Bedrock and Gold: The mysteries . . .

[Lanny in AB]

Do you love to chase the gold? Please join me--lots of gold hunting tips, stories of finds (successful and not), and prospecting poetry.

Nugget in the bedrock tip:

I had a visit with a mining buddy this past weekend, and he told me of an epic battle to get a nugget out of the bedrock, and of what he learned from the experience. I thought some of you might like to learn from his mistake.

While out detecting one day, he came across a large sheet of bare bedrock. The bedrock was exposed because the area had been blasted off with a water cannon (a monitor), by the old-timers! It was not fractured bedrock, in fact it was totally smooth.

He was not optimistic at all of the prospects of a nugget. But, for some reason (we've all been there) he decided to swing his detector over that bedrock. After a long time, just as he was about to give up on his crazy hunch, he got a signal, right out of that smooth bedrock.

There was no crevice, no sign of a crevice, nada! So, he had to go all the way back to camp to get a small sledge and a chisel. The signal in the rock intrigued him, but he still wasn't overly optimistic. For those of you that have chased signals in a similar situation, sometimes there's a patch of hot mineralization in the bedrock that sounds off, but this spot, according to him, was sharp and clear right in the middle of the signal, not just a general increase of the threshold like you get when you pass over a hot spot in the bedrock.

Anyway, he made it back to the spot and started to chisel his way into the bedrock. If any of you have tried this, it's an awful job, and you usually wind up with cut knuckles--at the least! Regardless, he kept fighting his way down, busting out chunks of bedrock. He kept checking the hole, and the signal remained very strong.

This only puzzled him all the more as he could clearly see that it was solid bedrock with no sign of any crevice. He finally quit at the end of the day, at a depth of about a foot, but still, nothing in the hole.

An experienced nugget shooting friend dropped by the next morning to see him, and asked him how the hunt was going. My buddy related his tale of the mysterious hole in the bedrock, and told the friend to go over and check it out, and see if he could solve the riddle.

Later in the day, the other nugget hunter returned. In his hand was a fine, fat, sassy nugget. It weighed in at about an ounce and a quarter! After my friend returned his eyeballs to their sockets and zapped his heart to start it again, he asked where the nugget had come from.

Imagine his surprise when he heard it came from the mystery hole!! He asked how deep the other guy had gone into the bedrock to get it. "Well, no deeper" was his reply.

So, here's the rest of the story as to what happened. When the successful nugget hunter got to the bedrock, he scanned the surface got the same strong signal as my buddy. He widened out the hole and scanned again. Still a solid tone. He widened the hole some more so he could get his coil in, and here's the key and the lesson in this story, he got a strong signal off the side of the hole, about six inches down, but set back another inch into the side of the bedrock!!

My unlucky friend, the true discoverer of the gorgeous nugget's resting place had gone deep past the signal while digging his hole!!

Now, of course, a good pinpointer would easily solve this problem. The problem was, my buddy didn't have one, so why would he widen the hole, right? Well, the other guy was the one with more experience, and that's why he did. It was a lot more work, but what a payoff!

So, my buddy's butt is still black and blue from where he kicked himself for the next week or so for having lost such an incredible prize.

Some nugget hunting lessons are harder than others to learn. . . .

All the best,

Lanny


P.S. When in gold country--check the bedrock, regardless of whether it looks likely or not! Mother Nature likes to play games sometimes.

 

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[63bkpkr]

Hello Lanny,
The appearance of that ground is most interesting and yes the upended slate is a trap worth inspecting and also Yes, as the plates are opened what is between them drops further down. An interesting conundrum to reason out!

I've spent some serious time looking for a similar deposit of mountainside, layers of slate, that had become lodged in a river bed as when it came back to my mind I realized that the openings between the plates would have plucked heavies from the flood waters during those important times of high water.

