*****HELP I NEED HELP GOLD PROSPECTORS solving a problem********

[keepmehumblelord]

Hi everyone I am in the process of starting up a small mining operation with a backhoe loader and going to have a 10ft sluice and somehow put a 6ft box over the sluice with a grizzly. Im going to be mining in arizona so water is a issue because to get to my claim id feel safe hauling no more then 200 gallons in at a time. I am allowed a 10x10 settling pond but anything bigger then my bond permit will sky rocket. I have choosen weaver creek in arizona for my claims. I have 60 acres their and it is all in the weaver creek. Excellent ground. For some reason the old timers left the red pay layer on the sides of the old ancient river bed. gold gold gold all in their. i have sampled and its coarse and wirey gold. anyways im on here for a reason. I have till january to come up with a game plan. i am filing for a reclamation bond to use a small backhoe loader. my issues and problem to solve is this: it costs 3000 to rent a backhoe loader and thats only a 35horse machine. its 3500 for the bigger one. I have to have everything in place before i rent the machine as the cost is riduculous and i have not looked for any other investers besides my good friend who is putting up 10k with his money returned and 5k for putting up the money and a recurring 15% as long as i gold mine. The deal kinda sucks cuz 10% i would be fine with and 10k returned. Hes looking at it from a lossing point of view for his sake. Anyways thats one issue im dealing with as 15% can be a 150,000 in a million a year operation but i will be 100,000 1 year running operation approx. Of course this is a approx could be less could be more. 40 acres of my claim is all pay dirt. other claim is directly 20 acres in the main creek thats flowed over the past 100 years and been worked but not all of it. I also have red pay dirt on approx 5 acres of this claim. their is approx 5 acres of not worthy mining it and 10 acres of good massive gravel beds that have only been poked around on from the old membership club that use to own it. I have already invested all my money 7000 and i bought a 4x4 vehicle a pop up camper and a small highbanker pump generator. well with the 10k i can start and run for 1 month and then the money is out. I figured 4 grams a day would cover cost so 8 grams is the goal per day at first going then i hope to get 3 runs a day for 24 grams a day. I am allowed to dig a 12x12x12 in my permit. thats 8 yds of dirt and i can backfill after dug and move onto next hole. i figure i could do this 3 times in a day before i become efficient enought to do this 5 times. anyways the gold is all over my claim. so with 10 k i can buy all the materials needed to build a small washplant like the atv angus mckirk one. this is the issue im asking your help on. I planned on taking a harbor freight folding trailer and it folds at 2 points. the ball hitch part folds down and the 2nd section folds up as well as the 3rd section. Since you have to assemble it yourself i planned on taking one 4x4ft section and adding 2 45deg post holes to set up as the backhoes grizzly and welding 18 pieces of 1 1/2 inch steel angle giving me a 2-3 inch gap to classife the largest rocks. then the other portion of the trailer that will have wheels attached along with the front ball hitch part that i wanted to build a 5ft box like the atv and place 2in spray bars on both sides as well as top to stir up the claying red material. and then it would funnel to a 2ft or 3ft port with circular grizzly bars i would have to weld on as well. then the slucie would be 90 deg to the massive hopper box. i wish they had a in betweener like the atv and the gold hog monster hog. I will also be using monster hog matting and going to order pre fab sluice box 14 wide and 5ft long 2 of them for 10ft sluice box. I also will be using 3 100 gal rubbermaid bins to recirculate as i have not come up with a idea for a tailing pond as it is pretty darn difficult in the first place to get water out there. (maybe someone has a idea for the water?) Maybe thats why no commercial ops have been back there but the gold is there. JUst wondering if you can help me out with this issue. biggest problems is the water situation and how to efficiently run the dirt and get to my 46 yds running a day at a 1/2 gram a gold per yd material. And maybe you can point me at a better deal to get money as well. I also have a 3000 car a 2500 truck and my 1000 pop up camper as collateral in this deal we are working on. Well any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated. I know how to use the blm lr2000 very well and can tell if someone has put a location within 8 day period. So after the 60 acres are mined up it is easy to find others letting their claims go. The water issue keeps most large scale operations away. I have to run all my pay dirt at once i think otherwise intervenely running would be the water running more and more slurry stirred up. I also plan on taking a auger and hooking it up to a small motor which will fit in pvc to continue the tailing from piling up in the 100 gal containers. ANY SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS OF HOW TO DO SOMETHING LIKE IM TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.

