Desert prospecting and Gold Cube thoughts..

[bobw53]

So I'm digging in the desert, both at my house and on a claim...

I "think" I understand what is going on at my house... 20 acres just a few miles downhill from quite a few old mines, with an
1/8 mile of arroyo running through it... I've found gold in my driveway... I've found gold in the arroyo... I've found gold in
the culverts... I've found gold in the tailings pile from my septic tank... I've found gold in holes the dogs have dug in the
back yard... And I've found quite the # of pretty rocks with visible gold that the Falcon MD20 tells me is gold...

Obviously the arroyos were all over the property, standard desert stuff, metal detect and dig, look for pockets of black sand
etc....

Now on the claim... A little different, and I can't find much info on how to deal with it.. Its right at the source, not miles from
it.. I've got a big vein running along one edge, and I assume a bunch of spider veins. When we started out there.. It was
dig in the arroyo, and that worked GREAT, until we started digging deeper and found less and less... I may be getting into
old tailings, I don't really know....

There is gold everywhere up there... I took a bucket of ground squirrel tailings... Found gold. Swept up a bucket of
dust from the road... Found gold.. The only diggings I haven't found gold in is crack scrapings, which seems odd.

I know I need to figure out what rocks the gold is coming from, so my plan is to chase it up the hills, much like I've read about
in streams.. Go up stream until the gold stops, then work your way up the hill... I should know what rocks I'm looking for,
I've read enough about the area... But I'm still ... Never thought I would wish for a geology degree.... Rocks
are boring until you get "The Fever"..

On to the Gold Cube.. I bought it to run the dirt from the arroyo at the house... Super easy to classify, and I have a garden hose
and the gold is pretty small... I got the tall stack. Turns out when you are close to the source, the gold is chunky, not big, but
chunky.. Its not flat... Its not smooth. Even the tiniest stuff that is only visible under magnification is right there in the top tray.

That means I really don't need the tall stack, I don't even pan the second and third trays anymore, just hose them into a bucket. After
almost 2 months, and many many many buckets and cleanouts, my Dad ran the 2nd and 3rd tray bucket back through, it was barely worth it, there
was like 3 little pieces in there....

My thought is to take the 3rd tray from the cube, and chop it up and make a mini cube.. A short stack 4 inches wide, I saw a thread about
somebody doing this, but I can't find it anywhere again. Then I can take the little guy with me to the claim, and sample my way up the hill...
Once you start going up the hill it gets mucky, not good drywashing material at all. I could pan, but I figure I could process a sample
bucket or 2 faster with a mini cube, and I wouldn't need a ton of water or a big tub, I could do it right on the tailgate,
besides I could probably get away with using the little guy on the counter inside without getting castrated... And less concentrate to
pan out...

Do you think I'm on the right track? Would you sacrifice a gold cube tray? Cutting that thing up is going to be painful, its been so good to me.

And just for fun, because everybody likes pics...

My driveway.... There is 4-6 itty bitty tiny pieces of gold (need magnification) in each table spoon of those sands, and occasionally a few in the
40 mesh range.

And my arroryo.. A few 100 feet from the house, metal detecting, she was screaming at me, I got six little (visible) pieces in half a prospector scoop
out of that little hole. They must have all been right together.

And for the record, I barely know what I'm doing, but I'm having a lot of fun learning as I go.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Yes cutting the GC tray in half will work. You'll need 1/2 the water flow too of course. Be sure to use the right sort of adhesive, plastic is tricky to glue up water tight.

Separately, I think you need a small backhoe to go at that arroyo!! Congrats and is your upstream or downstream neighbor in the mood to sell? (I think I want to be your neighbor! LoL)

 

[kayakpat]

I saw that one where the gold cube was cut in half, very nice. It is in the Old GPAA forum where I saw it. I have a regular one, and my problem is getting the recycled water clean enough that it doesn't load down the pump. I am even using a container inside a container inside a tub. I think clay is the problem. I liked the halved cube but I am wary about cutting it too.

 

[arizau]

Here is the link on how to make a mini cube. my 3 stacker mini-tray goldcube for $100 - Gold Prospectors Association of America Forum - Page 1
I hope it doesn't get deleted because from another forum.

