Oklahoma prospector looking for some color!!!

[SoonerStateProspector]

Hey guys and gals! My name is Chebon and I'm 24 years old from the Sooner State a.k.a. Oklahoma. I've been panning and prospecting for about a year now and it's my favorite hobby and I try to get out as much as I can.

I'm thinking about hitting the Kiamichi River this weekend between Moyers and Antlers hoping to find some gold. Mike Pung, the co-inventor of the Gold Cube has told me personally at the GPAA meetings that the best places to pan are the gravel bars alongside the river but I'm also leaning towards just digging in the stream hoping to hit bedrock. I've researched the USGS reports on the water level and the water is probably about a foot and a half deep which is perfect. What would you guys recommend?

 

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[vpnavy]

I noticed this is your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard! Take a look at Sub-Forums: Oklahoma for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I recommend doing as Mike tells you
...or traveling to Denver or the Black Hills where you'll actually find gold!

Colorado info is here: www.findingGOLDinColorado.com

 

[kingskid1611]

Welcome from Oklahoma. I don't find gold but then again I don't live up your way. Good Luck and Happy Hunting.

 

[SoonerStateProspector]

Thanks everyone! I'm actually planning a trip to Colorado in either February or March. I've studied the geological formations of the area and have concluded that the gold is following a north, north-west pattern towards Utah. I'm planning on visiting Denver and Golden when I'm up there. I've heard about good gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota but I'm not touching that. That's Lakota and Sioux sacred land and I'd never even imagine desecrating sacred Native land. What part of Oklahoma are you from, Kingskid1611?

 

[kingskid1611]

Thanks everyone! I'm actually planning a trip to Colorado in either February or March. I've studied the geological formations of the area and have concluded that the gold is following a north, north-west pattern towards Utah. I'm planning on visiting Denver and Golden when I'm up there. I've heard about good gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota but I'm not touching that. That's Lakota and Sioux sacred land and I'd never even imagine desecrating sacred Native land. What part of Oklahoma are you from, Kingskid1611?

Northeast over by Tulsa. Little big town called Claremore.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thanks everyone! I'm actually planning a trip to Colorado in either February or March. I've studied the geological formations of the area and have concluded that the gold is following a north, north-west pattern towards Utah. I'm planning on visiting Denver and Golden when I'm up there. I've heard about good gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota but I'm not touching that. That's Lakota and Sioux sacred land and I'd never even imagine desecrating sacred Native land. What part of Oklahoma are you from, Kingskid1611?

Glad to have you visit. The Colorado mineral belt runs SW from the front range west of Boulder all the way down to Telluride, Silverstone, etc in the southwest quadrant of the state. However, water action makes for a broader area where placer gold can be found.

Also, the gold in south metro denver is not from the current rockies or the mineral belt, it's from the proto-rockies which completely eroded away during the dinosaur era.

We also have spots like Cripple Creek that are volcanic in origin (not part of the mineral belt) and modest glacial placers in the northern part of the state which are likely gold pushed down from Wyoming.

Whew...lots to learn about! ...or just come dig where the ground is open to the public (and not too frozen!) as I share on my website

 

[okbasspro]

Welcome to TNet. KRiver can produce some surprising gold for being Oklahoma. It will not come easy with a pan or small equipment you might find a price or two. I have done fairly well in Oklahoma but I run a modified 4" proline dredge. I can not get down there this weekend but if we can hookup in the future I would be willing to do a trip with you. Here's some pics for you.

And some Texas shine for you

 

[russau]

id sure like to see how my 4 inch Keene with Gold Hog matting would do down there.

 

[SoonerStateProspector]

OkBassPro, We should definitely prospect together. I've never run any motorized equipment but I've got a pretty good idea on how the dredge works. I'd like to go down to the K River and just do a bit of sample panning. Do 5 pans in the middle of the stream, 5 pans on the inside bends, 5 pans on the gravel bars and 5 pans on the erosion piles left from elevated flood stages and see what is deposited when and where and go from there.

 

[Grumpie]

Welcome to TNet. KRiver can produce some surprising gold for being Oklahoma. It will not come easy with a pan or small equipment you might find a price or two. I have done fairly well in Oklahoma but I run a modified 4" proline dredge. I can not get down there this weekend but if we can hookup in the future I would be willing to do a trip with you. Here's some pics for you. View attachment 1384776 View attachment 1384777 View attachment 1384778 View attachment 1384779

And some Texas shine for you
View attachment 1384780

Made a believer out of me.

 

[okbasspro]

OkBassPro, We should definitely prospect together. I've never run any motorized equipment but I've got a pretty good idea on how the dredge works. I'd like to go down to the K River and just do a bit of sample panning. Do 5 pans in the middle of the stream, 5 pans on the inside bends, 5 pans on the gravel bars and 5 pans on the erosion piles left from elevated flood stages and see what is deposited when and where and go from there.

Floods the last 2 years have moved the gravel bars around. You need to find you a spot and head for bedrock that's where the gold is. That can be anywhere from 3-15 foot. You can get access at K River campground. Lots of goodies in campground for a guy with a detector also they have a couple big treasure hunts a year and never find it all.

 

[SoonerStateProspector]

Floods the last 2 years have moved the gravel bars around. You need to find you a spot and head for bedrock that's where the gold is. That can be anywhere from 3-15 foot. You can get access at K River campground. Lots of goodies in campground for a guy with a detector also they have a couple big treasure hunts a year and never find it all.

Is the K River Campground open to prospectors and panners or do you have to get permission to prospect and do you have to camp at the campground as well?

 

[okbasspro]

It's open if your staying in the campgrounds which is a very nice place to stay or there is a small day use fee. I always camp it is cheap to stay there. It's pretty this time of year.

