Give up or Keep Looking - Suggestions?

[Millz90]

So im at a point in a creek that i have been digging in to either stop digging or move on to a new place…….I started looking under a large boulder in the creek and found gold but VERY little as you can see in the pictures. Then I moved up creek and started digging again and same thing, finding very little.

Its all embedded in this grey THICK clay, which is a pain to break down but I have been doing it. The gold you see in the pictures are from about a 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of 30 mesh classified dirt.

What I have been doing is taking a 5 gallon bucket and a 30 mesh classifier, shoveling dirt into the screen smashing the clay down and finally getting everything clean then taking it home and running it through the blue bowl.

I haven’t hit bed rock yet so im wondering if I should keep digging or give up?
I cant go any farther up the creek because there is a 5’ or so pool in front of the place I am in now that is filled from a HUGE rock formation with a water fall draining into it.

I would REALLY love to get to the bottom of that pool but I don’t see a way to do that either…..Plus the guy that owns the land around it refuses to let me in the creek so im watching my back the entire time even though I have full rights to get into the creek from the road.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

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[Duckwalk]

The only thing i could really say is that it seems like WAY too much work for what you are getting out. As far as getting to the bottom of the pool. Just get you a face mask, swim down and try to sample it. dive with a pan, scoop into the pan and sample pan it to see if its worth digging.

 

[Millz90]

Yeah I was thinking he same thing. Lots of digging to get a 1/4 bucket of concentrates.
I was thinking if I could run it through the sluice it would be better but the clay is SO thick I don't think you could run it through.

 

[arizau]

The clay you are dealing with may not actually have gold in it but...Gold may be on it or attached to it.* For a test, what I might do is thoroughly wash clumps of it while it is submerged above the screen then toss out or set aside the bigger pieces. Try this with about the same amount of material that you normally work with then, for comparison, pan what passes the screen and collects in the bucket. If you are still catching gold then it might be worthwhile to adopt this method as you can surely run more material....More material usually equals more gold.

Good luck.

*Clay often acts as false bedrock and gold can settle on top but usually not penetrate too deep. Also clay may overlay more ancient deposits of placer material so check underlying material separately too.

 

[goldog]

How about sample pans? Running material through a 30 mesh is tough. What if some of the gold is bigger?

With clay, once you break it up it'll run through the sluice ok. Just be sure it's all "liquid" first. Save the blue bowl for concentrates.

 

[enamel7]

Where are you, what state that is. In most states if he owns the land it doesn't matter where you enter, it's his property. This was discussed recently as well as people thinking they can enter property on the state right of way. That's the way it is here in NC anyway.

 

[goldenmojo]

Don't mesh it all. Take your pan, fill it with water and add a shovel load of your material. Put it in the creek under water and mash any clay bay hand until it is all dissolved. Pan it out and count your take. If it is less than what you have in your panshot you have to decide if that is good gold for you and your area. For me it would not ne but I live 20 miles from the California Motherlode. We get that much gold when we dump the sand out of our boots. Good Luck. Hope this helps.

 

[Millz90]

Where are you, what state that is. In most states if he owns the land it doesn't matter where you enter, it's his property. This was discussed recently as well as people thinking they can enter property on the state right of way. That's the way it is here in NC anyway.

Hey man I like in North Carolina to and called the wild life people and they said as long as it navigable and you don't go on the bank you are good to go. Have you heard different?

And I'm not walking into a yard then into a creek, I'm parking on the side of the road by a bridge then going down into the creek from there.

 

[Millz90]

How about sample pans? Running material through a 30 mesh is tough. What if some of the gold is bigger?

With clay, once you break it up it'll run through the sluice ok. Just be sure it's all "liquid" first. Save the blue bowl for concentrates.

Yeah that's a good question lol

I have done a sample pan before and have gotten like 1 or so pieces, so nothing big either.

The clay isn't hard it's like mush but held together really well lol.

Why do you say 30 mesh is tough? The fine material is hard to process?

