Complete newb, but Im having quite the adventure, and I havent found much yet.

[bobw53]

I've got a wicked fever... Gold Fever... I've been stuck at work, literally sleeping at the shop, 20 hour work days... And I still haven't gotten everything done I needed to get done...
My better half left for Colorado this morning, I didn't get to go again because I have to work. My soon to be X-business partner just got back from a
5 week vacation, and still won't come to work.... Must be nice to be that F'n special, scumbag.

All I can think of is that shiny golden stuff. 34 minutes to the claim, 34 tiny little minutes.... I almost went this morning. I've got my basic digging tools in the truck, and I've got six buckets.
I can go up, do some digging and be back in 2 hours.

I think an hour of digging will make me feel a lot better. All I want to do is see that golden smiley in the crease of that pan. That golden smiley is like
crack, its addictive, and I want more.

I've got a few areas in mind to sample, some more rocks to grab and a possible shaft my Dad spotted on a satellite image this morning.



A few of the rocks picked up last week, the ones to the right are kind of copper crazy. The one to the left, I walked over it, It looked like somebody had
hit it with blue or purple poster paint. The better half's aunt picked it up... Its actually part of the rock. The pic does not do it justice, we think its
Azurite... What that means, I don't know... But I've got a pretty purple/blue rock. That pic is horrible for color. Its so much more impressive in person.

 

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[arizau]

I've got a wicked fever... Gold Fever... I've been stuck at work, literally sleeping at the shop, 20 hour work days... And I still haven't gotten everything done I needed to get done...
My better half left for Colorado this morning, I didn't get to go again because I have to work. My soon to be X-business partner just got back from a
5 week vacation, and still won't come to work.... Must be nice to be that F'n special, scumbag.

All I can think of is that shiny golden stuff. 34 minutes to the claim, 34 tiny little minutes.... I almost went this morning. I've got my basic digging tools in the truck, and I've got six buckets.
I can go up, do some digging and be back in 2 hours.

I think an hour of digging will make me feel a lot better. All I want to do is see that golden smiley in the crease of that pan. That golden smiley is like
crack, its addictive, and I want more.

I've got a few areas in mind to sample, some more rocks to grab and a possible shaft my Dad spotted on a satellite image this morning.



A few of the rocks picked up last week, the ones to the right are kind of copper crazy. The one to the left, I walked over it, It looked like somebody had
hit it with blue or purple poster paint. The better half's aunt picked it up... Its actually part of the rock. The pic does not do it justice, we think its
Azurite... What that means, I don't know... But I've got a pretty purple/blue rock. That pic is horrible for color. Its so much more impressive in person.

Azurite is one of the copper minerals. There were probably more historic values of copper mined in Hillsboro than gold and silver but they were also valuable byproducts for the copper mines then and they still are today for currently operating copper mines. The copper mining co. I worked for passed on a copper project around Hillsboro back in the late 70's or early 80's. Not enough higher grade ore reserves to justify further development or continuance of the existing mine at the time.

 

[bobw53]

Azurite is one of the copper minerals. There were probably more historic values of copper mined in Hillsboro than gold and silver but they were also valuable byproducts for the copper mines then and they still are today for currently operating copper mines. The copper mining co. I worked for passed on a copper project around Hillsboro back in the late 70's or early 80's. Not enough higher grade ore reserves to justify further development or continuance of the existing mine at the time.

Were you looking at the copper flats project? NM copper corp, bought by a Themac. I hope they get that thing going, the area could use the jobs, and I like looking at big trucks (I refuse to grow up).
They are looking at 20,000 ounces of gold per year for 15 years as a "by product".

I can see where there is a lot of copper up there, I've never seen so many green rocks in my life, and each vein seems to be a different color green.

I still wish I was a geologist.

As an aside... Big trucks.. A friend came out a while back and we went for a ride, through Hillsboro, up over the pass, up to the Gila cliff dwellings, down through Silver City,
a quick stop at the Adobe Deli and back home...

Anyways in Silver there is a turnout where you can look down into one of the pit mines. I'm not sure if its the Tyrone or the Chino. He wasn't impressed at the size of the dump
trucks, until I pointed out a little white dot near the front tire... The white dot was a pick up truck.