 

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[Justbent]

I think I'm gonna be your neighbor. Got the same kinda plan starting Jan 1. I just built my wash plant, check it out. I have a 5'x 12" sluice I can add too if I need it. Got the same water issue, probably use the 10x10 pond to fill a tank we pump out of. Weaver Creek is good ground.

 

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[keepmehumblelord]

I'm gonna approach this from a different direction, based on my own experience, take it for what it's worth. Please take some time and re-evaluate your business plan. If your already questioning it listen to your gut! 9times out of 10 it's telling you what you know to be right but don't want to hear. Going for broke can be a fast track for doing just that- going broke! Take a year or two, scale it back, learn and prove the claim, let the claim provide the capital for your venture. As I see it now one trip from Murphy and your done and stuck with a lifetime of debt. Not trying to be a Debbie downer, these are words of wisdom from a man who has been in your shoes. I should finish paying of my rush decisions in another 10 years or so, then I can hopefully think of retiring. Then again this is coming from a guy in Kalifornistan who's going to pick up his new to him 4" dredge tomorrow! LOL! Can't help myself I'm an incurable optimist!

Thanks for your input. I have thought about waiting to get the machines and the money to run and just go back to my claim and work it for a few months or even a year and then take the money i make and get what i need but the problem is i can only dig a yard a day maybe 2 at most with a shovel and thats only 40 if my really on a good spot 80 a day and that doesnt cover gas costs food cost toiletry costs. Many people try doing it this way and i have done so for 6 years now. The way to go about it is just get a loan or a invester and just go for it. If there was a machine that would robotically dig for you then great otherwise digging in red dirt in az is almost like hardpack but not as hard. Gold is 1/2 gram a yd maybe even 1 gram a yd which mean if i moved even 12 yds of dirt in a day then at least 240-480 a day minus 160 running cost but of course minumum dug a day would be 24yds Minimum.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

Also three 100 gal tanks may not do the job sufficiently. Possibly you may need three 500-1000 gal tanks to run 40+ yards a day. That's equivalent to 5 yards per hour for 8 hours or 200/5 gal buckets full per hour for 8 hours. You will be surprised how fast the water gets saturated with dirt, especially when running the red stuff.
CLICK HERE:1000 gal water tank

GG~

Hey Guy yes i see what you mean about more water. The red stuff is super nasty. I wonder if the more containers you add with pipe seperating if it would settle by the end of say the 7th 100 gallon container. It seams as their would be a way to put a super micron filter on the last 100 gallon or last 2 100 gallon containers to have fresh water to recirculate for a long period of time of course the filter would have to be a simple dip rinse of the crud and clean every hour which i would be fine with.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

According to Angus Mackirk their small washplant is capable of running 5 yards per hour so your 45 yards a day is not out of the question provided you can average that over a 9 hour period.

You are correct to be concerned about having enough water to support that size operation. Does the Creek have any water in it? How close is the nearest water source? Can water be caught during a rain storm or winter snows and then be stored in your tanks? Is it possible to have a load of water delivered by tank truck? Drilling a well may be worth looking into.

GG~

Hey Guy the creek does not have water unfortuanely. Only time is in the spring with all the floods and of course i could trap water and pump during that season and stock up with 1000 gallon tanks but thats a ways away. Right now the weather is just chilly. Im sure they are soon to get snow in the moutains. Only thing is my claim is around 4 miles from octave rd south which it would take alot of snow to make any kind of difference. But i see what you are saying. I would deffintely go this route but that means i would have to hold off until it snows and melts. It would be nice to have a tanker deliver but the jeep trail is to bad for one.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

This probably a bit of a stretch seeing as to your budget, but I have often wondered if this plan would work- Set up a chain of drywashers so that the damp materials from the first runs into the second, less damp runs into the third, etc. You could run as many as needed. Usually, if the gorund is pretty damp, I run my material three times. I know this is out there, but it may get you thinking about what would work for ya.

