and processed about the same amount. I did classify gown to 1/8" again as I like how clean and easy it is to feed. My total take was .06g
Here's a shot of my +30 mesh .
[snip]

Digging deeper in Colorado creeks is often not productive. In many places the first 6, 8 or 12 inches is the best gold. Often it depends on the layer you are in. Cache Creek and the Ark River below it, look for the orangish layer. Platte River is often the grey-to-black layer. Sample the layer with a pan; if the gold appears, shovel the layer's material into your Bazooka.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Deeper at Arapahoe bar can be quite good though...just to keep you sampling!

 

[utah mason]

So I went out again yesterday due to my prior days disappointment and well I'm disappointed again. I dug deeper in the same spot to test the depth as I was thinking maybe I skimmed over it on the prior day. I spent about 4 hours and processed about the same amount. I did classify gown to 1/8" again as I like how clean and easy it is to feed. My total take was .06g
Here's a shot of my +30 mesh .
View attachment 1283643

I really need to get my classifying steps down. I really make a mess in the kitchen and splash water everywhere. I'm using the 5 gal bucket size classifiers. I'm using 20, 30, 50, 70 and 100 size mesh. Anyone have any advice on how you classify your cons at home?

View attachment 1283644

So little...

View attachment 1283645

If I'm inside classifying I put my bucket in one of those black mixing tubs from homedepot. With small clean canvas tarp under it. Other then that I just try and be extra careful.