 

[arizau]

Were you looking at the copper flats project? NM copper corp, bought by a Themac. I hope they get that thing going, the area could use the jobs, and I like looking at big trucks (I refuse to grow up).
They are looking at 20,000 ounces of gold per year for 15 years as a "by product".

I can see where there is a lot of copper up there, I've never seen so many green rocks in my life, and each vein seems to be a different color green.

I still wish I was a geologist.

As an aside... Big trucks.. A friend came out a while back and we went for a ride, through Hillsboro, up over the pass, up to the Gila cliff dwellings, down through Silver City,
a quick stop at the Adobe Deli and back home...

Anyways in Silver there is a turnout where you can look down into one of the pit mines. I'm not sure if its the Tyrone or the Chino. He wasn't impressed at the size of the dump
trucks, until I pointed out a little white dot near the front tire... The white dot was a pick up truck.

I don't remember the name of the property but we would not have seriously considered anything too small as our smallest mine at the time (Battle Mountain in Nevada or Mineral Park near Kingman, AZ) was probably 50 to 75,000 Tons per day through the mill and the largest (Sierrita) was 160,000 Tons per day. In addition, leach and waste material mined daily but not milled is probably 15 to 40% more.

Sierrita, our mine near Green Valley, AZ, started with 120 ton payload diesel, electric wheelmotor trucks, back in 1968, and now they use over 200 (250+?) ton payload trucks with mechanical drive if I remember correctly. The tires on the older beasts were over 9' tall and the cabs were over 15' off the ground if I remember correctly. Those dimensions are probably larger on the newest trucks. The newer trucks are faster and that along with increased payloads helped lead to a reduction in work force and still maintain tonnage. I think they are down to 800 to 1,000 now where we used to be around 2,000.

The shovels are even more impressive as they can load a truck in maybe two or three scoops.

My wife was the economic analyst who did the numbers crunching. Numbers in numbers out and Corporate decided no go. If the metal prices then were comparable to today the decision may have been different.

I agree on the Geologist or maybe Mining Engineer as those are my real interests now and were peaked by my close association and conversations with many of them.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I spent 4 years+ working for the company that ran the Sierrita and the Miami back in the late 90's. Amazing scale of operation. Massive ball mills to...I still have a few worn down balls from the milling op sitting in my garage somewhere...anyway, 300 Ton haul trucks in fact!

 

[arizau]

I spent 4 years+ working for the company that ran the Sierrita and the Miami back in the late 90's. Amazing scale of operation. Massive ball mills to...I still have a few worn down balls from the milling op sitting in my garage somewhere...anyway, 300 Ton haul trucks in fact! View attachment 1188269

Cyprus headquarters there in Denver? I used a greatly worn grinding ball for a paperweight for many years at work and probably still have it somewhere. The evolution of equipment size is amazing. I think the 300's came after I took early retirement back in 1999.

PS: I hated Cyprus but loved Duval which originally developed Sierrita. That was almost a concensus opinion among all the retained salaried employees when Cyprus took over.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Complete newb, but I'm having quite the adventure, and I haven't found much yet.

Yup, I worked at Cyprus Amax hq here in south metro Denver. I loved it personally. I also got to spend time at the giant coal pits near Gilette Wy and underground too. Only thing I really missed out on was getting to their gold mine in the eastern Siberian tundra, friends that went were suitably impressed which made me quite jealous Learned a lot about commercial scale mining in those days which just builds the gold fever even at the artisanal level.

In 2000, I helped with the transition after Phelps Dodge bought Cyprus and that ended my time in the industry as a pro.

 

[arizau]

Yup, I worked at Cyprus Amax hq here in south metro Denver. I loved it personally. I also got to spend time at the giant coal pits near Gilette Wy and underground too. Only thing I really missed out on was getting to their gold mine in the eastern Siberian tundra, friends that went were suitably impressed which made me quite jealous Learned a lot about commercial scale mining in those days which just builds the gold fever even at the artisanal level.

In 2000, I helped with the transition after Phelps Dodge bought Cyprus and that ended my time in the industry as a pro.

I was offered a new position soon after Cyprus acquired Duval but turned it down for numerous reasons. That job ultimately moved to Denver then to Phoenix. Several years later my job description and duties evolved negatively so I decided that retirement was the way to go. Nothing better than being able to retire comfortably 9 years early. Those were two of the best decisions I have ever made.

