Odd conglomerate where road blasted going up mountain. Havent noticed any other such

[bufaloeletric]

I'm in a part of Virginia that has produced gold. There is a backroad here that cut through part of a mountain and was blasted to do so. I've noticed about a 30 foot band of conglomerate that is embedded with what looks like round river rock in the resulting cut through the rock. Whatever the "base" of this conglomerate is, happens to be a dark grey color. I watched a youtuber mining underground out west, and was excited to have found what looked like some sort of conglomerate of river rock. Only difference was that his was probably at a lot lower elevation than what I see. Being as mine is high on a mountain. I don't know much about nothing on gold. Should I investigate this further? If so, how so?

 

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[TMLonggun]

The only way to know is to take some samples and test. Take out your trusty gold pan and see what you can find. If there isn't any water at your elevation then take a sample to pan at home or at water. Use that information to narrow down your search.

If the material is very cemented together you will need to employ some kind of crushing system to get a better test. It is possible to make a simple mortar and pestle style "dolly pot" out of steel or use a grinder attachment. You will need higher grades to make the prospect economic if it requires more processing and ore movement. You should also look up your local rules and make sure you aren't claim jumping or anything. If the road was recently blasted that is potentially a very good place to prospect if you're in the right kind of area.

There are bench deposits that are high up and found at all sorts of bizarre appearing elevations, so don't be afraid to look!

 

[russau]

There are NO claims East of the Mississippi River. Instead , I'd look for private property ownership.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Digging on a hillside above a road is probably not legal, so check the laws also.

 

[bufaloeletric]

The only way to know is to take some samples and test. Take out your trusty gold pan and see what you can find. If there isn't any water at your elevation then take a sample to pan at home or at water. Use that information to narrow down your search.

If the material is very cemented together you will need to employ some kind of crushing system to get a better test. It is possible to make a simple mortar and pestle style "dolly pot" out of steel or use a grinder attachment. You will need higher grades to make the prospect economic if it requires more processing and ore movement. You should also look up your local rules and make sure you aren't claim jumping or anything. If the road was recently blasted that is potentially a very good place to prospect if you're in the right kind of area.

There are bench deposits that are high up and found at all sorts of bizarre appearing elevations, so don't be afraid to look!

Are you saying I need to take a direct sample of the conglomerate itself? There is a stream that runs out of that mountain probably not even 1/4 mile below that cut. The area is National Forest and that road isn't new.

 

[AllenJ]

Your Nox is a very capable gold detector, I'd use it and do some prospecting. Conglomerate can be a sign of a tertiary channel, and if it was a gold bearing channel you might get lucky. Never know unless you try!

 

[TMLonggun]

Are you saying I need to take a direct sample of the conglomerate itself? There is a stream that runs out of that mountain probably not even 1/4 mile below that cut. The area is National Forest and that road isn't new.

Yes, you should also sample the contact layers top and bottom and make a log of your results. The more information you have, the better. It depends a bit on the road itself. Sometimes the road is just a little quarter section blasted out with the road constructed from the blasted material. So the top of the blasted rock is generally the deepest material, the bottom of the pile is the surface material generally. You can often see exactly where the layers begin and learn more about the deposit's shape and distribution.

I would take multiple samples of the conglomerate from different levels and from the rubble and do some basic processing experiments. As Allen mentioned, you could swing your detector over it to see if you can identify any larger gold. If there isn't any gold in it, then off to the next prospect.

I assume you guys in the states have similar rules where you cannot mine or prospect in national parks but "National Forest" is fair game I think, depending on the state. Depending on how old and remote the road is it will probably influence the chance to find something easy. There are "easy" small deposits all over the place but they still require a lot of effort to prospect. If a road is 200 years old, it means a lot of boots have walked down it over the years so a chance of discovery is lower unless it is out of the way.

What gets me excited are things like this:


Where an area is logged for the first time and the blasted road areas represent the first true decent sub surface look - meaning you could be the first person ever to pick up one of those rocks and care what they are. The loggers and road blasters care about wood and roads respectively, not the rocks beneath their feet.

911 follows the forestry companies and get logging road access keys from them - a very smart strategy in my opinion.

 

[Reed Lukens]

The video had no gold samples, so the title was extremely misleading...

 

[Clay Diggins]

Are you saying I need to take a direct sample of the conglomerate itself? There is a stream that runs out of that mountain probably not even 1/4 mile below that cut. The area is National Forest and that road isn't new.

You can't prospect National Forests in Virginia without the permission of the private mineral rights owner. Neither the U.S. nor Forest Service has any mineral rights there.

Please research before you prospect. The eastern forest purchase units are not open to prospecting except a few small plots in North Carolina. Your best bet is to contact private land owners in the gold belt and get permission before you prospect their minerals.

Heavy Pans

 

[KevinInColorado]

You can't prospect prospect National Forests in Virginia without the permission of the private mineral rights owner. Neither the U.S. nor Forest Service has any mineral rights there.

Please research before you prospect. The eastern forest purchase units are not open to prospecting except a few small plots in North Carolina. Your best bet is to contact private land owners in the gold belt and get permission before you prospect their minerals.

Heavy Pans

To find the land owner, use your local county assessor’s website. They will have an interactive map. Zoom into the area of interest to see individual land parcels. Then click the “i” icon (for parcel info) and click on the parcel. It’ll show you the name and mailing address of the land owner. Time to write a nice letter!

 

[russau]

Kev , now-a-days the computer is king for finding information ! Years back I used to buy a copy of the County Plat book that is/was sold at their County seat. It showed all of what you said ,BUT now just do as you stated and use that computer to do your research !

 

[TMLonggun]

The video had no gold samples, so the title was extremely misleading...

The video I posted? They include the assay results at the end of the video... 9g/t, 14, 91g/t!, 7, 36, 69g/t AU etc. Those are choice samples but still very nice grades. Many of those with huge silver/cu credits over an ounce per tonne gold. That's a lot of gold! Some of the largest mines in the world process less than .5 g/t. Just because it isn't glittering gold doesn't mean there isn't any there (or other valuable minerals). Not bad for something picked off the side of the road. Many of the BC mines mining copper rich ores like chalcopyrite and bornite have huge gold production by products which make up a huge % of their sales. Whether it is gold or copper ore is determined by the prevailing metal prices and mineral composition. The only part I am not sure about is whether the bulk of the gold in some of these samples is contained in the quartz or the embedded minerals within so that part may or may not be misleading but I think it is only a technicality because it will all be tested and processed together in a mining scenario. Anyway, I think the video's title is accurate. I wish I could wander over to a road and pick up some 3 oz/ t gold ore!

 

[Reed Lukens]

Hmmm, yea, "Insanely High Grade"... I guess that I was thinking of a bit more bling
These are plain old high grade from the Morning Glory Lode in Alhegany California

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