Hard-compacted gravel containing gold, ever seen this before?

[firebird]

Has anyone ever had experience digging up this kind of gravel before? I've been prospecting along a local creek that's closer by to me than the Merced river. Initially I thought it was a waste of time because there was barely any black sand along the creek's gravel, much less any gold but I did find enough flour sized pieces to keep me going. Eventually I noticed this tightly compacted gravel with rounded river rocks at the side of the creek bed and had a very hard time getting at the gravel without a pickaxe, it was almost like concrete. But in this small area here I found more flour sized gold than anywhere else along the creek and even found what's almost like a mininugget, the biggest individual piece of gold I've found so far.



Also I'm finding large amounts of this weird flat rock. When it's dry it looks dull but when it's wet it looks pretty shiny, almost metallic. The edges are really soft and can be scratched with my fingernail, and it comes in different colors, some green-ish, silver or even bronze looking. What is it?

 

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[A2coins]

I would love to do what your doing that sounds really freakin exciting to hit a gold pocket cool post

 

[Jim in Idaho]

It's usual to find more gold in compacted gravel. Watch some of Two-Toes videos on crevicing, like this one.

Jim

 

[delnorter]

You could be onto a very good find firebird. Definitely stick with prospecting this zone of compacted material. The gold could be concentrated on top of this compacted gravel, just under this layer as well as throughout it. It might be enlightening to sample the area, plotting the results on you own “local” map, trying to understand the nature of the gold deposition.

You might just become the Phoenix.

Mike

 

[mofugly13]

I’m gonna throw out a WAG that the rocks you are asking about are mica.

 

[bologna321]

Does chili have beans?

 

[tamrock]

Sounds like you have good discovery. If that unidentified rock has a waxy feel to it, I'm thinking it might be a form of California serpentine, which I believe is a formation associated with some host gold deposits found in California.

 

[Goldwasher]

Has anyone ever had experience digging up this kind of gravel before? I've been prospecting along a local creek that's closer by to me than the Merced river. Initially I thought it was a waste of time because there was barely any black sand along the creek's gravel, much less any gold but I did find enough flour sized pieces to keep me going. Eventually I noticed this tightly compacted gravel with rounded river rocks at the side of the creek bed and had a very hard time getting at the gravel without a pickaxe, it was almost like concrete. But in this small area here I found more flour sized gold than anywhere else along the creek and even found what's almost like a mininugget, the biggest individual piece of gold I've found so far.

View attachment 1653692 View attachment 1653693 View attachment 1653694 View attachment 1653695

Also I'm finding large amounts of this weird flat rock. When it's dry it looks dull but when it's wet it looks pretty shiny, almost metallic. The edges are really soft and can be scratched with my fingernail, and it comes in different colors, some green-ish, silver or even bronze looking. What is it?

View attachment 1653727

good find folow it. It's not tertiary. But, it could be a bit of inter-volcanic channel or just more recent(post ice age) erosion.

Either way since it contains rocks of different sizes it looks like virgin ground.

 

[Bejay]

I have experienced such ancient gravels in many different locations. Lots of it are in high river bench gravels in the Burnt River system. I used a rotary hammer drill to extract quite a bit of it on a high exposed bench, [and found where the old timers had actually tunneled into the ancient cemented gravels;..... and they followed the bedrock zones. Interestingly on some big placer operations in Az they have trommels with iron beater bars welded in huge drums that allow the material to be beaten up prior to the material going into a regular trommel system.

It is some tough going to get the material to free up the gold.


Bejay

 

[firebird]

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll be back there with a pickaxe as soon as the rain stops. Sigh, of all the times to finally rain here in California...

I have experienced such ancient gravels in many different locations. Lots of it are in high river bench gravels in the Burnt River system. I used a rotary hammer drill to extract quite a bit of it on a high exposed bench, [and found where the old timers had actually tunneled into the ancient cemented gravels;..... and they followed the bedrock zones. Interestingly on some big placer operations in Az they have trommels with iron beater bars welded in huge drums that allow the material to be beaten up prior to the material going into a regular trommel system.

It is some tough going to get the material to free up the gold.
Bejay

Is it worth it though, have you found this type of gravel containing much gold?

 

[Hawks88]

Good luck whe you go back.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Its worth it go bust you ass lol.

 

[Bejay]

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll be back there with a pickaxe as soon as the rain stops. Sigh, of all the times to finally rain here in California...



Is it worth it though, have you found this type of gravel containing much gold?

A good mining friend (now deceased) had a big placer operation up on Burnt River Oregon. Some of the tunnels went deep into the mountain. When he was excavating material on the high bar ancient placers he would hit/expose tunnels. With his excavator he would scrape off the bedrock for processing. I went up onto a ledge after he had cleared it of material and I took a generator and a hammer drill and really worked the bedrock (every nook and cranny). Then I vacced it up. I got more gold off that ledge than he did processing the 60 yds of material he had run through his trammel operation. Yep...any day of the week I would chisel away. But one must really pulverized the material to ensure you are getting a bang for the buck of effort.


As long as you are happy with your results you should do it!


Bejay

 

[Lanny in AB]

Packed, cemented, heavily compacted gravel, it can all contain gold or none at all . . .

So, since you're finding gold in the gravel you're working, that's the best reason to keep at it. (You could be on the gold because your compacted gravel has acted like bedrock for that fine gold to hit-and-sit. So, carefully test as you go deeper to ensure the pay continues.)

Gold gets deposited in some interesting places, some of them even downright strange, but if you're in any kind of gravel and the good gold is running, keep at it. If you get into the gravel deeper and there's no gold, or you get to bedrock and there's no gold, it only makes sense to quit and head somewhere else.

Gold often runs in layers and lines, and it's easy to punch right through a pay-layer and keep digging into barren gravel.

So, while you're at it, remember the three rules of prospecting: test, test, test; because that compacted or cemented gravel is a bear to work, and it's only worth working it when the gold keeps running as well.

All the best, and thanks for the write-up and the pictures,

Lanny

 

[mendoAu]

Altho' small a few of those pieces look "rough" and might not of traveled far. You might try carrying in a couple of five gallon buckets of water to pour into your "hole" and return the next day. Just might loosen that clay up overnite for easier digging.