 

[bobw53]

Yesterdays project, half done. My 250 and 400 screens came in... The 400 is FINE... it feels like silk. I also realized that mesh size is about the dumbest thing
known to man.... Holes per inch doesn't tell the whole story, especially when it comes down to the small stuff. Wire size really messes with the hole size. So I ignored
"MESH" and bought based on hole size. The new procedure will be 1/8" to go through the cube, then 20,50,80,120,250,400. The 400 mesh is a .0015" hole
(.038mm for you metric minded people).

Any of you guys ever gone down that small? I guess it depends on how much gold is in there as to weather its worth it or not. I guess I'll find out
pretty soon, I saved all the stuff I classified down to -120, but its at home on the counter... Though I could do some rock crushing just to play with
it today.

Of course the 5 or 6 inch classifiers I bought are 10,20,30,40,50,60... Useless in their current configuration, but an incredible bargain at $25. I just had the screen sitting
in the bottom, I'm going to silicone them in now. Pulled out the 80 and 120 screens and rinsed off the dirt that had gone around and got stuck, 9 tiny little pieces of
gold in there, really really small stuff.

I also got sick of not knowing what classifier I was working with or grabbing. A Sharpie kind of blends in then fades, so I fixed that. Just heated up some impression stamps with
a torch. I marked them every 90 degrees. Its not the prettiest thing going, but it should serve its purpose. And again the camera fails, they are really easy to see, except when
I'm trying to take a picture..

 

[KevinInColorado]

Some pretty savvy ideas there, well done.

I've never classified below 100 mesh myself. Would love to see what you learn using finer mesh screens.

 

[bobw53]

Some pretty savvy ideas there, well done.

I've never classified below 100 mesh myself. Would love to see what you learn using finer mesh screens.

Here is what I've learned so far... In pictures.

This is probably a bit over a yard... From all around our claim. We did a LOT of "prospecting" a bit from here, a bit from there... Classified to a -60...

I then went up and got 3 samples. 3 buckets, 3 buckets and 2 buckets.... Didn't process it, then went back with the aunt-in-law and got 4 short buckets from
one spot. The minus 120 was similar in all the samples... This pic is the -120 (a bit more than .004", about 0.1mm), from one sample. I messed up the smiley trying to get the pan
positioned for a pic. And a lot of it was less than half the size of the bigger stuff. And there was some bigger stuff in the +80, and -80.

So I already know that by only going to a -60, I was losing a LOT.... Not just a little bit, but A LOT!! 100's of pieces per sample. And I thought
I was getting it all, but the Gold Cube guys rule "if everything in your pan is the same size GOLD Rules" apparently is spot on... And for the Gold Cube.
Its catching some tiny stuff, stuff that is so small I can only identify it by a tiny little golden dot, even under a 60X scope, and its catching it all in
the first tray.

I'll let you guys know how this works out.

Edit: 2 extra thoughts... The old gold mining town up there near Hillsboro was named Gold DUST, apparently for good reason..

And the gold cube grabbing all this little stuff in the first tray. My gold is coarse. The furthest it could have moved is a few hundred yards since
it came out of the rock. It hasn't been banged and smoothed out over miles and miles of river... I'm sure that makes a difference. But I'm
still really impressed with that thing.

2nd edit: I'm plugging the Gold Cube and the stuff I've learned from the Gold Cube man... Do I get a royalty?

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Our dog refused to ride anywhere else other than on the dashboard. We lived on the Air Force Academy and you cannot keep your rig in the driveway, but whenever we brought it home to load up, she knew it and as soon as you opened the door, she was in and on to the dashboard. I think she was afraid we might leave her home.

So, yes, you probably have lost that battle.

 

[bobw53]

Our dog refused to ride anywhere else other than on the dashboard. We lived on the Air Force Academy and you cannot keep your rig in the driveway, but whenever we brought it home to load up, she knew it and as soon as you opened the door, she was in and on to the dashboard. I think she was afraid we might leave her home.

So, yes, you probably have lost that battle.

Went out to check on the batteries yesterday.. I have lost..

Part way through my little experiment... Had a harder time than I anticipated gluing screens in.

Here is the -120 + infinity.. It was a pain, and I kept washing the gold away, that is why there is a bunch of black sand.