I would go ahead and make one either from what I already had or you can buy a replacement (gold cube single separator tray) through Rosewind mining supply for $99 and maybe from other suppliers. Make sure the table saw you use will make a full cut. I have a cabinet model from Jet and it will not but some contractor saws will I found out by checking some specs. Go figure. Surprised me when I made the measurement.

Good luck.








4

 

[bobw53]

Here is the link on how to make a mini cube. my 3 stacker mini-tray goldcube for $100 - Gold Prospectors Association of America Forum - Page 1

That's the one, thank you. I think I need to sacrifice a tray, and like you said, I can always buy another if I feel I need it... I'd say the Gold Cube folks
should sell a mini like that, but the only real difference is about $2 in materials, and a pump that costs $2 less, I doubt many would pay $4 less for a Gold
Cube that is one third the size. I think its brilliant, and since I already have a tray that doesn't collect gold, I figure I'll be into it for less than $50.

Separately, I think you need a small backhoe to go at that arroyo!! Congrats and is your upstream or downstream neighbor in the mood to sell?

Already had this little guy we built a few years back.

And I bought this guy last fall... Cost.. 2 gold cubes... I've barely touched it, and haven't even cranked over the motor yet.. But at that price, how can
you not buy it. If somebody (thanx Dad) didn't tell me to go pan some of that driveway dirt, I might have had enough free time to get it running.

Downstream lot is for sale, 10 acres for I think 149k, and two lots to the north, 5 acres each, $99k... Overpriced, its all old money around here, everything is out of
business and empty, and nothing ever sells at the crazy prices they ask.. $10k an acre max... This property was bought around '70 for $120 an acre.



Anyways... As for what rocks to look for.. I think I have my answer... I'd picked up a few rocks on the next big vein over, (tailings pile, not my personal claim, but I am
a stock holder), I even brought one to the GPAA show in Phoenix a few months ago... Wanted to see what the Falcon MD20 would do before I bought it... Gold... I bought it...

Anyways, I've got a pile of rocks that look like that.. Must have been being mined early 40's and were interrupted by the war... They took a lot of it, but the end of the
pile is still there, I'd take a wild guess at 2-4 yards left... I grabbed some of those rocks a few weeks ago, and when I got home today, since I'm out of dirt to run, I crushed some
rocks, actually just half a rock... I found 15 pieces in my first pan of small stuff, mostly visible. I even found a few pieces of +60... Not bad for about 1/2cup of crushed rock, at
least not for me....

So now I think I know what to look for.... Obviously half a rock doesn't tell the whole story, I need to sample more, but there are places where that type of rock pokes up here
and there... I'm pretty darn excited, time to build the big rock crusher... The little one just isn't going to do it... I've got a foot of 16inch pipe ready to go.

The pieces for my little crusher, and my big piece of pipe.. Bought cheap. The big pipe and 3 feet of 8" pipe for $30.

more pics

That little guy, based loosely on the cobra crusher, was still a giant step up from crusher #1..

 

[russau]

WHAT?? no cup holder that's to Spartan!

 

[SierraMadre]

Use a gold cube and love it. But recently ran half a bucket of concentrates thru it and got my gold and was dumb and happy. Then I decided to run the tailings thru again. Got about 5-6 more flakes. Then ran tailings thru a third time. Got some real fine gold. Not a lot but more than I was willing to throw out. Still love the cube but it's certainly not just one and done

 

[KevinInColorado]

Use a gold cube and love it. But recently ran half a bucket of concentrates thru it and got my gold and was dumb and happy. Then I decided to run the tailings thru again. Got about 5-6 more flakes. Then ran tailings thru a third time. Got some real fine gold. Not a lot but more than I was willing to throw out. Still love the cube but it's certainly not just one and done

Are you sure about your process? Things that might lead to this:
- too much water being supplied
- feeding too fast (least likely problem unless too much water flow)
- bubbles in the mats
- turning the water off and on while there is gold in the mats
- Feeding dry material (also unlikely issue due to underflow feature of the sluice but not a good practice)

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nice little thread with some great pictures.

You're doing a lot of things right, and as you listen to the wisdom of some kind contributors, you'll figure out the rest I'm sure.

