gold tramp
Bronze Member
- Dec 30, 2012
- 1,379
- 2,879
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I geuss if you had a retirement $$ or a fat bank account, one could feel blessed or lucky to be mining for a living. that's if you had $$$. Heres my take as one of those lucky ones to actually have been cursed gold fever without $$ backing.
I am now in my 7th year of full time desert mining and I can tell its no party here, in fact im starting to get tired of having nothing and I have wore out everthing I own including my body, if I didn't have something to prove to some folks I would just go back to work. anyways heres a day in my life..
I dont have a season as I can work all year here if I have grounds to work.
I have to endure, winter cold, summer heat, bees, hiking up rock covered mnts, across vast areas of alluvium that affords no smooth footing for walking, and all the time one eye open for snakes, I carry my pick, shovel, rockhammer, bucket, bags, backpack, and as much water as needed for my walkin, usally 2 gals, sleeping, eating, living in the dirt n rocks.
That's my load I take in, I then have to after a few mile walk. prospect the hills, meaning I start chasing the vein digging on anything that looks good and in most cases I will muck out all old timer holes that look to have potential for some crumbs, let me remind you that its 100 + out and this is my job no worky no pay, lunch a can of beans in the hot sun with lots of flys, even if you got no bees there are always flys!
all this added to the fact I have only got 1 gram in the bottle in the last 4 weeks of digging.
lunch over its now well into 100 degrees, the bees aren't bad today im lucky its 3 miles back to the truck no trail just course alluvium and my feet hurt from walkin in already, just glad I don't have to work the 3ooo foot level on the mnt as that's where the pay zone is, today im lucky its in the foot hills.
so its blazing heat by now 2o clock got my samples only had to clean out a 4x4 foot hole today then sample the hole bottom sides.
Loaded up and back out to the rig fortunate today I think I will be back up here so I leave my shovel and my extra gal of water here, then the walk out, its 104 and 3 miles to the rig.
get back to the truck no flat tires and it starts up thank god its hot now, no AC in my truck I have 18 mile washboard dirt road to haul out. today we make it home no problems.
Now I have to crush my samples so I know where to or if I am going to dig, as im panning im hopping I got gold if not I left my tools up there for nothing and have to make a waisted trip. today we get good values, but now I have to go dig in, I will use my large back pack it hold a five gallon bucket and all my gear, and take 1 extra bucket in my hand, water n tools, this stuff I have gotten ready before dark.
today I walkin to dig, im carrying my hardrock tools 3lb hammer, chisel, big pick n water, I have a bucket up there n my shovel that I left yesterday. man I got a lot stuff to carry out, heres where I start thinkin about how much I have to carry out, made it across the alluvium and to the dig, I have to start digging right away as the heat is coming on fast today its 8oclock n 102, I spend about hour or so I have my pack bucket 2/3 full, and 2 hand buckets are a 1/3 full.
Its time to head back out by now its 104 n 11 oclock I got to get back to the rig as I am depleting my water fast, going down my legs n back are under extreme amount of weight, my ore is heavy today. and the heat is dangerous now, hiking out I have to take a break evey 15 minutes or so, As I am doing a forced march under full pack.
I make to the rig can hardly move and I still got to drive 18 miles out.
I have to test my samples make sure im still on gold, I managed to dig out a fair bit of ore so I have at least 3 trips up and back just to haul ore, in hard rock mining its about stock piling, unless you are one of the lucky ones whos mine is paying well.
so now I have stocked piled 1000 lbs of ore im ready to run, I have a ball mill, it will take me a week to batch n run my cons across the wave table, next get my gold from my concentrates n smelt end up with less than an ounce.
Then its a trip to town and the local gold shop where the guy that buys my gold a Dealer knows I mine for a living and only offers me 75% for my product today take it or leave it he says, I take it because I have no choice. I also have a small amount of placer nuggets that he beats me out of, But that's mining for a living from my first hand expierance.
Lucky, Blessed or Cursed you tell me.................
I am now in my 7th year of full time desert mining and I can tell its no party here, in fact im starting to get tired of having nothing and I have wore out everthing I own including my body, if I didn't have something to prove to some folks I would just go back to work. anyways heres a day in my life..
I dont have a season as I can work all year here if I have grounds to work.
I have to endure, winter cold, summer heat, bees, hiking up rock covered mnts, across vast areas of alluvium that affords no smooth footing for walking, and all the time one eye open for snakes, I carry my pick, shovel, rockhammer, bucket, bags, backpack, and as much water as needed for my walkin, usally 2 gals, sleeping, eating, living in the dirt n rocks.
That's my load I take in, I then have to after a few mile walk. prospect the hills, meaning I start chasing the vein digging on anything that looks good and in most cases I will muck out all old timer holes that look to have potential for some crumbs, let me remind you that its 100 + out and this is my job no worky no pay, lunch a can of beans in the hot sun with lots of flys, even if you got no bees there are always flys!
all this added to the fact I have only got 1 gram in the bottle in the last 4 weeks of digging.
lunch over its now well into 100 degrees, the bees aren't bad today im lucky its 3 miles back to the truck no trail just course alluvium and my feet hurt from walkin in already, just glad I don't have to work the 3ooo foot level on the mnt as that's where the pay zone is, today im lucky its in the foot hills.
so its blazing heat by now 2o clock got my samples only had to clean out a 4x4 foot hole today then sample the hole bottom sides.
Loaded up and back out to the rig fortunate today I think I will be back up here so I leave my shovel and my extra gal of water here, then the walk out, its 104 and 3 miles to the rig.
get back to the truck no flat tires and it starts up thank god its hot now, no AC in my truck I have 18 mile washboard dirt road to haul out. today we make it home no problems.
Now I have to crush my samples so I know where to or if I am going to dig, as im panning im hopping I got gold if not I left my tools up there for nothing and have to make a waisted trip. today we get good values, but now I have to go dig in, I will use my large back pack it hold a five gallon bucket and all my gear, and take 1 extra bucket in my hand, water n tools, this stuff I have gotten ready before dark.
today I walkin to dig, im carrying my hardrock tools 3lb hammer, chisel, big pick n water, I have a bucket up there n my shovel that I left yesterday. man I got a lot stuff to carry out, heres where I start thinkin about how much I have to carry out, made it across the alluvium and to the dig, I have to start digging right away as the heat is coming on fast today its 8oclock n 102, I spend about hour or so I have my pack bucket 2/3 full, and 2 hand buckets are a 1/3 full.
Its time to head back out by now its 104 n 11 oclock I got to get back to the rig as I am depleting my water fast, going down my legs n back are under extreme amount of weight, my ore is heavy today. and the heat is dangerous now, hiking out I have to take a break evey 15 minutes or so, As I am doing a forced march under full pack.
I make to the rig can hardly move and I still got to drive 18 miles out.
I have to test my samples make sure im still on gold, I managed to dig out a fair bit of ore so I have at least 3 trips up and back just to haul ore, in hard rock mining its about stock piling, unless you are one of the lucky ones whos mine is paying well.
so now I have stocked piled 1000 lbs of ore im ready to run, I have a ball mill, it will take me a week to batch n run my cons across the wave table, next get my gold from my concentrates n smelt end up with less than an ounce.
Then its a trip to town and the local gold shop where the guy that buys my gold a Dealer knows I mine for a living and only offers me 75% for my product today take it or leave it he says, I take it because I have no choice. I also have a small amount of placer nuggets that he beats me out of, But that's mining for a living from my first hand expierance.
Lucky, Blessed or Cursed you tell me.................
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