What are your favorite non-standard prospecting and mining tools?

[Jimoutside]

We all know we can buy our gold collection equipment from people who specialize in it, and so naturally most of us probably do buy a lot of it from vendors catering to the trade.

But what innovations, improvisations, hacks, cheap substitutes, and common objects go with you when you prospect, or do you use back home once you've brought your cons and gold back to the house?

Asking, cause I'm heading to the Dollar store shortly..... LOL!

 

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[arizau]

Yes, it is surprising, Arizau. And how terrific to learn you and I met before and used to hang on the AGF so long ago. I haven't heard Trevor's name for years, and yet, he was one I always read, and we PM'ed frequently. He had some fantastic things for sale, regularly, as I recall. I never bought any from him, but sure enjoyed looking and his education. He was a patient miner. The real kind. And, he was a walking miner's encyclopedia.

When Trev would get to talking gold mining, I know I always sat up and took notice.

I'd forgotten he had collaborated with Pung until you reminded me just now. THANKS! And no, I did not remember the GC "bulge" phenom JOINT solution effort, but certainly understand what you are saying and Trev was trying to convey, I agree whole heartedly. Thanks for that link to the zombie thread here on TN. I'll spend more time there, and catch up.

Re: boil boxes, you are smack dab on re: verticality of the box far edge being a necessity. The only one I have ever encountered was back when I was tasked with cleaning it out after a massive trommel cleanout up at Cracker Creek above Sumpter, several years back. They were doing "pay to get a share of the gold" ($1500 a head) gig once a year when that big ole trommel would groan to life and the owner would fill up a cast iron bathtub he'd perched up on a high metal scaffolding where he washed out the carpets. Then he pulled the tub stopper, and let the cons steadily drip out into smaller clean up machines. I was one of the smaller cleaners/operators.

I had both the Dixie Doodlebug reverse helix trommel, and the Green Magic's WHITE blacksands wheel with those 45 Degree adjustable cups around the perimeter of that white wheel there with me/us, and we sat up near the mine store/clubhouse. I'd grab a bucket of those dripping cons, we'd reduce them further in the two devices just mentioned and then take the super concentrate to 3 hand panners trusted by Joe and the Mrs. to complete the cleanup. Then we all feasted on grilled T-Bones and all the trimmings. Man, those were the good ole days!!!!

Boil box duty was part of that assignment I was trusted with. And the gold was great in there!!! 20' long sluices, 8' wide all day long, made for one Helluva concentrated boilbox. That trommel really ate up wherever the excavator could dump directly into the hopper from hillside across the road from the main camp. The road up to Borne. Remember that? Ayup, good times.

I found your Cape D comments quite accurate. I don't usually chat up when I'm working that beach. I have found that some of the died in the wool GC tower users are now swapping out for low flow/low v-mat sluices (10 cubic feet max allowed by state regulations) and really pulling in the tiny gold with their recirc units. I can hardly wait to get back up there and use my Goldie eTower Goldrop. Talk about fun!!! The wind came up bad, several months ago, and toppled all the GC towers on Benson Beach, and made for a LOT of sad miners that day. Gold was gone as those trays went ass over teakettle back onto the beach. UGH

I find your comment about 4' head being about max for lift without losing GPH on these bilge pumps, rather puzzling. Surely you don't mean all bilge pump, just those which are xyz GPH or less? I can't think of a boat I'd put a bilge pump on that is only for a 4' cavity I'd be trying to de-water. What am I not understanding Boating is not my thing, but I seem to recall adults could stand up fully below deck, and that is definitely over 4' in height.

Anyhow, good to see you emerge and talk to me here on TN. I appreciate it. I think I'll go check out AGF just to see who's still there. Hope my password still works. LOL

Is Jim still the owner? Marcy and I were pretty close as goldminer's wives go. She did me a huge favor when my article first appeared in the MGM&TH full color slick in 1990. She was McCracken's mag and newsletter editor at that time, and McCracken and her publishing my story (plus her unexpected book review) got me an article in the Front Page Biz section (below the fold...LOL) of the NY Times that year, and THAT NY Times coverage was picked up by AP and flung around the world. After that, I got mail from San Jose News (in Cali) some newspaper in the Bahama's I'd never heard of, etc., all kinds of places I'd never been. Yes, AGF'ers have been very kind to me as I recall.

Ayup. You brought back so good memories, Arizau. Is Trev still living?

Thank you.

Pls grab a minute and talk to me some more about this 4' limiter on bilge pump lift. I need more education.

A case of mistaken identity but I think(?) I read some of your posts, particularly on your cube mod, on the now defunct Oregon Gold Prospecting Forum or whatever it was called.

As to bilge pump lost lift capacity here is an article for you that illustrates it and I have seen graphs somewhere that give further breakdowns by size if I remember correctly. https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2014/december/bilge-pump-capacity.asp. Loss percentages may vary pump size to size but the article shows a loss of 30% at just 3' lift for a 500gph pump. Depending on how you are set up, that could explain why you can run your "slice" at full flow with your 1000gph pump.

 

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[Rosey Morgan]

Opps, on the mistaken Identity. Sorry 'bout that.

I wasn't aware Trev ever posted on Justin Peterson's now closed Oregon Gold Forum. Now there was another Hoppin' Place! I just read and exchanged commentary with Trev in public on AGF where he was a heavy contributor back in the day.

Thanks for the feedback.

As far as your additional comment on height; I just went and measured: from Johnson 1000gph bilge pump in the recirc, mortar tube to its inserted up thru the bottom side of the top deck, Tray #1, --the slick tray-- of my SLICE. It is 21" (.53 meters)

And yes, I run the 1000gph full open. hmmmm

Any more thoughts?

 

[N-Lionberger]

I find a screw driver to be quite handy it is good for popping cracks as well as working on my dredge!

 

[Rosey Morgan]

Arizau, I wanted to return and thank you s'more for bringing that BoatUS statistic to my attention re: loss of pumping volume bc of increase in head. While that's logical, that URL I found on the search engine, added even more enlightenment on your point re: important performance decreases over 3' in height/30% effeciency loss at that tipping point. I have you to thank.

As I stated my height from pump to my SLICE 3-stack is 21" (whew)

As to bilge pump lost lift capacity here is an article for you that illustrates it and I have seen graphs somewhere that give further breakdowns by size if I remember correctly. https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2014/december/bilge-pump-capacity.asp. Loss percentages may vary pump size to size but the article shows a loss of 30% at just 3' lift for a 500gph pump. Depending on how you are set up, that could explain why you can run your "slice" at full flow with your 1000gph pump.

 

[Rosey Morgan]

Jimoutside, I just remembered I have another "non-standard" mining tool I use regularly. It is the set of three BONDO spreaders/spatulae. I use them to keep from tearing up my finger tips, or wearing holes in my gloves from classifying on metal screens with my fingers moving the wet rocks around.

When I pour out the screened contents, then I turn the sieves over and run the Bondo on the BOTTOM side of the screen and that knocks out the "stuck rocks", That way, I'm not banging them on the ground or hitting the screen with my hand or a scoop or whatever to try to dislodge the small leaverites. Hitting screen sieves is bad for sieve longevity.

I buy my 3 Bondo spreaders in a blister pack from NAPA, yes the autoparts people.

 

[Jimoutside]

That way, I'm not banging them on the ground or hitting the screen with my hand or a scoop or whatever to try to dislodge the small leaverites.

Ha-Ha, Leaverites! My uncle was a great admirer of leaverites.