Drilling

[fishnfacts]

I was just wondering, being an ice fisherman I use augers all the time. Does anyone use an auger to drill their ground before vesting hours on a shot in the dark?

 

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[Goldwasher]

If I could afford a big one I would. Plus we only have one area of overburden deeper than three feet. So we shovel sample

 

[goldenIrishman]

An ice auger only has a limited reach Fish so making it all the way down to bedrock in many areas isn't going to happen. If you do decide to give it a try, take a 4'x4' section of ply and cut a hole a couple of inches larger than the diameter of the bit in the center. Then place it over your drill location. As the dirt comes out it will go onto the ply instead of the surrounding ground. Makes accurate testing much easier.

Drill testing can show you several things. Besides the amount of gold in an area it can show you the profile of the bedrock. Know this can help you to decide exacty what kind of gear is going to be needed to work the claim in the most economical method. Testing is an important process in proving a claim out here. If you don't test and prove that there's good gold on the claim, then if for some reason they kick you off it you'll have data to show when you file a taking suit against the agency. No data=No cash award.

 

[Goldwasher]

Plus I have boulders mixed in I couldn't drill through with what I could rent even

 

[fishnfacts]

Sounds good guys and I can see where there could/would be a time when it can help. I am just trying to figure out the least strenuous way to mine.

 

[fishnfacts]

I know, find someone to do all the digging. Heehehe

 

[ratled]

An ice fishing auger isn't going to drill through gravel. You can take a section of pipe or culvert and work with a hand sucker or regular suction dredge if the BR isn't too deep.

ratled

 

[GoldGoblin]

Go check out my "little " machine ..I got you covered if you want to drill some day if I am out your direction .

 

[Lanny in AB]

That little machine must be some big!

Saw lots of drilling this past season, and in the end, the experienced miner beat the drillers to the gold! His 30+ years of experience won out, but he's very familiar with glaciation and glacial deposition. The drill crew drilled where they were told, and they hit no gold. The miner dug where his experience told him the glaciers had transported the gold [there's nothing like experience] (he watches carefully where the Old-timers worked/left off work for clues as well) and he sure hit some beautiful gold. The other guys got skunked and put a lot of money into those holes.

I've been at other sites where they drilled and found incredible gold. So, sometimes it pays, and sometimes it doesn't.

As for small-scale drilling, there are smaller outfits, but if you've got large rock, you'll just get frustrated.

All the best, and have some fun,

Lanny

 

[Clay Diggins]

An auger drill won't work for placer deposits. Even if an auger could drill a hole through gravel it would be very inefficient.

For placer deposit sampling a churn drill is used. These aren't rotary drills as much as they are impact drills. These things usually use a 660mm bit (about 26 inches across). Sampling placer deposits with a hardrock drill or scattering the sample with an auger doesn't do the job.

Here's a few good shots of a churn drill bit and bucket (drill casing). The bucket casing holds the drilled placer material from mixing with the undrilled material.

Be.jpg Photo by crestednewt | Photobucket

The churn drill is closely related to a Banka drill. A large diameter Banka drill can be used for some deposits. A Banka can be human powered unlike a churn drill.

BANKA - cased drills for alluvial placer exploration

Although not as accurate at sampling placers a cased Banka drill used properly can be a good placer sampling drill when access is a problem.

Heavy pans

 

[fishnfacts]

I know an ice auger won't cut through but they have augers for fence pole that might do the job and drilling would be conducted in the areas that are likely to hold gold. I am not talking about a mine field of holes, just a couple to sample down the layers before you dig.

 

[Jeff95531]

Works for me!