Then I took out the -250... Panned pretty easy even though I'm not comfortable with qty of material in the pan, lot of black sand.
Edit: Its not just a lot of black sand, its pretty much nothing BUT black sand. I got some pieces of lead in there too.
Its clean, I don't think I missed any, or much... I'm having a tough time getting it all in one spot though. But its clean, and it wasn't
difficult to do. Snuffer bottle will suck that right up.

.0025" to .004" right in the range of a thickness of a human hair. Pretty easy to visualize, that's just a regular old medium point
pen, its not a sharpie.. And I still have 2 steps to go.

Next up, the -250 to nothing... Just to see how it behaves... Then I'll pull out the -400 and redo them both, just to see the difference. Taking
the -250 out of the -120 really made a difference. It was easy to pan using the pat your head, rub your belly technique.. And I haven't taken out
the magnetics either. I'm pretty sure that would make it childs play.

 

[bobw53]

Apparently I'm reaching the limits of my camera.... -250 to nothing. I just zipped it down real quick to see.. Not the shiny stuff to the left of the paper, the little
golden dots up in the crease of the pan... I'll separate it out into ±400 when I get sick of working and give it a good go. 3 jobs I need to get out by tomorrow morning,
and sometimes you have to let off a little steam....

Here's to hoping for at least 3 hours of sleep.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thanks for sharing your experimentation with us. For the -50 to infinity material, I'd suggest a very smooth bottom pan rather than that old scarred thing you are using. The tiny material will behave like it should when there aren't any speed bumps which means it will be easier to separate gold from other stuff.

 

[bobw53]

Thanks for sharing your experimentation with us. For the -50 to infinity material, I'd suggest a very smooth bottom pan rather than that old scarred thing you are using. The tiny material will behave like it should when there aren't any speed bumps which means it will be easier to separate gold from other stuff.

But I like that pan... I was kind of thinking the same thing.. Keep a few in good shape for the tiny stuff...

Well the Great Fine Gold Experiment of 2015 is now over...

I took the -400 out of the -250... So .0015" to .0025". Quite a bit of gold in that one... And it was far easier to pan with the
-400 out of it. 100's of pieces in there, and a piece of cake to get it all squeaky clean... I didn't take a pic, because you can't really
see it anyways.

The -400... At this point there isn't a lot of material left... Not much, actually very little. There was some super fine stuff in there,
stuff that was so small it made the black sand look big, and a few bits around the size of the black sand.

I don't know if I hit the bottom on size, or if the Gold Cube didn't catch it... I don't think it much matters, it is such a tiny tiny tiny
little amount... Pretty crazy the size of gold that the Gold Cube will catch.

Conclusions:
1) I got tiny gold
2) If everything in the pan is the same size GOLD RULES!!!
3) Getting a squeeky clean clean up with a pan is pretty easy and quick, even down to the tiniest gold.. If you classify.
4) Even if you don't want to go down to a minus whatever, classify it out, it makes the last size you do care about a lot easier to pan.
5) Pat your head and rub your belly...

 

[KevinInColorado]

I completely agree with your conclusions and really appreciate you taking the time to share your results with us since you are even more scientific about your finish processing than I am!

 

[AU_Solitude]

Yup, I worked at Cyprus Amax hq here in south metro Denver. I loved it personally. I also got to spend time at the giant coal pits near Gilette Wy and underground too. Only thing I really missed out on was getting to their gold mine in the eastern Siberian tundra, friends that went were suitably impressed which made me quite jealous Learned a lot about commercial scale mining in those days which just builds the gold fever even at the artisanal level.

In 2000, I helped with the transition after Phelps Dodge bought Cyprus and that ended my time in the industry as a pro.

I have spent time in a few of those mines as well as that's where I am from originally (Gillette WY, not the mines)...small world!

 

[Crusty Shellback]

From your first post on this thread:

So a few months ago I was up in Canon City, actually Florence at one of the antique shops and I bought a few gold pans to send him and they had a book, and I read it...
That was a mistake...

What was the name of the book? Thanks...Crusty

 

[bobw53]

From your first post on this thread:

So a few months ago I was up in Canon City, actually Florence at one of the antique shops and I bought a few gold pans to send him and they had a book, and I read it...
That was a mistake...

What was the name of the book? Thanks...Crusty

It was actually the book that comes with the Garrett gold panning kits. Gold Panning is Easy.