Keep looking or really start diggin ?

[ALewis]

I love this forum.

Been going out in the Auburn area, Ca. NF American River area, pennyweight trail. Panning around, and running a fluid bed sluice. (Homemade, thanks to this site!)

I have been working a bar roughly 2 miles up from the bridge, my last trip I recovered 7/10's of a gram for the day. (So far my personal best

My problem is that I am always wondering what is "around the next bend". I have gone another 2 miles up river, sampling, never found much more than a few specks. So, I've been working same bar last 2, 3 trips. And, it seems to consistently produce....

Don't think I have many more trips left this Fall...Can't decide if the .6, .7 that my current spot is producing is enough to really go back and work hard, or if I should keep looking around ?

Just thought I'd seek out some suggestions....

 

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[Sick4gold]

You'll never be happy unless you can clone yourself and dig every spot.
I'm not in Cali but I think .6-.7 is a great day for a home sluice.

Every time I'm finished for the day I have the same questions... What if I dug there or moved 1/2 mile down the creek.
These questions can only be answered by time and manual labor.
Dig it all!

 

[ALewis]

Good to know is not just me !

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

How much material are you processing to achieve those numbers?

 

[rebel003]

dig all day as long as your getting gold and document the location, hours worked and amount recovered, try a new spot and repeat. after a lot of sampling you will know where to concentrate your efforts. good luck.

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

If you are recovering .6 to .7 in less than 20 or 30 buckets then park your ass and dig!!! If that .7 came from 80 buckets you are still on good ground. Keep in mind commercial operations opperate with profit at ground worth just .2 grams per 48 buckets. Id say u should dig. Get deep. The big stuff is never right on top.

 

[wingmaster]

Yep that looks good for just a day of digging to me.

 

[ALewis]

I would say my last outing I moved between 50-60 buckets, probably 1/2 way full.....

Thanks for the above comments.... Always helpful, I'm leaning towards the "Park & Dig", wondering if I can move 100 buckets....

 

[MadMarshall]

I am somewhat familiar with your worksite as I have taken Steven's trail to my worksite and then I uasually take a lesser trail back to pennyweight trail to avoid the hike tot he top of the mountain.. I am aware of acouple people working somewhat fulltime in that area.. Pennyweight gets allot of good reviews.. As far as how much gold is worth how much time and effort is up to you. For me I am never happy movin bucket after buckets for some gold. I rather find a high gold content for my dirt. And I am always looking upriver thinking the gold is way better somewhere else.. Afflicition of most prospectors!! Sampling and more sampling with put you on some decent gold.. I know for a fact that the area from Pennyweight upriver has had some very decent payday's... Sampling breaks most prospectors as is it is a lot of walking and panning and can often take forever .. Sampling for a pay area can be frustrating but well worth it if done right.. This will help you increase your gold purse.. A pennyweight a day is very reasonable for the area. Exspeacially for moving that many buckets. I can't stress sampling enough.. Take the time to sample a decent area and then I am willing to bet you will find places that average payable gold for day's weeks and I have even found a few that took up a few months of my time..


just a short walk after Pennyweight trail ends.
If you continue to walk upriver a mile or so you will run into KEEGANS CAMP he is somewhat helpful.. he was last at the American Flag site..(you will see a tattered American flag near is camp) he has been working the area for a few years now.

 

[425jesse]

Dig Dig Dig!!

 

[goldenIrishman]

If you're getting that much from what would equate to 25-30 full buckets then I'd have to say park it and dig as deep as ya can while ya can! If you can hit 40 full buckets a day you'd be pulling down roughly $1,170 for your efforts. (before expenses) That's much richer ground than the Hoffman crew was working and you don't have their kind of overhead..

 

[Fullpan]

a little clarification - Alewis states he's getting 0.7 grams a day, on a good day (his personal best). Someone above is talking 1,000s - its maybe 30 dollars last time I checked. as to looking around, my advice would be to pillage* that area and prospect new areas next spring.

* please see My Quote/Note Below
Jeff of pa

 

[DizzyDigger]

Not even a question.....

Keep on

 

[jeff of pa]

a little clarification - Alewis states he's getting 0.7 grams a day, on a good day (his personal best). Someone above is talking 1,000s - its maybe 30 dollars last time I checked. as to looking around, my advice would be to rape*( that area and prospect new areas next spring.

*Due to the word "rape" having negative & offensive connotations to some,

Please in the Future use pillage or plunder Arrrr

 

[goldenIrishman]

a little clarification - Alewis states he's getting 0.7 grams a day, on a good day (his personal best). Someone above is talking 1,000s - its maybe 30 dollars last time I checked. as to looking around, my advice would be to rape* that area and prospect new areas next spring.

* please see My Quote/Note Below
Jeff of pa

Whoops! My bad. I had read that as 7 grams not 0.7!!! I gotta start wearing my glasses while reading these posts I guess. Sorry if I got ya all excited for nothing.

 

[Fullpan]

*Due to the word "rape" having negative & offensive connotations to some,

Please in the Future use pillage or plunder Arrrr

Sorry, typed without thinking of connotations - it has been edited

 

[fowledup]

What are you after, what gives you the most satisfaction? The money from the gold, or the thrill of finding the gold? We have a "hole" that's was paying real good, now it's paying pretty good. What my partner and I do is take turns, one stays and works the hole while the other goes prospecting. When we find a "hole" that will pay better than this we'll file this one in the memory bank for later and move on. Sure feels better wondering if you should leave gold then it does wondering why you haven't found any!

 

[MadMarshall]

For me the thrill started with finding gold but that soon was lost.. The real thrill lies in the hunt for payday's.. At least for me. I find allot of satisfaction in outdoing my previous records. But that just me.. Anyway I will be hiking out tools and finishing a few places over the next week. My hike out take me pretty close to your worksite at least the one I think is you.. Maybe I stop by if I see you Usually around 4 or so I begin my hike out...Long ass walk..

 

[2cmorau]

This is great, enjoying this post i have been out with buckets, shovels, big bar,little bar, com-a-long, replaement gloves, crevice sucker, thinking i need to set up small Knaack boxs on claims rather then hike stuff in and out all the time, I have come to the conclusion i am spoiled reading all the comments above, i am sure from the comfort and years of dredging.
something i should have done long ago was prospect the claims, but, really never had the time, fulltime work, long drive left me with only holiday weekends to work the claim from previous living area, hike in the dredge 5" triple set up and go to work and when i reach bedrock "chunks", now that i am here in gold country, can't dredge so work the ground with tools and as others have pointed out i am thinking the same way and wonder should i move that boulder or break up that crack hope for a pocket of shine,
yesterday i moved six or seven half fill buckets to the river, from a spot with little over burden, somewhat close to bedrock using a #2 screen cleaning bedrock, taken my time cleaning with crevice tool, first did a test pan on the area only because i was finding lots of old iron and was surprised what one pan showed
anyway, am heading out again, same spot, thsank for the encoragement 9.5 grains for the little guy

 

[Fullpan]

Now that i'm 20 years gone from heavy-duty prospecting/dredging, I spend WAY too much time thinking about places I skimmed over - its a never-ending
quest, and I like that way.