That is a awsome awsome idea! i have always thought of side by side like 4 of them with a hopper feeding all at the same time with 4 seperate blowers but your idea is great. That would work extremely well. Only crappy thing is most gold is stuck under the large boulders and rocks and if they arent getting sprayed and the red dirt broken free lots of clumps would come out of the end of the sluice. But if a trommel or some sort was used or that Gold large wheel thing then it would break it up enough to run. As much as this would save on a headache using water. I think the gold lost ration would be kinda bad. It would work great with a cement mixer of some sort to tumble and break the material up and it would dry it as well or could probably hook up different angles and a fan of some sort to dry the material as it mixes and then dumps directly into a hopper highbanker such as the gold hog. I see what you are saying and it would work just only downfall would be the amount of material ran would be much less probably 12 yds a day because material needs to be broken up first and run through the multiple drywashers. 1 min to break up material doesnt seem long but it takes up important work hours. Could use a massive tumbler ive seen online where rocks are shoveled in with the dirt but somehow it would have to be like a Gold wheel but large enough a 16in bucket could drop dirt in it.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

No drywashing this season at Rich Hill. Way too wet.

You can get 2,500 gallons delivered where you are on the gulch. You will need that much every week or two where you are working if you plan on running that much material. Ask at the Arrowhead or at the water company on Chittenden in Congress. Build your holding and settling ponds so the water truck can get in and out easily but you can still get your material to the processing plant. Probably the best place is going to be up in the red ground on the Northeast side of your claim.

That's not "ancient river gravel" on your claim. If you look close you'll see that Weaver used to run to the west about 200 feet in that section, that was 70 years ago. This is a desert pediment deposit you are working and you won't find any ancient riverbeds. Most often the gold is in small placers and streaks only a dozen or so feet across and at different depths.

I'm curious how you came to the conclusion you will get 1/2 gram per yard? What sort of sampling have you done? Have you outlined the deposit? 12x12x12 is 64 yards not 8. A 12x12x12 hole is a deathtrap to work in in those gravels. You might want to consider going to a bigger area if you really plan on going down a full 12 foot.

The HF backhoe is not going to work for you. You really need at least a half yard bucket and enough counter weight and horsepower to dig a full bucket. Those trackhoes you see digging up Weaver are over 100,000 pounds with a 30 foot digging reach. You will need about half of that for your 12 foot hole.

Consider about 20% of your week will be setup and adjustments and add another 15% for maintenance, add in 10% getting supplies and fuel for that tiny fridge and your equipment and waiting on parts for your repairs and you will be lucky to get in much more than 4 days of digging or processing in a 7 day work week. Just the reality of mining. You can't dig and process at the same time with a one man operation so you will have to put that into your productivity equation too.

You can succeed down there. It's a pretty good area and if you work smart you can come out ahead. It sounds like you need more of a grubstake than you are working from. Consider what fowledup is telling you. I'd like to see you succeed, you've got your hat in the creek now, good luck to you.

Heavy Pans

Hey man i hear what your saying. Ive done sampling all over. last yard i did was a 1/2 gram by hand. I think you are my neighbor im pretty sure. Hat in the creek gave it away haha. Im just bouncing ideas to see what people know and have experienced so i dont go in this regretting i hadnt done this or that or did this and that or got the wrong equiptment etc. Paying 3000 is alot for the machine and 2000 to blm but the fact is you can sample in a month with that rental of 3000 and do as much sampling or more than what would happen if you did by shovel. I see going for it with the machine as A) i know theres gold there so some golds coming out and from my study it is decent gold not lucky charm stuff but enough to make a few hundred a day as to 20-40 a day. Its a risk but at the same time it would be much better of a sample then by shovel for 1 year. But keep the suggestion coming. Im taking everyone opinion into consideration so this is deffinetely helping you awsome PROSPECTORS

 

[keepmehumblelord]

I think this is and others are some very sound advice. Let the claim provdie your capital, punch one yard holes down the length of your paystreak. Chart every hole, and by the time you get your grubstake, you will have a detailed blueprint of where to mine and where not to mine so that when you put out the cash for a larger operation, you can stay on the gold. JMHO,,, good health and good hunting.

