In Reply to: Re: You're right Viper!! Was there ever a doubt??? ^0^
posted by Viper on June 02, 1998 at 22:24:56

Viper,

The last couple of postings, you have used a nice, chatty, useful and informal style--sounds friendly and knowledgeable--like the majority of postings on this site. I have gained some valuable information from your posts. Sharing knowledge freely, is an unselfish act--motivated only by the desire to help someone else do a little better the next time they are out prospecting. I read others posts, am greatful for the information, and take them at face value. A lot of what I know about prospecting, I owe to others. I am still trying to learn more. Thanks.

Where I prospect, we (the miners, who front the big expenses for the equipment, and I) use D7's D8's and D9's to strip boulder clay(sometimes 40+ feet thick) and overburden (sometimes only peat moss) off of ancient tertiary channels -- to get to the stream bed. Sometimes the old streams are tens of feet deep, sometimes they are shallow--two to three feet. Sometimes they are filthy rich (the sluice on the big wash plant literally runs yellow--now that's a sight you never forget!) sometimes they are barren, or the old-timers drifted in and roomed them out and beat us to it.

We use a big hi-hoe (excavator) to pile the pay dirt and a loader(five yard bucket) to transport the material to the wash plants. It's a large operation (anywhere from 800 to 1400 yards peak a day) but the people are friendly and willing to share the lessons they've learned in the last 22 years of mining and prospecting. We use a little wash plant and a bobcat loader to run tests (100 yards a day peak). I successfully prospect for them, and they teach me more about mining.

There are old prospects everywhere and I should probably get myself a better prospecting detector and get serious about checking them as thoroughly as it sounds like you have done. There is a lot of virgin ground as well. The one huge problem for detectors is the hot black bedrock in the area. Maybe your advice on a good pulse machine will prove useful. Maybe a 2100 would do well--sooner or later I hope to try one or the other due to what I have learned from others about detecting, on this site.

So to you Viper, and everyone else that provides useful, friendly information for me--thanks--and keep on posting,

Lanny in AB