Also, as I examined your photo, I noted the rounded rocks as obvious river rounded items and was reminded of my three month long 'camping trip' in 2011 when I came across this section of historical riverbed that is slowly rotting out of a hillside of accumulated dirt and roots.
Rounded rocks, concretion's especially at the top of the photo. Place's and sights before my eyes and the stories within the sights that were revealed to my mind as I thought about just What I was looking at. Special times out there! Now, just what has taken place over the last seven years to this emerging historical riverbed from when my photo was taken, though maybe not much?​

 

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[Eyeball]

View attachment 1657270

In the above picture, the bedrock is a black slate, with some of it being very hot to detect, but the beauty of working this bedrock that was hand-mined in the 1800's is that the bedrock is friable (no, not in a pan on high heat) meaning the bedrock is arranged in perpendicular sheets. You will see a reddish-orange colour centre-left of the photograph, and that piece of protruding bedrock is rounded from stream weathering many, many eons ago before it was buried to be preserved as an ancient channel. Slightly above it and to the left, you should be able to pick out plates (sheets, etc.) of bedrock leaning to the left. If you have any experience with this type of bedrock, there are spaces between each individual plate or sheet, and this is where the gold was trapped. The interesting thing is that sometimes the gold is down deep, and other times there's a heavy concentration on the surface and within the first three of four inches of the bedrock (depending on whether the plates continued deeper or were only arranged in a pattern over more solid underlying bedrock) with nothing farther down.

However, once I started to use Minelab PI's, I had an advantage over other VLF users that had detected and hammered the bedrock before me as my PI's could see much deeper into any deeper or larger gaps, and I was able to retrieve many sassy nuggets that hadn't seen the light of day since the dinosaurs stomped across the ancient stream placers.

Nevertheless, if you've never chased nuggets in such rock, it's a challenge as every time a sheet is pried open to get to the gold, it drops, then when you try to get to it again, it drops again . . . . Quite the exercise in patience by the time the nugget is finally corralled.

All the best,

Lanny

You are so right, rocks are not friable, I tried!



eyeball.

 

[Eyeball]

LOVE yours as well!!

lol,
Thank you kind sir, (smiling from ear to ear.)

 

[Eyeball]

Ditto.

Now the pics have arrived, they give me a yearning to the old days of actually being there, so many memories and so many years gone by...my my.
Thank you for the reboot Lanny, wonderful stuff.
eyeball.

 

[Eyeball]

Hokey doodles!
I have come to the end of your thread! What am I to do now??

Ahh, go check out Eagles writings, I'll be back! eyeball

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hokey doodles!
I have come to the end of your thread! What am I to do now??

Ahh, go check out Eagles writings, I'll be back! eyeball

Well worth the read, enjoy!

He left us a wonderful legacy, so all the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hello Lanny,
The appearance of that ground is most interesting and yes the upended slate is a trap worth inspecting and also Yes, as the plates are opened what is between them drops further down. An interesting conundrum to reason out!

I've spent some serious time looking for a similar deposit of mountainside, layers of slate, that had become lodged in a river bed as when it came back to my mind I realized that the openings between the plates would have plucked heavies from the flood waters during those important times of high water.

Also, as I examined your photo, I noted the rounded rocks as obvious river rounded items and was reminded of my three month long 'camping trip' in 2011 when I came across this section of historical riverbed that is slowly rotting out of a hillside of accumulated dirt and roots.
View attachment 1657307 Rounded rocks, concretion's especially at the top of the photo. Place's and sights before my eyes and the stories within the sights that were revealed to my mind as I thought about just What I was looking at. Special times out there! Now, just what has taken place over the last seven years to this emerging historical riverbed from when my photo was taken, though maybe not much?​

Herb,

It looks like you've got some channel deposit material of some type. Was there any glaciation in your area? Rocks tumbled by glaciers have five corners (at least, that's what a geologist told me), and river rock will be rounded with no corners or far fewer anyway (what I was told). However, I've captured many a sassy nugget from ancient glacial stream beds. The secret is to test to see what the channel was carrying, and if it proves up, go for it. Some are rich, others are better for filler in road work.

I hope you get out there again and find some more of that beautiful California gold.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Lanny, I love it

"Some are rich, others are better for filler in road work" and I know this to be SO correct. Just because an old stream bed is rotting out of a hillside does not mean there is gold there!

I'm looking for work in my area of endeavor as it is more likely to provide me with a roof over my head but at the same time I am exercising to bring my physical strength back up to what I need it to be "out there". I need to be fit regardless of what is happening in my life so I'm headed that way...……..63bkpkr

Exploring is so much fun!
​

 

[Eyeball]

Well worth the read, enjoy!

He left us a wonderful legacy, so all the best,

Lanny

Thank you Sensei , I'll be eyeballing the thread for updates, you can take that to the bank!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Warning! Annual Prospecting Poetry!!

Old Santy Crashed His Sleigh One Night

On Christmas eve of ‘62,
Well, things was lookin’ mighty blue.
There’d been a crash, a wreck all right
A prairie mishap one dark night.

