They have a 4" mini, I think I want a 5" mini

[Guest412]

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[Gravel Hog]

Keene was considering a 5" mini and it was in the works prior to all the crap coming down and the big struggle that has come of it.

A single 3X4 pump on your motor will be plenty for a 5" (no Y split needed) and if you don't have much in the way of fines like some of my claims (recent 19.8 DWT ) then consider shortening up a standard sluice but don't narrow it with a heavy 4" 3 stage sluice. A 20" X 40" single with a long punchplate works great. Used to chop down the old Single crash box sluice to meet our needs. Most likely will need to get the motor closer to the middle of the floats if you were to try to use the 4 piece 4" floats, not a problem with some modifying of the frame. Try to get the dredge (floats) to float level under load so and the correct sluice angle will be easier (leave room for plenty of adjustment). A 6" mini will have no problem in that creek your in and they move the material for such a small package, one of my favorate Keene models over the years. Get a winch and move everything that gets in the way.

[russau]

big dude or not, use a winch, your back will thankyou when you get tobe a old geizzer like me!

[Hoser John]

Amen Russau ol'bud,when they get as old as us they get to pay for past indiscretions aka superman syndrome John----but it was good oops still is

[russau]

Downdeep, i wish i had a stream like this one close to me! everything is in another state from me!

[2cmorau]

I moved mountains when i was 30, now i use a cum-a-long on hand-chuckers

[Hoser John]

hahahaha MORE THAN2X+++--but us oldies but goodies jus' keep on a suckn' them gravels right Russau/GH(younger but dedicated beyond comprehension)and addicted to the rush of adreneline you are a feeln' DD--- aaaaaaaa yes that righteous gold nugget gleaming up at ya from the blasted out crack as the sunlight twinkles through the water making it appear ever larger as your heart is a pumpn' a mile a minute and you can hear that roar in your ears addicted I be I thinkn' John

[Gravel Hog]

hahahaha MORE THAN2X+++--but us oldies but goodies jus' keep on a suckn' them gravels right Russau/GH(younger but dedicated beyond comprehension)and addicted to the rush of adreneline you are a feeln' DD--- aaaaaaaa yes that righteous gold nugget gleaming up at ya from the blasted out crack as the sunlight twinkles through the water making it appear ever larger as your heart is a pumpn' a mile a minute and you can hear that roar in your ears addicted I be I thinkn' John

Ain't that the truth, brother, very well said.

[GrayCloud]

Downdeep, From the photo of you next to the boulder, it looks like you should be an NFL Lineman.
Hang onto those memories, they are more valuable than the Gold.

[Goodyguy]

Downdeep, From the photo of you next to the boulder, it looks like you should be an NFL Lineman.
Hang onto those memories, they are more valuable than the Gold.

What I wanna know is, how big was the guy holding the chain ?

[2cmorau]

Downdeep, From the photo of you next to the boulder, it looks like you should be an NFL Lineman.
Hang onto those memories, they are more valuable than the Gold.

What I wanna know is, how big was the guy holding the chain ?

i was holding that, was me when i was younger

[Goodyguy]

i was holding that, was me when i was younger

Funny how sometimes we will do $1000.00 worth of work for only $1 worth of gold..........
And still be ready to go out and try our luck again.

[russau]

but thats prospecting! and then there maybe the $1.00 expenses day thatll bring in $1000. worth of gold! today thats only about 1/2 OZ.

[Goodyguy]

The only reason I was going to use a 4" 3stage was it was a proven commercially available and wouldn't take much to get a 5" flair to fit. I want the dual feed set up just for suction efficiency reasons. The six inch would be nice down there but I like the compactness of my 5" mini Idea.
winch you say! I can move any rock, almost anyways. I have some cool winch toys. one powered by a chevy 350. I have no problem moving 500lb rocks by hand underwater. I can lift that deadlifting. Im a big dude. I anticipated a good payday under the big rock in the pic but just found deep smooth bedrock. Oh well. can't win them all.

I will say It was very worthwhile moving that rock there was some good stuff under it. I know what yall mean though. plenty of days of hard labor for not much return. All part of chasing the dream though.

[Goodyguy]

Are they placer tailings or lode tailings?

Were the tailings from hydraulicing or dredging into a sluice, long tom, trommel etc. or were they from a stamp mill, ball mill etc.?
And what size are the cobbles?

A good metal detector that specializes in finding gold would be a good way to scan the piles.
Fischer gold bug, Tesoro Lobo, Whites gold master series, Minelab gold detectors, etc.

Go for the gold
GG~

[Goodyguy]

Awesome place!
You are looking at some serious work, steep hillside and really large cobbles

Definitely you will want to process the material onsite since it's close to water.
My advice would be to use a gold detector and crush all rocks that give off a signal and pan out the powder while you are there.

You can make a portable rock crusher if you don't already have one.
All you need is a steel tube welded to a plate and a length of pipe with a cap on one end to use as a ram rod.

For the over 6" dia. ore you will have to split them first.

GG~

[Goodyguy]

Yes I Do . I have the deed in hand , all the claims patented in my name everything is bought and paid for. the mine just on the other side of that massive tailings pile assayed at 1.25 oz to the ton.
heres a pic of the quartz vein.

Wow

Congratulations! Looks like you are going to be very busy for a long time
I would be happy to help you out anytime, but I'm stuck in Indiana until sometime next year.

GG~

[Goodyguy]

Dredging can be very productive, especially downhill from lode workings.
I'm not a hard rock miner but love working the creeks and streams.

Is it possible to get semi heavy equipment down to the stream, such as a small excavator or front loader?

GG~

[Goodyguy]

sure with a little work I could get an excavator down there. Firgure a grizzly, jaw crusher, and ball mill I could get through most of the tailings . Check out the other post I had gold dredging california, lot of gold from right in front of that rich mine. everything down from there is virgin ground.

That's the way to go, Less physical labor and much higher production rate.
Equipment is going to be a little costly though, but should pay for itself in no time if the values are there and it looks like they are.

If initial expense is an issue you could always start with used equipment and upgrade as necessary with some of the profits.
In your situation I would definitely shift from the hobby mode and step up into a higher production mode.

The real values are in that mine that pays 1.25 oz. to the ton
GG~

[GrayCloud]

DownDeep, There may not be a whole lot of money in it, but no telling what type of relics you may uncover on your land while prospecting/processing. Be a shame if they are lost. You may even find a gold coin or two.