need some help on my numbers

[KiddoTheMiner]

so in my time prospecting(not long)
ive been trying for a goal of 2.5 grams a day
today I made it out for 3 hours and probably dug a hole 1.5 yards in size with some good gold retention in my
homemade fluid trap
so if in 8 hours I can move maybe 4.5 yards of material 2.5 grams of gold is $100/4.5 yards
I need around $22, which I have had no success finding, ive spent entire days sampling gravel bars or working material
and I haven't even got a gram in my season count, so I have to be doing something wrong
ive already come to the assumption that the general area im working doesn't have much gold and I need to move
so I guess im asking what kind of gold do I need per pan or per bucket to reach my goal
also is $22 a yard common or rare in Georgia, do I have unrealistic expectations or is $22 a minimum

any help is appreciated, heavy pans

 

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[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Math is easy, but first we need the real facts.

give the hole dimensions in all 3 directions and appropriate for the geometry. cube? pill? concave pit?

Also, you might be correct as to lack of gold, at least where you dug. Have you good reason to have chosen those locations?

Are you confident in the ability of your home made unit to retain gold?

Why not sample smaller areas and move on or over if no gold there?

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

Math is easy, but first we need the real facts.

give the hole dimensions in all 3 directions and appropriate for the geometry. cube? pill? concave pit?

Also, you might be correct as to lack of gold, at least where you dug. Have you good reason to have chosen those locations?

Are you confident in the ability of your home made unit to retain gold?

Why not sample smaller areas and move on or over if no gold there?

my hole is farily cube like I just eyeballed it at 1.5

I shoes this location by sampling the most I ever get is 2 flakes a pan if im lucky

I have a store bought sluice but my fluid trap works just as well and moves more material

my greatest problem, im 15 I have a learners permit but if I cant get mom or dad to come with me I cant drive anywhere
im confined to walking distance

 

[MadMarshall]

Patience I suspect is your only true choice.. How I wish I took such an interest in prospecting/mining when I was your age. Anyway spend your time researching your state so when you are more Mobile you have already somewhat narrowed down the field. Though my prospecting experience is all in the west I don't think 22 bucks is all that unrealistic..May take a little more work then it does here in cali but I suspect it can be done.. Anyway keep Sampling/ By now there shouldn't be a place in walking distance that hasn't been sampled. Ultimatetly it just takes time and effort and lots of disappointment... But if you weather thru it no doubt it will come much easier.. Anyway learn to read the gold you are finding.(how many..is it coarse..Flypoop..Flakes..) I suspect it my have a story to tell. Plenty of free information/books on Google Books .Plenty of free topo maps and other types. Don't worry about averaging your dirt not now its to early in the game for that CORRUPTION ..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Kiddo, I'm afraid your expectations are a bit unrealistic. Moving
4.5 cu. yds. of material in 8 hrs. by shovel would make you one
hellofa stud!

Not having a gram in your season bottle doesn't mean you're
doing anything wrong, it just means there's not a lot of bigger gold
to be had in the area. FWIW, I've been out quite a few times this year
and have probably got about a gram to show for the efforts, and
I've been chasing that yellow stuff about 3x longer than you've been
alive..lol

If you are looking for those areas with higher values, then spending
a day (or 3) test panning the areas is not a waste of time at all. Once
you find an area with better gold it'll be well worth the time spent
searching for it.

Are there any good gemstones in the material you're working? Maybe
you could supplement the gold income with some gem sales?

 

[Aufisher]

Took me a year to get my first 2.3 grams. Now I get about 0.75 grams on a good day. Hope to have half an ounce by my second year. Weekend warrior only.

 

[SLNugget]

so in my time prospecting(not long)
ive been trying for a goal of 2.5 grams a day
today I made it out for 3 hours and probably dug a hole 1.5 yards in size with some good gold retention in my
homemade fluid trap
so if in 8 hours I can move maybe 4.5 yards of material 2.5 grams of gold is $100/4.5 yards
I need around $22, which I have had no success finding, ive spent entire days sampling gravel bars or working material
and I haven't even got a gram in my season count, so I have to be doing something wrong
ive already come to the assumption that the general area im working doesn't have much gold and I need to move
so I guess im asking what kind of gold do I need per pan or per bucket to reach my goal
also is $22 a yard common or rare in Georgia, do I have unrealistic expectations or is $22 a minimum

any help is appreciated, heavy pans

Approximately 41 five gal buckets equals 1 cubic yard. That"s a good bit of work if you are classifying too.

 

[goldhog]

I have a spot in North GA I'll take you to.

Great looking creek.
Lots of black sand.

You can dig there all day and move 5 yards / tons of material.

If you find one single piece of gold..... I'll buy you dinner.
(By the way..... I own that "crappy creek".)

My point.......

You can move 50 - 100 yards (distance) in Georgia and be "off the gold".
Testing is critical before digging.
Drill.... drill..... drill....
Test... test... test....
Then record it well.