But let me backtrack just a bit
So you can ponder all of it.
One special night so long ago
Found Santy Claus all set to go.

Away up North one winter’s night,
The sky was filled with stars all bright.
And on that Eve, old Santy flew
His magic reindeer sleigh, it’s true!

But later on a storm arose,
The worst one ever I suppose,
The wind commenced an awful blow
That filled the air with ice and snow.

Old Santy couldn’t see at all,
And then his sleigh began to fall.
His reindeer froze, then couldn’t fly
No matter how they fought to try.

So down it went, the sleigh and deer . . .
This filled old Nick with dread and fear
‘Cause in his sleigh were all the toys
For countless wishful girls and boys.

A dreadful drop, a jarring crash,
All Christmas hopes it seemed to dash.
Old Nick was groggy, light of head
And mighty lucky he wern’t dead.

The racket woke a skinner old
A muleteer if truth be told.
Snug in the fort he’d heard the sound
Of something crashing to the ground.

Jake left his bed all safe and warm,
In Benton’s fort assailed by storm,
Then grabbed a lantern off the hook,
Threw on his boots to take a look.

No other souls awoke that night
The soldiers, freighters, slept right tight.
So Jake took off to look around
For what had crashed into the ground.

The snow had drifted rather deep
Since he’d retired for his sleep.
So through the gate he left to see
The site of such calamity.

Outside the fort, an awful sight
Revealed itself by lantern light,
A busted sleigh and reindeer too!
Old Santy Claus was turnin’ blue.

Montanny winters sure are cold,
They favor steely men and bold.
So Jake the skinner acted quick
To save those reindeer and Saint Nick.

The deer he quickly tucked away
Inside a stable filled with hay.
And by his fire he propped Saint Nick.
But things were lookin’ mighty sick

‘Cause Santy Claus was out of it.
His reindeer too, the whole durn kit!
Who now to take the gifts and toys
To all those wishful girls and boys.

Yes, Jake was in an awful fix!
He needed stuff like magic tricks
To find a way to save the night
And get old Santy’s sleigh in flight.

A thinkin’ some, he shook Saint Nick
To see if Santy had a trick
To help him on his new-found quest.
Yet, Santy didn’t look his best.

But all at once, in Santy’s hand,
Appeared a bag of northern brand.
And on it words, “Pure magic dust”,
Jake knew right then this was a must.

For in the back, a stable stout,
Held eight old mules. They’d help him out!
Those mules could fly, with magic dust,
And Jake had earned their life-long trust.

So in a flash, out back he flew
To coax his mules that job to do.
No purdy names his mules they had
‘Cause Jakey’s mules was mostly bad.

As Patch, and Bob the oldest two,
Why any livin’ thing they’d chew.
They’d tear a chunk from hide or hair
And once they whupped a grizzly bear!

While Mike and ornery, nasty Bing
Would kick their hooves at anything.
A dance girl once had flitted past
And caught herself a hammered blast.

And Patch who had a taste for beer
Had once romanced a long-horned steer.
Old Sam possessed a nasty mood
He’d use to pitch off any dude.

But Jack was just an ornery sort
A little wide, and awful short.
Now Jenny, she was sort of cute
To skinner Jack, that old galoot.

So Jack approached his fractious crew
And let them know just what he’d do
By cussin’ loud, with swears and such,
If troubled times they brung him much.
Then findin’ harness, tack and kit
Jake started singin’ songs a bit.
‘Cause every skinner oughter know
Some songs to sing to start the show.

His mules perked up, their ears they cocked
And on their heels they gently rocked
For singin’ soothes the savage beast
Or calms it down, a bit, at least.

So Jake commenced to sing a song,
It wasn’t loud nor awful long,
But just a shorter sort of thing
That Jake dreamt up that night to sing.

“Yippy ki-yi-yippee, ki-yippee ki-yew
My home’s in Montanny, the gold is here too,
Yippy ki-yi-yippy, ki-yippy ki-yay
My home’s in Montanny but Santy I’ll play.

Yippy ki-yi-yippee, ki-yippee ki-yee
My home’s in Montanny, but Santy I’ll be.
Yippy ki yi yippee, ki yippee ki yew
My home’s in Montanny, but this job I’ll do.”

Then Jake began to sprinkle dust
A needful thing, a surest must!
Them mules, their eyes grew mighty wide
As wings they sprouted on each side.