So are you saying using a smaller machine and dig 1 yard holes. Smalles machine is home depot rental for 1780 a month but they have a promo going on where you get double the time for that price so id get it essentially 890 a month which i could dig 6ft holes with. Its a Bx25 just a small loader with a smaller backhoe. WHAT DO ALL OF YOU GUYS THINK WOULD THIS BE A GOOD IDEA? I COULD STILL RUN 24 YDS A DAY WITH IT IF I WORKED 8 HOURS A DAY.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

I think I'm gonna be your neighbor. Got the same kinda plan starting Jan 1. I just built my wash plant, check it out. I have a 5'x 12" sluice I can add too if I need it. Got the same water issue, probably use the 10x10 pond to fill a tank we pump out of. Weaver Creek is good ground.

Jay hey man!!! my neighbor how crazy. That is one sweet machine. Now i see why you guys where all excited about it. What did it cost to build that. Tha is exactly what im looking for. Do you have plans for it. People would pay for those plans including me

 

[johnnysau]

What do they say, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL - .5 grams X 50 yards = $980.60. I personally would need a much better payoff for such an undertaking. Maybe the ground is
much richer, but I gotta know first.

Figured @ 1220 per ounce @ 100% purity ?

 

[kazcoro]

You guys are killing me now. I am gonna head out there in the morning. Do I bother bringing the drywasher? Or just stick to the detector? I belong to the roadrunners, and we have some claims out there.

 

[smokeythecat]

Re the tailings, ie mud, let one side of the pond down or when you're totally done, and the water has evaporated, use the machine to life the rubber out and up. It's not expensive.

 

[fowledup]

Sounds like your ____ deep into this! Is this a one man show? What is your operating experience? How about a couple of above ground pools off craigslist for holding ponds? Not the cheapos, I've seen the ones with good liners and external pipe frames go for $100-200 bucks. Pump them full this spring. Spend the time from now until then sampling, prepping, and stockpiling material to run once you have water.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

What do they say, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL - .5 grams X 50 yards = $980.60. I personally would need a much better payoff for such an undertaking. Maybe the ground is
much richer, but I gotta know first.

Figured @ 1220 per ounce @ 100% purity ?

It is possible the ground is richer but only a depth of 5 ft has been tested max since no other equiptment.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

You guys are killing me now. I am gonna head out there in the morning. Do I bother bringing the drywasher? Or just stick to the detector? I belong to the roadrunners, and we have some claims out there.

gotta bring both

 

[kazcoro]

Ill be there.

 

[keepmehumblelord]

Sounds like your ____ deep into this! Is this a one man show? What is your operating experience? How about a couple of above ground pools off craigslist for holding ponds? Not the cheapos, I've seen the ones with good liners and external pipe frames go for $100-200 bucks. Pump them full this spring. Spend the time from now until then sampling, prepping, and stockpiling material to run once you have water.

The issue is i need to process the dirt the same time stockpiling to continue moving along. I could rent one for a week and stockpile 16yds and then just bring in 250gal at a time and run the 16 yds with that. I had no problem running a 1/2 yd with 30 gallons so thats 4 yds i could run per 250 gallons of water and could make 4 seperate trips. Only issue with this is cant run a flowing system such as digging and running at the same time. Could be done. I do have one other guy ready to work if need be. Only issue is i have 4 months to pay the 10k back because the permit costs and so do a washplant/sluice set up. Plus travel and i cant just spend time now to then sampling as my last trip was my sampleing time and i know the gold is there. Weaver creek is different then most. Weaver creek gold is scattered all throughout the creek. there are certain streaks the gold travels so as the river bed but there is also gold scattered all over because it is a 600ft wide creek bed which has stockpiles of dirt that has formed over time.

