A whole week prospecting and not sure where to start!

[Mrjester]

Good morning everyone!
Thought before I went in to work that I would post a question that has may anxious.

I have always wanted to take a whole week and go up into the mountains camping and prospecting but life seems to always get in the way lol.
The longest I have ever went was 4 nights.. next week I get to go from Friday till the next Sunday!!

I am going back to the spot that I worked during high water back in May where I was getting 1/2 gram to a gram in an approximate yard in the high banker.
Its the most color I have ever gotten and it was sweet. I posted a thread back then about it.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/464364-first-post-first-gold.html

I went up there on the 4th of July BUT there were people everywhere and decided that I did NOT want to attract attention of me working that area again now that the water is way down.
Its actually down to where I can get to the boulder in the second picture below.




I am hoping that the size of the gold will be bigger closer to the edge of the corner that I couldn't get to in May but don't know ?

I have a whole week... should I try going up stream?
The area is about 5 miles downhill from an old Montana gold mine that ran in the early 1900's but involves some bush whacking (not too far) to get back onto the river. A lot of claims in the area (have done my research and printed lots of maps) so I have to be careful there too.

Not sure if I should work the heck out of the area that produced for me in May or spend a few days testing up river?
If it were you.... what would you do?

Some google images.

 

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[INDEAD]

Insults are not allowed, calling any member a troll violates our rules, please stop it helps nothing...

I disagree, it identify's someone who newer members (like myself) should ignore.

 

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Not sure if I should work the heck out of the area that produced for me in May or spend a few days testing up river?
If it were you.... what would you do?

Some google images.
View attachment 1190866 View attachment 1190867 View attachment 1190868 [/QUOTE]

For me in Alaska I let the weather dictate. When I get to my claim if its crappy out, I prospect for new areas, wait for the rain to let up then mine.
Or if I wake up young and spry...........mine away!! However when I wake up and remember that I am neither young or spry good day for test holes!

 

[fowledup]

Man do I miss Alaska and the actual feeling of being a real person with actual freedoms and rights! Where abouts you at?

 

[INDEAD]

Man do I miss Alaska and the actual feeling of being a real person with actual freedoms and rights! Where abouts you at?

I am in Anchorage, but my claims are in Willow.
How long ago were you up here and where?

 

[fowledup]

I last lived there in the 80's - wow, just did the math and it sure doesn't seem like it was that long ago! Started out in FBks. then Dillingham, Paxson and finally Anchorage for a year before heading back down here. Trying desperately to talk my wife into moving to anyplace remote in South East AK. but with 9 grandkids here in Ca. pretty sure that ain't happening.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I last lived there in the 80's - wow, just did the math and it sure doesn't seem like it was that long ago! Started out in FBks. then Dillingham, Paxson and finally Anchorage for a year before heading back down here. Trying desperately to talk my wife into moving to anyplace remote in South East AK. but with 9 grandkids here in Ca. pretty sure that ain't happening.

Yep, understand that. My wife is not moving anywhere away from the grandkids. Not that I can blame her; I'm pretty attached to them myself.

 

[INDEAD]

I last lived there in the 80's - wow, just did the math and it sure doesn't seem like it was that long ago! Started out in FBks. then Dillingham, Paxson and finally Anchorage for a year before heading back down here. Trying desperately to talk my wife into moving to anyplace remote in South East AK. but with 9 grandkids here in Ca. pretty sure that ain't happening.

They say a mama bear and her cubs are dangerous, but a Grandma and Grand-baby's has to be right up there!

 

[Prospector70]

Same spot, dig deeper though! <3

 

[bobw53]

Thanks Gold Washer.... yep I have checked land matters, thediggings and also some other sites...
There are a lot of claims up there... there once was a claim where I am now working... the previous claim owner didn't keep up on the yearly fees and it was closed about 10 years ago.
Which I thought about trying to make a claim on it but have a feeling that all I am getting is flood gold.

I don't know what gold looks like in natural water, and I would be lost near a river.... But isn't all gold in a river "flood gold"... It got there
through water movement. It didn't come from the river, it didn't grow in the river... It was in a rock somewhere for millions of years and at some
point, due to wind, rain, water, possibly just natural degradation, came out of that rock and came down the river, moving the most at times
of high water flow (a flood).

