Advice on where to dig.

brchcar1445

Jr. Member
Jul 10, 2014
22
16
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Okay, I have been studying a lot of articles and videos on how to read rivers. I think I get the jist. Seems like the concensus is that inside bends on corners and after big rocks, a combination of the two if you can. I was hoping to explain a formation I found to see what you would suggest.

The ground I prospect has a lot of garnets in it. So much, that the ground in places is purple right on the surface. I found a place that's on the inside of a bend. There is a sand bar on the inside corner of a pretty deep hole, probably 20 feet. Directly behind this sand bar are some bed rock type cliffs that go verticle. In this sand bar there is a streak of purple garnets that form a line. The garnets are heavier than the sand but not as heavy as the iron or gold. Would I be smart in assuming that the gold would follow similar patterns as the garnets? Could there be a pay streak if I dig down on that sand bed? Since there is bedrock going straight up behind the bar, would I be smart to assume at some point if I dig, I'll likely hit that bed rock? My question is, if you saw the line of garnets in the sand bar under these circumstances, would you dig there?

I know that was long, but thank you for helping!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Upvote 0
OP
OP
B

brchcar1445

Jr. Member
Jul 10, 2014
22
16
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ha! The garnets don't have any real value unless they are pretty big. It's mostly very small and garnet dust. I've kept a few of the bigger ones I've found. The dirt is littered with them though. When I get to the bottom of my pan it's purple and a little black sand.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,417
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just like the gold, the larger garnets will be in the line. But if the garnets are too large they will push out the smaller gold.
 

goldog

Hero Member
Sep 25, 2012
923
987
Tujunga, CA
Detector(s) used
Bazooka Gold Trap, A-51, Gold Pan
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
They're certainly a good indication of heavier material.
 

huntsman53

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
Primary Interest:
Other
Like Reed Lukens stated, keep the Garnets as well. When you pan down to the Garnets and Black Sand with possible Gold hidden underneath, dump the contents of your' Gold pan into a concentrates bucket to bring home to do the fine panning. In this way, you have less risk of losing Gold, especially the smaller stuff. When you do the fine panning, decide if you want to keep some or all of the Garnet material. When run lightly in a Tumbler, they make great decorations for gluing on items and if you have any kids, they will likely love working with them. Any bigger and possibly cuttable Garnets should be saved for possible cutting for settings in rings, bracelets and pendants for necklaces.


Frank
 

OP
OP
B

brchcar1445

Jr. Member
Jul 10, 2014
22
16
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks Frank! Good idea. I have young kids and they really like the garnets! I try to keep all the bigger ones.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

OP
OP
B

brchcar1445

Jr. Member
Jul 10, 2014
22
16
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
When my father was alive he dug up old bottles from old mine towns. He would use the garnet sand to clean up the bottles.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top