 

[jair]

Hi everyone I am in the process of starting up a small mining operation with a backhoe loader and going to have a 10ft sluice and somehow put a 6ft box over the sluice with a grizzly. Im going to be mining in arizona so water is a issue because to get to my claim id feel safe hauling no more then 200 gallons in at a time. I am allowed a 10x10 settling pond but anything bigger then my bond permit will sky rocket. I have choosen weaver creek in arizona for my claims. I have 60 acres their and it is all in the weaver creek. Excellent ground. For some reason the old timers left the red pay layer on the sides of the old ancient river bed. gold gold gold all in their. i have sampled and its coarse and wirey gold. anyways im on here for a reason. I have till january to come up with a game plan. i am filing for a reclamation bond to use a small backhoe loader. my issues and problem to solve is this: it costs 3000 to rent a backhoe loader and thats only a 35horse machine. its 3500 for the bigger one. I have to have everything in place before i rent the machine as the cost is riduculous and i have not looked for any other investers besides my good friend who is putting up 10k with his money returned and 5k for putting up the money and a recurring 15% as long as i gold mine. The deal kinda sucks cuz 10% i would be fine with and 10k returned. Hes looking at it from a lossing point of view for his sake. Anyways thats one issue im dealing with as 15% can be a 150,000 in a million a year operation but i will be 100,000 1 year running operation approx. Of course this is a approx could be less could be more. 40 acres of my claim is all pay dirt. other claim is directly 20 acres in the main creek thats flowed over the past 100 years and been worked but not all of it. I also have red pay dirt on approx 5 acres of this claim. their is approx 5 acres of not worthy mining it and 10 acres of good massive gravel beds that have only been poked around on from the old membership club that use to own it. I have already invested all my money 7000 and i bought a 4x4 vehicle a pop up camper and a small highbanker pump generator. well with the 10k i can start and run for 1 month and then the money is out. I figured 4 grams a day would cover cost so 8 grams is the goal per day at first going then i hope to get 3 runs a day for 24 grams a day. I am allowed to dig a 12x12x12 in my permit. thats 8 yds of dirt and i can backfill after dug and move onto next hole. i figure i could do this 3 times in a day before i become efficient enought to do this 5 times. anyways the gold is all over my claim. so with 10 k i can buy all the materials needed to build a small washplant like the atv angus mckirk one. this is the issue im asking your help on. I planned on taking a harbor freight folding trailer and it folds at 2 points. the ball hitch part folds down and the 2nd section folds up as well as the 3rd section. Since you have to assemble it yourself i planned on taking one 4x4ft section and adding 2 45deg post holes to set up as the backhoes grizzly and welding 18 pieces of 1 1/2 inch steel angle giving me a 2-3 inch gap to classife the largest rocks. then the other portion of the trailer that will have wheels attached along with the front ball hitch part that i wanted to build a 5ft box like the atv and place 2in spray bars on both sides as well as top to stir up the claying red material. and then it would funnel to a 2ft or 3ft port with circular grizzly bars i would have to weld on as well. then the slucie would be 90 deg to the massive hopper box. i wish they had a in betweener like the atv and the gold hog monster hog. I will also be using monster hog matting and going to order pre fab sluice box 14 wide and 5ft long 2 of them for 10ft sluice box. I also will be using 3 100 gal rubbermaid bins to recirculate as i have not come up with a idea for a tailing pond as it is pretty darn difficult in the first place to get water out there. (maybe someone has a idea for the water?) Maybe thats why no commercial ops have been back there but the gold is there. JUst wondering if you can help me out with this issue. biggest problems is the water situation and how to efficiently run the dirt and get to my 46 yds running a day at a 1/2 gram a gold per yd material. And maybe you can point me at a better deal to get money as well. I also have a 3000 car a 2500 truck and my 1000 pop up camper as collateral in this deal we are working on. Well any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated. I know how to use the blm lr2000 very well and can tell if someone has put a location within 8 day period. So after the 60 acres are mined up it is easy to find others letting their claims go. The water issue keeps most large scale operations away. I have to run all my pay dirt at once i think otherwise intervenely running would be the water running more and more slurry stirred up. I also plan on taking a auger and hooking it up to a small motor which will fit in pvc to continue the tailing from piling up in the 100 gal containers. ANY SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS OF HOW TO DO SOMETHING LIKE IM TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.