 

[Millz90]

Don't mesh it all. Take your pan, fill it with water and add a shovel load of your material. Put it in the creek under water and mash any clay bay hand until it is all dissolved. Pan it out and count your take. If it is less than what you have in your panshot you have to decide if that is good gold for you and your area. For me it would not ne but I live 20 miles from the California Motherlode. We get that much gold when we dump the sand out of our boots. Good Luck. Hope this helps.

Mash it in still water? I won't lose the gold? Lol

 

[DizzyDigger]

Back to your original question: Is it time to move?

I say yes. Your not finding enough to make it worth the time,
plus you're walking a fine line with a testy landowner.

Go find yourself a good spot where you have legal access. Can't
swear you'll find more gold, but you'll have a lot more fun when
you're not constantly watching your 6.

 

[beekbuster]

i have found that places with more slope tend to have the gold directly on the bed rock, which is also where i find the compacted sediment. the 'clay' that i usually find is actually decomposed bedrock that has not been disturbed. i have found nothing in it , but gold loves to stick to it. depending on your resources, the bedrock may be too deep to be worth the effort. if its possible, get down to it and see what you find. i look for bed rock that is exposed and dig behind it, especially if it has vertical elevation changes.

 

[Bill_saf]

Hey man I like in North Carolina to and called the wild life people and they said as long as it navigable and you don't go on the bank you are good to go. Have you heard different?

And I'm not walking into a yard then into a creek, I'm parking on the side of the road by a bridge then going down into the creek from there.

1 navigable would mean by boat, raft, float. it don't mean walk in. 2 you say you park and walk to the creek. are you on a state, county own right away or is it a privet right away? sounds like to me your on some ones land

 

[Millz90]

1 navigable would mean by boat, raft, float. it don't mean walk in. 2 you say you park and walk to the creek. are you on a state, county own right away or is it a privet right away? sounds like to me your on some ones land

Correct about the navigable by a device part but that doesn't mean you have to be in one of those, that just defines what navigable is. You certainly CAN walk right in. Do you have to be in a boat to go out in a lake? I would personally recommend it unless you can tread water for a long time but not required. Also, as I stated, I called the wildlife number and talked to the wildlife guy and he said it was legal. Give them a call but don't talk to the lady on the phone she will give you the number of the actual ground person that patrols the area. They will know the answer and you can find out for yourself.


It's a county road.

 

[enamel7]

In NC the majority of the time the property lines meet in the middle of streams where lines converge. If you want to pm me and discuss exactly where you are and the legality of it. Also wildlife people aren't really the right people to ask this question. They're only concerned with hunting, fishing and what happens on government property. Heck I once had a HP tell me it was okay to enter on the right of way. He's wrong of course. Even if you enter from the road you're crossing someone's property. It's the "states" right of way, not yours.

 

[Millz90]

What do you mean by it's the states right of way not yours?

 

[enamel7]

60 feet each side from the center line is state r of w for any necessary work needed for roads, etc. There are also utility r of w for power company, cable, gas, etc. These are for the use of those entities only. The land owner still owns the land. Only difference is if the state or county condemn the land at the road. Please tell me where you're at so maybe I can assist you.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Millz,

Does your creek/stream meet this definition?

"Navigable waters, as defined by the US Army Corps of Engineers as codified
under 33 CFR 329, are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the
tide, and those inland waters that are presently used, or have been used in the
past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce
while the waterway is in its ordinary condition."

From: Navigability - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I live on a "Navigable Waterway", in that the Skagit flows sufficient CFS and,
long ago was used for commercial of goods and people. People can access
my beach area only from the water, but like it not I have to allow
them to fish there if they arrive legally.

Those trespassing on my property are encouraged to leave..in the strongest
terms.

In your case there is a huge ?? regarding the navigability of the
water you are working.

As I said earlier, there's no gold worthwhile there, so avoid a nasty
confrontation with the landowner and go find somewhere else to
prospect before you wind up in a [totally avoidable] bad situation with
that landowner.

 

[Millz90]

Yeah I understand. They leave this law wide open though really. Who's to argue Susceptible? Lol

 

[enamel7]

Here's another question.When you're walking in the creek, how deep is it?