 

[SoonerStateProspector]

I looked on their website and it's only $3 a day per person and $25 to rent a kayak for a few hours. I'm contemplating on heading down there this weekend just to do a bit of sampling and get a feel for the area. I've already talked to the owner of the campground and he says I can dig and pan as much as I feel like but just fill my holes back in, which I always do anyways. Hopefully I can find a bit of color using nothing but a shovel and a pan. I'm not looking to get rich but as long as I can find a few flakes or a small picker, it'll definitely end my prospecting season with a bang.

 

[RANGER31]

Hello SoonerStateProspect there is a area over in East Oklahoma Mountains that was very rich in gold.were nuggets were pulled from the stream and hard rocked mined from the mountains. the area is still there its just trying to mine it. i remember watching a Gold Fever when Tom Massie went there using his medal Detector and just a portable sluice and gold pan he puled put some dang nice gold and a few nuggets with the detector. i am hoping to make a trip up there this spring to the area he went.i posted a little clip below on the history of the area. there was areas up there that was producing 600 dollars per ton on gold there. so with that said good luck on ur search.

Between 1901 and 1910 a massive amount of gold prospecting occurred. More than two thousand mining claims were filed and a dozen or more small smelters built. Mine shafts ranged from a few feet in depth to more than two hundred feet beneath the surface, and reported ore values fluctuated wildly from less than a dollar to more than six hundred dollars per ton, with estimated processing costs ranging around five dollars per ton. Thousands of prospectors entered the Wichitas, and a number of towns, including Wildman, Meers, Golden Pass, Craterville, Oreana, Hollis, and Doris, sprang up. Granite, with its access to the railroad, served as the main distribution point for men and material.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I have spent some time prospecting on the K-river along with OKbasspro and MikeMike and here is what I have learned in that spot. YES! there is gold in Oklahoma! The majority of it is extremely small specks but flakes can be found and even the ultar-rare nugget has come from there. There has been a lot of flooding lately so things have changed the top layer some. Some old deep spots are now filled with fresh cobble. The bedrock depth is highly dynamic, but there are 3 distinct layers; a loose cobble "flood" layer on the top, a hard-pack mid layer which is really close to being concrete and then the bedrock below. Mike and myself made a combined push to bedrock one time. We were finding gold in the flood so we wanted to see what was in the hard-pack and on bedrock. After spending days with hammers, chisels and pry-bars we made a hole about 10 foot deep to bedrock. You know what we found on bedrock? NOTHING. Know what we found in the hardpack? almost nothing. I will not waste another minute there going below the flood.

I have been trying to get back to test some knew theories and locations but the floods have kept me away. Maybe 2017 will be the year I get back.

Here a video from one of my last hunts there.



FYI, that spot where I was dredging in this video is where Mike and I worked down to bedrock. I figured since I had already spent the time to clear a huge area of gravel, we might as well continue down in the same spot.

 

[SoonerStateProspector]

I have spent some time prospecting on the K-river along with OKbasspro and MikeMike and here is what I have learned in that spot. YES! there is gold in Oklahoma! The majority of it is extremely small specks but flakes can be found and even the ultar-rare nugget has come from there. There has been a lot of flooding lately so things have changed the top layer some. Some old deep spots are now filled with fresh cobble. The bedrock depth is highly dynamic, but there are 3 distinct layers; a loose cobble "flood" layer on the top, a hard-pack mid layer which is really close to being concrete and then the bedrock below. Mike and myself made a combined push to bedrock one time. We were finding gold in the flood so we wanted to see what was in the hard-pack and on bedrock. After spending days with hammers, chisels and pry-bars we made a hole about 10 foot deep to bedrock. You know what we found on bedrock? NOTHING. Know what we found in the hardpack? almost nothing. I will not waste another minute there going below the flood.

I have been trying to get back to test some knew theories and locations but the floods have kept me away. Maybe 2017 will be the year I get back.

Here a video from one of my last hunts there.



FYI, that spot where I was dredging in this video is where Mike and I worked down to bedrock. I figured since I had already spent the time to clear a huge area of gravel, we might as well continue down in the same spot.

I've actually watched that video and I'd love to have a dredge but I'm happy with my pan and shovel for right now. Any places you recommend on the river itself? How much gold is to be expected so I don't get my hopes up? I'm expecting 60-100 mesh gold or smaller but you never know. How deep is the average hardpack/hardpan? It's supposed to be raining tomorrow so I'm expecting to stay out there for a few hours before the water gets too intense.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I've actually watched that video and I'd love to have a dredge but I'm happy with my pan and shovel for right now. Any places you recommend on the river itself? How much gold is to be expected so I don't get my hopes up? I'm expecting 60-100 mesh gold or smaller but you never know. How deep is the average hardpack/hardpan? It's supposed to be raining tomorrow so I'm expecting to stay out there for a few hours before the water gets too intense.

Most of the spots I've dredged has several feet of flood layer. Your best bet is probably on the far side of the gravel bar, but honestly the gold there is VERY patchy. So it's really up to luck if you hit a patch or not. Expect the gold to be mostly minus-100. Don't even try to pan down completely at the river. Dig yourself a 5 gallon bucket of gravel and pan that down to cons, then pan the cons to check for gold. Finding any gold at all is a success on the K-River, don't expect paying quantities. It's all for fun and practice over there.

Be very, VERY careful about rain! Watch the water gauge reading for Clayton! If there has been a lot of rain, they will open the flood gates on the reservoir up there.

 

[mike(swWash)]

If Mike say's dig......then dig! If he says you need the cube.....then you need the cube. He's the God Father of flour gold recovery

After mastering and maybe outgrowing the cube, look up Goldhog videos for a deeper education on recovery