At least a river replenishes itself. This year, the gold the guy upstream from you had last year, is now yours, and if you don't put it in
your pan, the guy downstream from you will have it next year.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Flood gold is smaller, very flat gold that travels easily when the river rises so it migrates downstream relatively quickly and doesn't sink thru the bed gravels very fast. Behaves very different from larger more 3-D gold. That stuff dives deep into the bed and only moves in a 20/50/100 year storm.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Same spot, dig deeper though! <3

I would do what P70 says. First day I'd dig my trusty hole until tired then rest by running around sampling. Second day, dig where I found the best gold the day before, sample further when tired. Third day, repeat ...

That way I know I am getting gold each day AND I'm not being blind to better options over the course of the week.

Also keep notes on a simple map of your results. Memory is fickle!

 

[brianc053]

I'd recommend listening to KevinInColorado - he knows how to find the gold!

Good luck MrJester - wow a whole week to mine/prospect, you're so lucky!

- Brian

 

[Mrjester]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like a great game plan. Dig and produce in the morning and prospect in the afternoon when I get tired of digging. Don't know how much deeper I can go though. Last time in that area I dug down until I was waste deep in water in a hole I dug in the river! Is there such a thing as un-reachable bedrock in a river?

 

[Goldwasher]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like a great game plan. Dig and produce in the morning and prospect in the afternoon when I get tired of digging. Don't know how much deeper I can go though. Last time in that area I dug down until I was waste deep in water in a hole I dug in the river! Is there such a thing as un-reachable bedrock in a river?

Yes...look for bedrock near your hole and see if u can find it shallower

 

[fowledup]

Take a rod or long chunk of rebar and use it as a probe to see how far down the bedrock is, it helps if you weld a "T" handle on it.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like a great game plan. Dig and produce in the morning and prospect in the afternoon when I get tired of digging. Don't know how much deeper I can go though. Last time in that area I dug down until I was waste deep in water in a hole I dug in the river! Is there such a thing as un-reachable bedrock in a river?

Yes, sometimes bedrock here in Colorado is deep, especially as you come out of the mountains into plains or "parks." And anything over 6 feet without a dredge to punch a hole will be a lot of digging. You are in Montana, so I have no idea what conditions are there.

Best of luck with your week; I am envious.

 

[Jeff95531]

I think you need to look at that spot from a bigger perspective. Look for the line running with the creek made up of the biggest rocks and boulders (may or may not be in the creek) and start there. Look for the spots in that line where the gold would drop out suddenly do to lack of force moving it. It takes water big enough to move big rocks to move gold.

I agree. Look up for any shelf's and exposed bed rock. You can see the evidence the river is old and once wide.

 

[Mrjester]

Yep I am very lucky to be able to go for a whole week. Even better is that my wife is very loving and because of her schedule, is allowing me to go up and then she will come up with the kido's in the middle of the week. I get 4 solid days of being able to process material without worrying about being selfish and not spending time with the family while camping
IT is something that I have wanted to do for 30+ years AND I had to sacrifice some other activities this summer to make it happen. It will be fun!

Thank everyone in this forum. I have been a lurker for over a year now and have learned a ton of info...

As far as the bedrock... I would LOVE to find bedrock. I dream about some of the threads I read on here about the gold found in bedrock... That area I am in is just not there...
I am sure it is somewhere down under 10 - 20 feet of over burden if not more... That rod idea is great and will try it.. not sure it will work because there is a ton of rocks to jam things up...

Thanks again... will post some pictures when I get back!

 

[Goldwasher]

What we call flood gold is the stuff that moves with the lighter sands...and can be deposited on the surface as the water flow drops because the flood slows...it can be in layers in areas....with the deposits adding on top of each other...
So, yes in character flat....wide flakey....easy to move in moderate current...like Kevin said....I some places whith deep bedrock...but what would be considered decent gold by volume of material...you may be better off finding that" flood layer" and digging a wide er hole and working that layer vs. heading for bedrock.
You might waste effort digging deep when you could get good color 8 inches deep or less.
Look for an older hard layer acting like bed rock.."false bedrock".....also if there were any hydraulic mines...bench operations or ground sluice operations up stream...you should find a sediment layer that has turned into a clay layer....a lot of times that layer has collected 'Flood gold" on top of it.
Look for layers of rust also...that will be a layer of oxidized black sands that have been there long enough to oxidize...that does take a while to happen so you will know it hasn't been disturbed for a while..

 

[goldenmojo]

True to all that Goldwasher said. There might be one layer that is loaded with color. You might be able to skim along through that layer and make way more progress. You might want to test pan the layers and see which is best.