We spent 100+ hours testing our lands this winter.
Diving in the cold, punching test spots.
People always ask.... "How do you find such good gold in GA?"
I really want to just say... it's luck..... but I can't be that much of a smart butt.
So I'll educate them... if they'll listen.

Remember one thing about most of GA and many areas of the south east.
We don't have BIG WATER / rivers that move gold 100's or even 1000's of miles.
Once it breaks free from the lode / deposit, it doesn't go far.

Doc

 

[2cmorau]

I do half filled five gallon buckets, ( long walk sometimes ) and if i get 10 to 15 buckets classified with a number four ( dry material, mostly), for a half day of work. work that includes a lot of handchuckers, and winching a boulder or two, that is what i do today. Not much for some , then there be plenty whom would never be cought with a number 2 shovel, pencil maybe, not a shovel

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

I have a spot in North GA I'll take you to.

Great looking creek.
Lots of black sand.

You can dig there all day and move 5 yards / tons of material.

If you find one single piece of gold..... I'll buy you dinner.
(By the way..... I own that "crappy creek".)

My point.......

You can move 50 - 100 yards (distance) in Georgia and be "off the gold".
Testing is critical before digging.
Drill.... drill..... drill....
Test... test... test....
Then record it well.

We spent 100+ hours testing our lands this winter.
Diving in the cold, punching test spots.
People always ask.... "How do you find such good gold in GA?"
I really want to just say... it's luck..... but I can't be that much of a smart butt.
So I'll educate them... if they'll listen.

Remember one thing about most of GA and many areas of the south east.
We don't have BIG WATER / rivers that move gold 100's or even 1000's of miles.
Once it breaks free from the lode / deposit, it doesn't go far.

Doc

well I know about the deposit thing most of the gold I've been finding is very rounded for Georgia
I live on the border forsyth and Gwinnett county on the Chattahoochee river, the nearest set of major veins is in white county so I know I need to move but of course my lack of transportation, what I really needed to know was if my numbers where right, and if $22 was very feasible. thanks doc

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

Approximately 41 five gal buckets equals 1 cubic yard. That"s a good bit of work if you are classifying too.

I have a fluid trap(essentially a bazooka0 so I dont classify, ive stopped bringing it altogether

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

Kiddo, I'm afraid your expectations are a bit unrealistic. Moving
4.5 cu. yds. of material in 8 hrs. by shovel would make you one
hellofa stud!

Not having a gram in your season bottle doesn't mean you're
doing anything wrong, it just means there's not a lot of bigger gold
to be had in the area. FWIW, I've been out quite a few times this year
and have probably got about a gram to show for the efforts, and
I've been chasing that yellow stuff about 3x longer than you've been
alive..lol

If you are looking for those areas with higher values, then spending
a day (or 3) test panning the areas is not a waste of time at all. Once
you find an area with better gold it'll be well worth the time spent
searching for it.

Are there any good gemstones in the material you're working? Maybe
you could supplement the gold income with some gem sales?

on the shoveling part I am a 15 year old cross country runner so I am fairly fit and my fluid trap I don't classify
and I've noticed(not shooting you down) you been working this one gravel bar for ages, you haven't done much testing
to see where the best spots are, because your happy with any gold, not so much for me.
I am doing a lot for the fun but I do want to find a good amount of gold doing this(maybe a comparable amount working at mcdonalds)
i just like setting goals for myself, a little more competitive, your more laid back
so i think im capable of finding a much better spot

 

[DizzyDigger]

on the shoveling part I am a 15 year old cross country runner so I am fairly fit and my fluid trap I don't classify
and I've noticed(not shooting you down) you been working this one gravel bar for ages, you haven't done much testing
to see where the best spots are, because your happy with any gold, not so much for me.
I am doing a lot for the fun but I do want to find a good amount of gold doing this (maybe
a comparable amount working at mcdonalds)
i just like setting goals for myself, a little more competitive, your more laid back
so i think im capable of finding a much better spot

Whoa there....I ain't trying to slow you down one bit, so please
don't think that's what I'm sayin'. 4.5 cu. yds of rock/gravel is a
quite a pile of material, but if you can dig that in a day then
go get 'em! I wish you lived near me as I could use a partner
with that kind of endurance...

I found the Longhorn bar after quite a number of prospecting
trips, and I sampled it from one end to the other before ever
turning a shovel for production. I did the homework, and have
been mining the proceeds of that prospecting. No, it's not a
huge deposit by any means, but it is accessible to me and
is the best gold I found to work in my area.

Moreso, 99% of the gold here in my area is glacial gold, not
lode gold. What Doc is telling you is that most of the gold
you're finding in the creeks/rivers is lode gold that's been
washed into the water flow at some point. Lode gold is also
chunkier and heavier (as a rule) than this flatteranhell glacial/flood
gold. There are some spots that hold better gold in my area, but
I don't have the ability/mobility to hike into them, so, I'm happy
with what I can find.

