Whats special about the blue clay?

[eureka77]

What's special about the blue clay?

I know the other post has a large amout of silver in it but is this typical of blue clay or is this just a starting place to look for precious metal cause nothing gets past it?
Anyway went to Uwharrie today instead of tomorrow and was panning and digging in one streatch of creek I found and after digging down 10-12'' 's that's all there was. I should've took pics but this stuff is BLUE! with silver to grey streaks. Dang impossible to pan. It ran the whole lenght I was in, I just went to another spot.
Was just curious

 

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[bigwater]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

If you really wanted to pan it you'd need to set it out in the sun and let it dry out, then break it apart with a hammer... but you probably won't find much in it. Generally blue clay is rich in minerals such as zinc, phosphorous, iron, silica, calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc... and your wife or girlfriend would love you for bringing it home to her to use as a facial... but you won't find much of anything you can extract out of it that will earn you a paycheck.

 

[Astrobouncer]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

Heres an article about it from the healing folk, http://www.eytonsearth.org/forum/about580.html

And a wikipedia about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_slipper_clay

It was called blue lead by prospectors in the early days because once you find this stuff, you usually find gold and silver along with it (because of when it was formed perhaps).

 

[Hoser John]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

Ancient river of gold is/has/and always will be refered to as the Blue Cut as thats the color of the ancient paylayer. Although it does not guarantee gold-just one of many MANY indicators of the possibility of gold-tons a au 2 u 2 -John

 

[eureka77]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

Thanks for the replies. If anybody's going to Uwharrie and wants to mess with this stretch of creek who has more skills then me just P.M. me and I'll give directions.

 

[AU Seeker]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

I saw your other post about how gold feels, and I just want to make sure you knew that you're not allowed to metal detect in the Uwharrie National Forest, if you are and a ranger sees you he will write you a ticket and can confiscate your detector, just a little info if in case you didn't know.

Sometimes you can find gold on top of the clay layer and sometimes under the clay layer as well.


Skip

 

[eureka77]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

Na the gold piece was a creek near Harmony. I got skunked at Uwharrie. The fella at the Trading Post told me you couldn't use a detector or anything mechanical. Good looking out though.

 

[nickinCA]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

If you find straight blue clay without any sands or gravel i doubt there would be any gold in it. I think the Blue Lead is more like "blue gravels" than clay.

 

[Goldwasher]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

i concur the "Blue Lead" as refered to locally was gravels. That pic of the big nine pounder looked to be in some blue gravel, i also have seen some of the "Blue Lead" on a claim near Placerville here.... there are several different channels running all through here some have big round rock like near the old hydrailic mines at big cut cemented gravels there too. and over by the hospital and by broadway theres layers of all qurats likeyoud see at a lanscaping supply yard all perfect white 3/4 inch or less cemented with rusty sand.......oh how my detector loves the mineralization there ive found portions of that channel from town all the way west to hwy 49.

 

[dave wiseman]

Re: What's special about the blue clay?

http://books.google.com/books?id=cp...wAg#v=onepage&q=sierra deep blue lead&f=false

 

[crazykid]

I know the other post has a large amout of silver in it but is this typical of blue clay or is this just a starting place to look for precious metal cause nothing gets past it?
Anyway went to Uwharrie today instead of tomorrow and was panning and digging in one streatch of creek I found and after digging down 10-12'' 's that's all there was. I should've took pics but this stuff is BLUE! with silver to grey streaks. Dang impossible to pan. It ran the whole lenght I was in, I just went to another spot.
Was just curious

Same thing happened to me yesterday. I moved around a bunch of rocks to dig down and started finding super blue clay.
I did my best out there to break it up and classify it. I'm going to test it in a day or two.

 

[Oakview2]

Underwater pics of blue lead

Water pics courtsey of Cougar.....

 

[Laz7777]

I've met a couple who have a claim near Oatman, Az. and they despise blue clay, it has nothing in it there and isn't water soluble.
blue clay on the S. Yuba is generally good...it's the decomposition of the blue granite and is water soluble.
the color of the clay does not really mean much except in localized areas.

the blue lead (at least up in Nevada county) means a blue rock with black specs...when they hydraulicked or drift mined, they followed these rocks, they're heavies, and they found gold with them.
they're on the S. Yuba, and a good many times I've found them on the surface and found gold below where I saw them...they aren't that common, but you'll see em.

 

[Laz7777]

here's a pic from the Washington Nugget Hoax from 2010. Jim Sanders Grill made sure to include a "blue lead rock" in his so-called find in order to further interest in selling the land. you can also see how he cemented some gravel into the "Orange Roughy Nugget" to make it look like it was his find.
BTW, the Blue Lead Mine is off of chalk bluff road along the old Emigrant Trail, which is now sr20.

 

[enamel7]

Ok, it's like this. Uwharrie is part of the slate belt in NC. It's a slick blue clay. IMO it's decomposed slate. Has nothing to do with the blue clay out west. You won't find gold in our blue clay!

 

[Golden_Crab]

Ok, it's like this. Uwharrie is part of the slate belt in NC. It's a slick blue clay. IMO it's decomposed slate. Has nothing to do with the blue clay out west. You won't find gold in our blue clay!

This.

"blue clay" has significance if you are in cali otherwise it's just blue clay. In UNF it's decomposed bedrock. I always found the best gold there within the white / cream colored clay pockets.