Like Pegasus they rose right quick.
That magic dust worked mighty slick.
Alarmed, Jake staked them to the trees
To stop them flyin’ off like bees.

Yet on the ground lay Santy’s sled,
All bent and lookin’ awful dead.
But magic dust is sure strong stuff.
A pinch or two was just enough

To perk that sleigh and make it shine.
Now Santys ride was lookin’ fine!
The toys were scattered in the woods,
But Jake corralled them children’s goods.

He set them back in Santys pack,
That Christmas Eve all dark and black.
Off to his shack Jake softly trod
Where Santy gave his head a nod

To give permission to old Jake
On Christmas Eve those toys to take.
A buff’ler robe Jake swiftly found
And wrapped it tightly all around.

Then up he climbed into that sleigh
With mules hitched up to fly away.
Those brutes of his looked mighty calm
That magic dust, a healin’ balm.

The storm abated at that time,
And to the sky that sleigh did climb.
Without a hitch of any sort,
Jake cleared the walls of Benton’s fort.

Well Jakey made old Santy’s run
On Christmas Eve, and it was fun
A slidin’ down those chimleys black
With Santy’s loaded goody pack.

He stuffed the socks and left the toys
For all the little girls and boys.
He snarfed the milk and cookies too.
And sometimes sampled stiffer brew

Left out for him by kinder souls
With Cheery Christmas warm-up goals.
A snort or two, but nothin’ long,
With Jake his fear was mighty strong

If Forty Rod too much he sipped,
Old Santys sleigh might just get flipped!
And that would prove an awful thing
On Christmas Eve with gifts to bring.

At last—no more—his job was done.
Jake finished off his Christmas run
By touching down old Santy’s sleigh.
Of course, he put his mules away.

Back to his cabin Jakey crept
Where by the fire old Santy slept.
So off to bed went skinner Jake
‘Til Christmas morn he came awake.

But Nick was gone, his reindeer too!
So Jake got feelin’ mighty blue.
Yet, on his wall he found a note,
And if I may, I’ll share a quote:

“To skinner Jake, my truest friend,
Old Santy Claus some help will lend.
When Winter snows melt fast away
Head out to Alder Gulch to play.

The rush won’t start ‘till ‘63
The first to stake you’ll surely be.
The map I’ve drawn will get you there.
I figure that should make us square.”

Jake found the spot without a hitch.
The strike he made was filthy rich,
And his good fortune was because
He’d helped out dear old Santy Claus.

All the best of the season to everyone,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Warning! Annual Prospecting Poetry!!

Mrs. Sassy Claus Went Out To Play

At Christmas time, some tales are told
About the folks who chase the gold.
But stranger yet are tales about
The folks who’ve felt they’d been left out.

Now in this case, I’m speakin’ ‘cause
My tale’s ‘bout Mrs. Santy Claus.
You see up north, it’s always cold
Which interferes with chasin’ gold.

And Mrs. Claus, a jolly sort
Felt northern weather sold her short.
“Now, Santy dear”, she said one day,
“I’d love to chase the gold and play

In warmer climes than here’s about.
In fact, I need to just get out!”
Well Santy Claus was plumb took back
By Sassy Claus’s word attack.

He’d always thought she’d loved it there
With reindeer-sleigh and polar bear.
But then his brain began to work!
He realized he’d been a jerk.

Why keepin’ her trapped in the cold
Had kept her from her quest for gold.
Now Santy knew a thing or two
Of chasin’ gold, let me tell you.

(He’d helped out miners in the past
Who’d lost their hopes a-mighty fast
When ore’d played out, or placer’d quit
Well, Santy Claus knew all of it.)

As comprehension filled his brain
That he himself had caused her pain,
He reckoned that he’d trapped her there
In frigid, frozen polar air.

A plan he hatched, a field trip!
His brain rushed on, “We’ll let ‘er rip!
We’ll take a break for just one day
Way south in Cal-ee-for-neye-ay.”

(Now makin’ toys is constant work,
So Santy couldn’t be a jerk
By wastin’ time on holidays,
A happy missus? That streak pays!!)

A master plan, a genius stroke
Of figurin’ in him awoke.
He’d have the elves pack up some stuff
‘Cause trips down south could be quite rough.

Those ‘49’ers workin’ there
Were ranker than a grizzly bear.
Plus nasty things did robbers do,
Plus gamblin’ cheats, plus soiled doves too.