Well it's good to see some one has the dream yet and willing to take the risk , remember to never think your going to get rich . If you loose it all you have to be prepared , if you make it then you've done good . The best water solution is going to be haling it most likely in 50 gallon barrels each time you go out . And the settling pond may not be I deal but your best bet fore now .
You have probably researched them . Pump farthest away if you incorporate two swells between the pump and the tailings dropping several inches below the surface it should work good . I'm in lasVegas but would not mind coming down some weekend to check out your plans and see what you got going on . I may be of some help or may not . If you would like us ( wife and I ) let use know .

 

[fowledup]

Okay, you have enough capital to run for one month, you have four months to pay your partner his initial investment of 10k. Plus you need to pay an additional 5k, plus maintain enough capital to keep operating and put enough away so you won't have to borrow in the future to keep operating. And you've bartered away 15% of the total right off the top based on a one time loan with no options for future capital. I honestly do not see your production numbers meeting your financial responsibilities. Feel free to ignore me but, please do yourself a favor and have a business attorney go over the deal and your numbers, no one here wants to watch "Goldrush Arizona".

 

[Justbent]

Jay hey man!!! my neighbor how crazy. That is one sweet machine. Now i see why you guys where all excited about it. What did it cost to build that. Tha is exactly what im looking for. Do you have plans for it. People would pay for those plans including me

This is not a machine you can build in your garage. I have a full sheet metal shop. I make drawings for everything I build but I don't generally sell the drawings, I make the stuff and most of it is for my personal use.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Weaver creek is different then most. Weaver creek gold is scattered all throughout the creek. there are certain streaks the gold travels so as the river bed but there is also gold scattered all over because it is a 600ft wide creek bed which has stockpiles of dirt that has formed over time.

This is a desert pediment placer keepmehumblelord. Weaver creek has nothing to do with where you will find gold.

Desert placers are not prospectable by using water dynamics alone. Your best gold is often on top of or on the side of benches. What little local sorting was done by Weaver "creek" has already been mined by the people who came before you. The current "creek" bed is the last place I would expect to find significant gold in that area.

The commonly held belief that you will find better gold in a wash or "creek" in the desert is the reason that there is still so much gold here. Look up to the benches to find your gold. Sampling yards can be useful but if you don't grid your search area and quantify your finds you are hunting blind. The average paying placer deposit in that area is about 60 foot x 30 foot at best. If you can't define a deposit like that you will be hunting grams instead of ounces.

Those bigger operations up Weaver creek from you are mining 8 - 14 ounces a day. They don't have better ground than you do, they just found the deposit before they dug. Until you find a placer of that quality you don't need heavy equipment or more than 5 gallons of water a day.

Find the deposit first and then figure out the most efficient way to mine it. Define how deep the gold is, what layers have the best gold, and the outside dimensions of the deposit. Figure out the best reasonable recovery method - that's going to take some experimentation. Once you know where the deposit is and the most efficient way to process it figure out how you will mine it. Miners dig holes and it's a basic fact of life that everthing that comes out of the hole has to be piled somewhere. Figure out how you can pile it and still dig without getting in your own way or moving it twice. Then and only then can you decide which equipment you need to get the gold.

I've watched for years as new desert prospectors buy equipment and attempt to find a paying deposit after they have the gear. They usually end up hoping that 1/2 gram per yard will actually pay the bills. It won't.

If you do this right you could end up with a really good season. If you keep chasing that 1/2 gram yard hoping it will get better just a little deeper or 50 foot "over there" you are likely to fail in your goal. Do the prospecting work and wait until you find the paying deposits that area is known for before putting funds into digging, moving material or processing. Follow that proven method and the last few weeks of the season could easily pay for your whole year.

It's not about how much material you move. That's an internet myth. Bigger is not always better. Some of those miners up Weaver aren't moving much material at all but they are getting ounces per day because they are only digging good material. Find the paydirt before you mine. That's the key to success!