Like 2C, I generally go for about 4-5 hrs., and with the new classifier
I can dig as many as 40 3 gal. buckets of material, classify it all
to 1/8" (8 mesh), and then sit and relax as I feed it to the Gold Cube.
All of that within a 5 hr. period. Not bad for an old man..lol

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

Whoa there....I ain't trying to slow you down one bit, so please
don't think that's what I'm sayin'. 4.5 cu. yds of rock/gravel is a
quite a pile of material, but if you can dig that in a day then
go get 'em! I wish you lived near me as I could use a partner
with that kind of endurance...

I found the Longhorn bar after quite a number of prospecting
trips, and I sampled it from one end to the other before ever
turning a shovel for production. I did the homework, and have
been mining the proceeds of that prospecting. No, it's not a
huge deposit by any means, but it is accessible to me and
is the best gold I found to work in my area.

Moreso, 99% of the gold here in my area is glacial gold, not
lode gold. What Doc is telling you is that most of the gold
you're finding in the creeks/rivers is lode gold that's been
washed into the water flow at some point. Lode gold is also
chunkier and heavier (as a rule) than this flatteranhell glacial/flood
gold. There are some spots that hold better gold in my area, but
I don't have the ability/mobility to hike into them, so, I'm happy
with what I can find.

Like 2C, I generally go for about 4-5 hrs., and with the new classifier
I can dig as many as 40 3 gal. buckets of material, classify it all
to 1/8" (8 mesh), and then sit and relax as I feed it to the Gold Cube.
All of that within a 5 hr. period. Not bad for an old man..lol

um I thought you guys had lode deposits in Washington, oh well
and I got the idea of what you where saying, thanks dizz

 

[Hoser John]

You need at LEAST $100 a day period. With food,gas,maintance and all you starve with any less. Don't care who,how or why as ya gotta profit or perish and grow old poor as the dirt you shoveled.-John

 

[KevinInColorado]

You need at LEAST $100 a day period. With food,gas,maintance and all you starve with any less. Don't care who,how or why as ya gotta profit or perish and grow old poor as the dirt you shoveled.-John

John, remember that he's 15 and comparing prospecting to a part time job at McDonalds ...not trying to make a living yet!

Kiddo, just for comparison: here in metro Denver, in my favorite hot spots, with a fluid bed, I get about 0.12-0.2 grams per hour of digging...sometimes less, very occasionally more. Clearly that's less than McDonalds wages but way more fun of course!

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

You need at LEAST $100 a day period. With food,gas,maintance and all you starve with any less. Don't care who,how or why as ya gotta profit or perish and grow old poor as the dirt you shoveled.-John

its worthy of mention in Georgia we don't spend $50 on gas to get to our spots, longest ive driven to go prospecting is like an hour, maybe $15 in gas for my dads car, also im not maintaining a dredge or anything so low running costs

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

John, remember that he's 15 and comparing prospecting to a part time job at McDonalds ...not trying to make a living yet!

Kiddo, just for comparison: here in metro Denver, in my favorite hot spots, with a fluid bed, I get about 0.12-0.2 grams per hour of digging...sometimes less, very occasionally more. Clearly that's less than McDonalds wages but way more fun of course!

I can always try to work for that 2.5 grams a day, but thanks kev, but I wanna know your dirt values and material moveage because .12 is like $2(I think), if your shoveling half a yard an hour and getting $10 you should be getting more

 

[Remnar]

Kiddo,

Way up here in the mitten (Michigan) we are lucky to get a tenth of a gram in a yard of dirt. In this area that IS one of the better spots and I drive an hour to get there. I have heard of people getting more in some areas of Michigan but cannot verify any of it as it is all just internet posts and You tube videos. The only place I can confirm with higher recovery rates is Lake Superior beach running black sands. Fun to do but a long drive.

It all boils down to having fun up here. I am lucky in that I am older, much older, and have a job that allows me to have a hobby that cost way more to do than it will ever bring in. Matter a fact most of my hobbies are money sinks.

Being from Georgia you do stand a better chance of getting more pay for your work than up here. Like everyone else has mentioned. Test, test, and test some more on any areas you have access to. Once you find the best area, get the shovel fired up and move your 4.5 yards per day. From that you will have maxed the value out of your digging effort. As you get older and more mobile and able to travel to find new spots, go back to testing to find an area that might yield more gold per yard. The bad thing is that once you add travel you add costs. You may find that you can get better pay running dirt that yields less gold per yard because you spend less getting there.

There is my 2 cents worth. Remember to have fun.


Remnar

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

If indeed the hole is 1.5 x 1.5 x1.5 yards, that comes to 3.375 cu yds. In only 3 hours. Strong like bull.