Advice Needed: Highbanking hard packed clay

[Golddigger BigD]

New Ohio prospector/miner here. Just wondering if anyone has any advice for how to get all the gravels cleaned up off the surface of hardpacked clay? Here in Ohio most streams in my area don’t have bedrock bottoms. Most are very hard packed clay. I run a highbanker and it can get time consuming to scrap the first inch or so of the clay and break it all up. The clay is so hard I don’t believe the gold is actually in it but is setting on the surface. Any response is much appreciated...

 

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[et1955]

I have a love hate relationship with clay, first I got almost all my largest flakes on that layer just above or just in the clay. I would not use a high-banker for mining that layer above the clay but for the overburden yes. On that layer above the clay is so rich on the river I mine also it is iron rich so the gold is stained red. Once I get down to that layer witch could take several weeks depending how deep that layer is, generally 5 to 8 ft. down and I also have to deal with very large boulders, try getting a 4ft. boulder out of a 6ft. hole, not easy but can be done. On that layer on the clay the rocks have created depressions in the clay, I don't know if you have that where you mine but I do so my method is simple, scrape and classify and run it threw my sluice. Patients is the key here also just because you have a high-banker don't let it control how you mine, a good miners adapts to the situation and uses the appropriate tool for the job.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Blast it off with a high-pressure pump or a pressure washer, then dredged up the pile. I have clay here and we deal with it... It's not easy but there's plenty of gold.