You've done some clever and interesting fabricating to boot!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[bobw53]

Use a gold cube and love it. But recently ran half a bucket of concentrates thru it and got my gold and was dumb and happy. Then I decided to run the tailings thru again. Got about 5-6 more flakes. Then ran tailings thru a third time. Got some real fine gold. Not a lot but more than I was willing to throw out. Still love the cube but it's certainly not just one and done

I'm going to guess something isn't quite right also... Is your gold super flat?? Bunch of clay that needed to get broken down?

I don't even deal with the second and third and tray anymore... I just wash them into a bucket... Over the past couple of months my Dad and I ran quite a lot of dirt through the
cube. Dozen buckets a week or so... 2nd and 3rd tray, just dumped into a bucket... A few weeks ago, the old man ran all the panning tubs and the 2nd and 3rd tray bucket back
through the cube... 3 little pieces of almost nothing..

I've also heard that not enough water flow can mess with your recovery.


A few random observations I've had recently concerning crushed rock and drywashers...

I got a drywasher, haven't taken it out in the field yet, but my Dad and I played with it in the yard... Just messing around, trying
to figure it out... So we've been running the tailings through the cube to see what it missed.. See if our setup is correct and whatnot...

Never mind the gold recovery, what I have found is that the concentrates that either have come directly out of the drywasher or through
the drywasher and then the cube are incredibly easy to pan... All that incredibly fine stuff that ends up in the last classification is GONE, taken
away by the wind...

Now the crushed rocks.... I'm not enjoying the panning of it... SO MUCH fine stuff in there, and I took it down to a -120... I'm wondering if
a trip through the drywasher is a good idea? Not to actually catch the gold, but just to get rid of the really fine stuff that makes a nasty mucky
mess once it gets in the pan... It sets up hard as a rock like cement or clay if you let the pan dry out...
Anybody ever use this technique before? I can't be the only person that has thought of it.

You've done some clever and interesting fabricating to boot!

Thanx... As a disclaimer, when its my own stuff, and not for a paying customer, it just has to work.. It doesn't need to be pretty.

 

[Hoser John]

In the desert you drywash as the least convaluted as water equipment is a joke in the desert. Just run run run in the sun. And no not hyping sales as factory/stores and all sold many years ago just honest good advice. Constant flow offset elliptical oscilation gets the gold--look ma no water in the desert.....John

 

[arizau]

I'm going to guess something isn't quite right also... Is your gold super flat?? Bunch of clay that needed to get broken down?

I don't even deal with the second and third and tray anymore... I just wash them into a bucket... Over the past couple of months my Dad and I ran quite a lot of dirt through the
cube. Dozen buckets a week or so... 2nd and 3rd tray, just dumped into a bucket... A few weeks ago, the old man ran all the panning tubs and the 2nd and 3rd tray bucket back
through the cube... 3 little pieces of almost nothing..

I've also heard that not enough water flow can mess with your recovery.


A few random observations I've had recently concerning crushed rock and drywashers...

I got a drywasher, haven't taken it out in the field yet, but my Dad and I played with it in the yard... Just messing around, trying
to figure it out... So we've been running the tailings through the cube to see what it missed.. See if our setup is correct and whatnot...

Never mind the gold recovery, what I have found is that the concentrates that either have come directly out of the drywasher or through
the drywasher and then the cube are incredibly easy to pan... All that incredibly fine stuff that ends up in the last classification is GONE, taken
away by the wind...

Now the crushed rocks.... I'm not enjoying the panning of it... SO MUCH fine stuff in there, and I took it down to a -120... I'm wondering if
a trip through the drywasher is a good idea? Not to actually catch the gold, but just to get rid of the really fine stuff that makes a nasty mucky
mess once it gets in the pan... It sets up hard as a rock like cement or clay if you let the pan dry out...
Anybody ever use this technique before? I can't be the only person that has thought of it.



Thanx... As a disclaimer, when its my own stuff, and not for a paying customer, it just has to work.. It doesn't need to be pretty.

As to the crushed rock - running them through the dry washer should/does, at the least, reduce the volume of material that you ultimately have to pan but you also run the risk of blowing off some of the gold or losing it out the end of the box (tails). If I were to do this I would for sure test the tails if what you do does create them.

