mine in my area

[lrb90740]

...Black above and yellow beneth and heavy and not far away"

 

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[GWHayduke]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Stream gravel is always a good place to start if you want to understand the geology of an area. I most mountain streams and desert arroyos you can find small samples of the rocks the water cuts through. It gets more confusing as you move downstream into basin sediments though.

 

[cptbil]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

There's an old saying!
Gold is where you find it!
It appears in some of the most unusal places!
There's a story of a lost mine..
Wherein, the "Finder", said, "No one will ever find my mine!
Because it is in a place where no miner would expect to find gold !" :P

 

[onepick]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Jacob waltz ? the Dutchman

 

[Las Vegas Bob]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Hey Irb

I would not invest in Geological maps since the? question about gold being in the area? has already been answered by the fact that the Spanish were mining it.

I would however invest in some topographic maps of the area (these are different the geological maps) which will show you elevation changes, road's, trails, structures, water ways etc.

I would start my search by prospecting? the alluvial fans coming off the hills/mountains in the area and not worry about the rivers and streams for the moment, since the gold in the streams, if any, could travel from a greater distance away (during times of flods) and may not even be associated with the lost mine, which I assume is what you are in fact trying to locate.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Las Vegas Bob
A) suggestion, if you can get aerial photos of the area, you can fnd the old mission site by the compacted and different materiel left, this may not be even visible on the surface. I have found several this way. Once you locate the site then any trail should also be visible, unless they traveled over rock surfaces, and even then, something may be visible.

Luck!

Till Eulespiegle


]

 

[gollum]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Try downloading Google Earth! 1-2 meter resolution for a lot of the USA. I use it often when looking for old mines. If the tailings weren't spread around, they look like a waterfall down the side of a mountain. The detris from the inside of a mountain is RARELY the same color as on the outside. If the Mission fathers were slick and had the tailings spread around so the mine would be harder to spot, this wouldn't work as well.

I don't know what area you are looking in, here are a couple of things to look for:

1) If there are a lot of Pine trees in the area, look for ones where the pine cones grow only close to the trunk. This is because wherever veins of gold are nearby, they emit arsenic and other toxic vapours that damage the reproductive ability of nearby trees.

2) Look for flat areas that are dead. the areas would stand out like a sore thumb. The Spanish used Mercury to leach the gold and silver out of the crushed ore. The Mercury never goes away, and to this day, nothing near where they crushed and smelted the ore will grow. Also take care for yourself as mercury poisoning is incurable, and will cause genetic mutations in pregnant women. We know this from native American Women in the Pacific Northwest. The logging companies used a form of mercury on sunken logs to keep them from growing moss while sitting. The mercury attracts the moss. The tadpoles eat the moss. The fish eat the tadpoles, and the Indians eat the fish. VOILA! Mercury Poisoning! Big brain damage is a horrible way to spend the rest of your life!

God Luck-Mike

 

[gollum]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Before investing a lot of money in maps and such, research your area at the public library. I guess you live in Seal Beach (zip code 90740). I live in Laguna Niguel. Most all the Spanish Missions in California are well known.

Also, try NASA Worldwind. It's like Google Earth, but as part of the filters you can use, there is a TOPO one. This will give you free accurate TOPO Maps. With the click of your mouse, you can switch from Satellite Photo to TOPO Map. See below:

Best,

Mike

 

[cptbild]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

AS with anything,
AS you know,
No One Is born with any abilities ..
So!
You'll have to learn how to read and become familiar with Topo Maps!

Your Govt. has a little book, on learning, how to read them, FREE!, that you can get from the USGS in Denver!
I have been using Topo M<pas for more yrs than I like to remember!
They & other maps, are going to be essential in being a TH'ing !
Unless, you want to be like that guy in So. Ca. who set that MASSIVE Forest Fire
Because he GOT LOST ?
MAN!
What in the world was he thinking ....
He, ended up!
Killing several Fire Fighters, burned 100s of homes, forest, and killed thousands of animals!
Didn't he ever hear of a "Cell Phone" !
My Cell Phone is also a GPS !
I carry it where ever, I go!
I can call up, the operator and ask!
"Where in the FLOCK am I ? "
"You're at:
GPS coordinates !!! !! !!!" Dummy !

 

[gollum]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

I don't know exactly where he was, but there are some spots here in SoCal that are more than a 10 mile hike out (unless you count going straight over a mountain range).

Best,

Mike

 

[cedarratt]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Most of the Spanish mines in Texas were Primarly Silver although they did also get gold along with it. Contrary to popular belief the old San Saba mines location is well known to archeologists, However it is on private property and the location is kept from the general public. The majority of the mines were in the Llano Mason area as well as the San Saba mine, the Mission where all the cast bars went to was in San Saba and part of it is at the end of a Golf course. I believe there was another building on private property near that which is now nothing more then a pile of rubble. Now according to legend the silver and gold that were burried at the mission when it was abbandoned was later recovered by James Bowie before he was killed at the Alamo. Also his named is carved into one of the stones of the mission. Theres been lots of storys that have spawned from this and a few others that are certifiable as true. I have not heard of the Padre story but that does not mean that it is not true. I do know that in the late 1800's a man found a cache of gold bars near barton springs down by Austin. The story goes that the man that find it was a drunk that would cook cows in a hole he would dig in the ground. In the process of this he found the bars, then traded his land to a doctor for a wagon. I another guy later found that the Druck that found the bars moved up north and purchased a large ranch and half intrest in a bank. The interesting part is the story of how the gold got there, see there was a shipment that was headed from the mines and was jumped by some indians so the survivers buried 80 burrow loads of bars in a cave in a canyon near a creek and only took one load with them. They were later jumped again and all killed except a young boy who made it back to Mexico with the story. Now there were supposed to be Two stones that had secret makings of where the gold was buried and one was found near barton springs. but thats all I know about that, either way my question is are there any creeks with canyons down that way?

 

[cedarratt]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

This might help, and I have looked at google and it seems the best spots for gold have been covered up by the army corp of engineers. Makes me wonder if gold likes low spots that are suitable for makeing lakes...

 

[audigger53]

Re: Spanish Mission mine in my area

Take Google Earth and go to thee Mission. Look at the area around the mission one quarter at a time.
Follow the trails and roads that leave the mission. One should go to the mine. It will stop "in the middle of nowhere". That's where you will want to look for a talus slope. If they were digging, then there is a taus area.<G>
Lack of shoring may has caused the closing of the mine not a quake.<G>
Is it worth clearing out the shaft and shoring it up before getting to the working face? Probably not, but it will hone your skills of finding others. Good Luck and remember "the real object is to still be alive to spend the money".