Basic gear to become successful prospector

[gold hound]

I wanted to start this thread to get your guys opinion on what you'd buy for a starter kit for the prospector not wanting to do all the manual labor. More importantly to use my #2 shovel on a limited basis. This is just for fun, but lets be economical about it.
I'm thinking for starter u must have a reliable truck. Something that has a good tow capacity with good gas mileage. Maybe a ram Eco diesel. Next, I'd say small mobile base camp. Need a trailer to haul your kubota kx913 & a trommel wash plant & a skid loader. I guess u could get a back hoe to kill two birds with 1 stone, but their mobility sucks when digging. Maybe a atv or utv for scouting. Heavy duty trash water pumps and diesel generator and I think I'd be set for the lower states.
Guess I'd need a good shaker table or clean up tool... That would suck trying to hand pan cons!!! What would you buy? Maybe a drill rig?

 

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[TheGoldProspector]

I wanted to start this thread to get your guys opinion on what you'd buy for a starter kit for the prospector not wanting to do all the manual labor. More importantly to use my #2 shovel on a limited basis. This is just for fun, but lets be economical about it. I'm thinking for starter u must have a reliable truck. Something that has a good tow capacity with good gas mileage. Maybe a ram Eco diesel. Next, I'd say small mobile base camp. Need a trailer to haul your kubota kx913 & a trommel wash plant & a skid loader. I guess u could get a back hoe to kill two birds with 1 stone, but their mobility sucks when digging. Maybe a atv or utv for scouting. Heavy duty trash water pumps and diesel generator and I think I'd be set for the lower states. Guess I'd need a good shaker table or clean up tool... That would suck trying to hand pan cons!!! What would you buy? Maybe a drill rig?

Basic gear? To me, a truck is Far from basic..

Basically, I would see what type of prospecting you are getting into; digging, crevacing, sniping, tunnelling, dredging..
I would start with a good handled shovel And trowel. A few classifiers-1/4" and maybe 20mesh. A sucker bottle for your nugs, flakes and cons.
Everything else is icing-breaker bar, hammer/picks, a good sluicebox. Wetsuit. Sunscreen and Bug repellant. Weapon to protect yourself.

So much equipment to list, yet I only tend to use the Same 5 tools.
Heavy Pans to you All!

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

I like the sarcasm in this post
but on a more serious note I think that a stream sluice, bucket, 1/4-1/2 inch classifier, BOOTS/WADERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT, a half decent pack to carry this, a trusty shovel and most importantly a pan

I already know many people will say, YOU DONT NEED A SLUICE TRY CREVICING, and then rant about how people are stupid for using anything but a pan/crevicing tool , let me remind you that not everybody lives in an area with commonly exposed bedrock(SE-MW) and crevicing isn't all that much fun for everyone

 

[Bonaro]

There is no correct answer to your question because prospecting is all about manual labor and it doesn't matter how much equipment you have on hand. You may be able to retire the ol #2 shovel by buying a tractor but you will also be buying a tool set and making repairs, changing tires, lube, refueling etc...

If mining were easy, everyone would do it

 

[stefen]

Don't forget the backhoe with track-layers...

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

A good Metal detector / a great dry washer and a sluice with a hand dredge .
Did I miss some gear ? A tough ford 4 wheller.

 

[rodoconnor]

dynamite and caps

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

Starts with a pan and ends with a pan.

 

[H&F909ORO]

Starts with a pan and ends with a pan.

He speaks the TRUTH!

 

[Jim in Idaho]

First off, you have to make a distinction between prospecting and mining. Prospecting is LOOKING for a mineable deposit. Mining is exploiting that deposit. You only need hand tools to prospect. But, hand tools aren't much good when it comes to mining. In my case, I enjoy the prospecting alot more than the mining....mainly because my mining involves digging by hand. In fact, that's the way most public land mining is done, unless you have a claim, and go through all the hassles, and cost, of a reclamation bond, etc.
Jim

 

[AlaskaGold]

A dredge painted a few nice shades of green, brown and tan, with a really quite muffler...

 

[IMPDLN]

Skid loader?? Backhoe?? Nothing basic about most of the equipment on your list. Ram eco diesel.....lol, I guess if you are already rich. Basic is hand tools and power by arm strong. If you can't handle that, this is the wrong hobby for you. Dennis

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

I dont think many people understood the sarcasm...

 

[SLNugget]

Reading comprehension is handy............

 

[goldenIrishman]

Prospecting/Mining and manual labor go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other!!!!

Many a Greenhorn either never learned that fact or ignored it to their detriment! Too many time I've seen guys go out and get gear without even knowing where they were going to go dig. A classic mistake as you have to let the ground define the required gear instead of allowing the gear to define the ground you can dig in. I mean come on guys... Are you going to go out and buy a $5000 dredge if you're going to go mining in the desert? How about buying a drywasher to use in Georgia clay? The wrong gear for an area can make you have to do three to four time the amount of work to get the same amount of gold.

One recent example of putting the horse before the cart was witnessed while out at Kentucky Camp here in Arizona. Our good friend Clay Diggens had introduced me to Chris H who is another member here that was out from the Houston area. I agreed to play tour guide and had no problem doing so. Chris turned out to be a heck of a nice guy and we've become good friends. He listened to what I had to say, followed my instructions and was soon on the gold. I think he pulled like a half gram out of 10 buckets worth of materials on that trip using his little Prospectors Choice re-circ highbanker. Later in the week a couple more guys from Texas show up that had been talking to Chris before he had left on the trip out. They show up with a Gold Cube set up as a recirc system. Now I have nothing against the Gold Cube as it's a good system when used for what it was made for. However, it wasn't made for the type of dirt that's found in the area around Kentucky Camp. (Lots of rocks and clay) The two "gentlemen" from Texas wouldn't listen to me and soon set off to go do their own thing. We later heard back from them that they hadn't found any gold and that finding gold in the area was "too much work". On a later trip out to the area Robi and I happened to find a place they had been working and found tons of clay balls they had left which we cleaned up and got some pretty good gold out of using our recirc highbanker.

 

[DDancer]

Starter kit without all the manual labor..... Small pick, shovel and pan coupled with high sugar treats and drinks and an overly enthusiastic 10 year old to do the work. Hardest part after that is keeping your laborer focused

 

[IMPDLN]

I dont think many people understood the sarcasm...

What makes you so sure it was sarcasm? Dennis

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

What makes you so sure it was sarcasm? Dennis

first off my name isn't dennis, and to indicate sarcasm from text you have to speak it fluently

 

[goldgit'r]

Kiddo I think his name is Dennis!
Funny thing tho' is I have most of what the original poster posted!
37' Pace Arrow Motor Home, 07 Z71,Ford 555 backhoe, Komatsu PC05 excavator and a 12'' towable trommel/ wash plant, 5 dredges, 2 high bankers, 4 stack gold cube, several other clean up devices and God knows how many pans and classifiers.
And to top that I live in SC and up until this year got to go prospecting 3 or 4 times a year!
GOT GOLD FEVER? LOL
EDIT I forgot about my 750cc Kawasaki 4x4 quad!

Wes

 

[joncutt87]

Not too far from you goldgit'r