Since you already have one I think it would be more efficient to run it all through the cube which should wash out most of the problem material leaving you a higher specific gravity concentrate to pan eg. most of the super fine, low specific gravity, waste material should wash out while still retaining even the tiniest pieces of gold along with other random heavy mineral particles.

Good luck.

 

[arizau]

Yes cutting the GC tray in half will work. You'll need 1/2 the water flow too of course. Be sure to use the right sort of adhesive, plastic is tricky to glue up water tight.

Separately, I think you need a small backhoe to go at that arroyo!! Congrats and is your upstream or downstream neighbor in the mood to sell? (I think I want to be your neighbor! LoL)

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY TRY CONSTRUCTING THE SCALED DOWN VERSION.

Here is a response to a question on another forum from the inventor on how to visually determine the correct water flow for a full size goldcube. I imagine the same principle would hold true for a scaled down version.

"Nice set-up
Be careful to not over water the Cube, About 1500 GPH is max. If you are using a trash pump or some other water source, use this method to make sure you are not over watering the system.

1. cut a 5/8" dowel rod to 10 inches.*
2. roll the dowel down the water tray slick plate and it will jamb and dam up the water all but an inch on either side.
3. With the water on, you will see the water getting deep above the dowel.
4. Watch the scooped out section of the plastic that forms the Cube side openings, the water should not overflow out those sides.
If it stays contained, you are good.
If it overflows out the sides, you need to dial back the water with a valve.

Hope this helps, let me know if there are any questions

Mike"

*NOTE: This is where a scaled down dowel piece comes into play. All else should apply.

 

[bobw53]

As to the crushed rock - running them through the dry washer should/does, at the least, reduce the volume of material that you ultimately have to pan but you also run the risk of blowing off some of the gold or losing it out the end of the box (tails). If I were to do this I would for sure test the tails if what you do does create them.

I wasn't even worried about volume.... I'm not worried about the drywasher even doing any recovery.... I'd run the tailings through the cube. What I'm
thinking is run the drywasher just to blow off that super fine dust that likes to turn back into rock in the pan... Need a breeze of course so it doesn't fall
right back into the tray.

Its like those little microscopic clay particles that haven't come together yet, and I'm pretty sure
water is what makes those particles come together to form muck... Muck that I fear may be grabbing my gold
when it gets wet on the slick plate of the cube... If I can get rid of that stuff before
I get it wet, I think I might be ahead of the game.

I've crushed quite a bit of different rocks I've found, and none of them, except this particular rock (so far that I've noticed) has produced these tiny little fine
particles that turn into sticky goo when they get wet, and then cement when it dries.

 

[Mad Machinist]

I saw that one where the gold cube was cut in half, very nice. It is in the Old GPAA forum where I saw it. I have a regular one, and my problem is getting the recycled water clean enough that it doesn't load down the pump. I am even using a container inside a container inside a tub. I think clay is the problem. I liked the halved cube but I am wary about cutting it too.

You may need to set up a second tub and pipe the water in from the first one. Set the pump in the second tub. Might give the clay enough time to settle out.

 

[Gold Cube]

Use a gold cube and love it. But recently ran half a bucket of concentrates thru it and got my gold and was dumb and happy. Then I decided to run the tailings thru again. Got about 5-6 more flakes. Then ran tailings thru a third time. Got some real fine gold. Not a lot but more than I was willing to throw out. Still love the cube but it's certainly not just one and done

In the desert, there are a couple things that happen that can cause gold loss.
1. Water too thick with muck. Use multiple tubs and a flocculation agent like ClayGone or a pool clarrifier
2. Gold dried into a mini dirt clod. The mass is too light to act like gold. Re-running is one way to disolve everything away from it's neighbor pre-wetting is another. If gold it ripped away from everything else, it will act like gold.

Mike

 

[Gelmac]

In the desert you drywash as the least convaluted as water equipment is a joke in the desert. Just run run run in the sun. And no not hyping sales as factory/stores and all sold many years ago just honest good advice. Constant flow offset elliptical oscilation gets the gold--look ma no water in the desert.....John

Right on John ! the bigger commercial one looks very good , and should move a LOT of material in short time .