The atmosphere of minin’ camps
Gave Santy Claus a case of cramps.
But with some helpful Red-Eye brew
It killed those cramps and all pain too!

Now packed and ready, doubts aside,
Old Santy whistled up his ride.
His reindeer team was itchin’ bad
To travel south where fun was had.

A twinklin’ eye, a quick nod too,
That sleigh took off its job to do.
The trip was quick, that ride was fast,
Full-powered by a magic blast.

The rig touched down in old-growth pine
And things were lookin’ mighty fine.
A stream was near, a likely place.
No 49’ers fouled that space.

Down to the stream, not very far
An inside bend, a gravel bar!
Well Santy soon had stripped that spot.
The pans came out; that bar looked hot!

A little pannin’ proved right quick
That Santy Claus was pretty slick.
He’d put his bride into the pay.
So Sassy Claus, she panned all day . . .

With darkness comin’, Nick took care
To keep a watch for man or bear.
His little darlin’ just kept on
A diggin’ ‘till the dirt was gone.

A clunk, a clank, not very far . . .
The bedrock gave a sudden jar.
“Just wait a bit my darlin’ elf
I’d like to check this out myself.”

So Santy Claus went off to get
His reindeer team and flyin’ kit.
He wasn’t gone too powr’ful long.
When he came back, he heard a song . . .

A comin’ from that gravel bar,
Now lit by power of evenin’ star,
Came sweetest singin’ on that night
From Sassy Claus, her eyes all bright:

***********************
“Oh my Santy, oh my Santy,
Oh my Santy you are mine.
I was cold up there forever,
Now I’m warm and things are fine.

This here bedrock’s loaded up with
Lots of sassy gold just fine.
I was cold up there forever,
Now I’m warm and things are fine.

In this pan there is a massive
Golden nugget that is mine.
I was cold up there forever,
Now I’m warm and things are fine.

This here nugget’s mighty purdy
It’s no three, it’s sure a nine!
I was cold up there forever,
Now I’m warm and things are fine.

Oh my Santy, you’re my darlin’
And forever you are mine.
I will love this trip forever,
Ever grateful, I’ll be fine.”

***********************

So Santy quickly called her to
His reindeer sleigh just built for two.
And back they went to build the toys
For all the little girls and boys.

But if you visit on a night,
A-way up north when things are right,
You just might hear, while you take pause,
A sweetly singin’ Sassy Claus.

All the best to all of you this holiday season,

Lanny

 

[roadapple]

YO Buddy !!!! HO HO Ho !

 

[63bkpkr]

Thank You Lanny for this 2018 winters best poetry!

 

[Lanny in AB]

YO Buddy !!!! HO HO Ho !

Right back at ya!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thank You Lanny for this 2018 winters best poetry!

You are most welcome Herb, and as always, thanks for dropping in, and thanks for being such a great guy!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Terry Soloman]

FANTASTIC! Thank you Lanny!!!

 

[arizau]

Hey Santa. I've been good this year. How about gold in the stocking this year instead of the usual coal.

 

[Lanny in AB]

FANTASTIC! Thank you Lanny!!!

Many thanks for your continuing kindness and appreciation Terry.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[63bkpkr]

Excuse me arizau, did you not receive the instruction sheet with each lump of coal?! It says "squeeze real hard and wait to see what happens"!

 

[Eyeball]

Rhymes and poems I know not of such
But of working and trying I have done so quite much
So of this season all snowy and White
I will rhyme and reason to try and make that all right

Ol Santy and raindeer and ancient ol sleigh
must surely be plotting to balance and weigh
the toys, all the gifts and the nasty real cold
and be thought of by all if truth would be told

The season has reason for being this way
but exactly why is durn hard to say
of giving and loving it's made up some say
and for a short time it's wonderful wouldn't you say?

Old Santy is legend and lo and behold
each year he is noticed and things do unfold
children expect it and we thereto hold
by giving and loving and hoping for gold

so while it's the season and wishes come through
hope for ol Santy and a miracle or two
may God richly bless you and those with you to boot
then springtime can come and give us some loot

Merry Christmas to you and a Happy new year
I hope it will find you in plenty good cheer
so see, if you try you can reach for the sky
and rhyme and reason if only you try.

Merry Christmas and a happy new Year my friends.
May the Nuggets be with you to help meet the ends.

Well that's all folks,
eyeball