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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[Lanny in AB]

Wow Lanny! You should publish your poems/odes! What a refreshing and enjoyable read...thanks! SushiDog

Thanks Sushi for your kindness--I'm no poet, I'm just experimenting, but this poem is a compilation of several different experiences--the one where the bear broke into the trailer (through the window) of some mining buddies of mine and drank all of their canned beer--got hammered--and then tore through the door when he came to and wanted out.

Another is an experience from a very old western tale I read where two prospectors are lost in a blizzard on Christmas Eve, and their pack horses stop in the trail, as they know there's a cabin just off the trail that their human companions can't see. So, the prospectors hole up in the cabin for the night, hang their stockings (a token Christmas celebration as they won't be making it to where the celebrations going on) and head off to sleep.

Well, in the back of the cabin (the tumbled-down part) there's a griz a hibernating. The big fire they've built in the rock fireplace awakens him (and the smell of the bacon they'd fried), and pretty soon there's a big bear right in the main room licking up their leavings by the fire. Well, hot lead starts flying thick and fast, the bear becomes Christmas dinner, and after a feast, the boys decide to check out the fallen down part of the cabin where the griz was hibernating.

It turns out that there's a bunk under the caved part of the roof on one side, with the skeleton of an old-timer in it--all dressed out in buckskins, a flint-lock rifle laying beside him--a true old-timer--one of the first. So, that gets them thinking, and they scour the ruined part of the cabin, find a hiding place, and there's a nice, fat poke of gold cached in it! (They gave the weight in the tale--it was most impressive, but I can't recall it right now.) So those two old boys got their visit from Santy Claus.

All the best,

Lanny

 

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[SushiDog]

What a gift you have to put those experiences into poetry! I don't know if any of you are familiar with the American poet Robert Frost, and if not, I encourage you to read "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening".....part of your poem reminded me of some of the things Robert Frost has written....and...oh...by-the-way.....not only is this my favorite poem, but President Kennedy had this poem in his top desk drawer in the oval office.....and Lanny....I can see you in the poem I have just cited above! (smile) SushiDog

 

[FiresEye]

Lanny havn't told you yet but as always thank you for your kindness, informative posts, and awesome writtings.. in particular the poem.. What an awesome read! Thanks so much for sharing.

Now that miner has to deal with a big angry bear that knows there food right next to a gold vein.. If that's Santa was of laughing ;0... I felt the thrill all the way!

I had a feeling you might be up in Canada, oh how I'd like to travel there, as I'm sure you'd like to visit here in the South East US in Georgia. It's pretty cool here because even in the dead middle of winter one can get out and prospect no problem.. just need some boots and rubber gloves.. heck it was 50 degrees and sunny outside today .

Lots of gold to you!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks FiresEye--I appreciate your compliments--the closest I've been to your area is Florida. Maybe I'll get a chance to get down your way some day.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Joe Hoo?]

thanx 4 the info HH

 

[Lanny in AB]

No problem Joe--thanks for dropping by.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[nuggy]

Good poem there Lanny, hope santy brings a bit of luck your way too. Nuggy

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks Nuggy--and a Merry Christmas to you.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

One of the things that always amazes me, no matter how many different encounters I have with it, is just how heavy gold is! Now, a lot of people that are just starting out, they really fail to appreciate this fact. I mean I don't know how many times I've been out with raw recruits--I've put them in a hot spot--and they'll clean the bedrock I've put them on and then pan the dirt, and get very little gold.

Well, you should see their eyes pop when I go back to that same bedrock and clean it with a stiff brush, scrape it with some small hooks and scrapers, open a few crevices and pull up all of the enclosed material, take a narrow spoon to any little troughs, and then pan the relatively small amount of material that's left in the pan. It's always quite fun actually to see the amazed looks on their faces.

I remember when my buddy was first getting serious about prospecting. He was in Montana on Grasshopper Creek (Bannack) and they were getting almost no gold. A very kind prospector came along and told them to go on a little hike with him. He took them up the canyon a ways, took a stiff brush and got down in every little crack and crevice up this little bedrock draw. My buddy and his wife couldn't believe how much gold had been holding tight to that bedrock! They've respected that knowledge ever since. (Simply scraping the surface with a shovel or your hand is never enough.)

When I'm dredging, I'll often disturb flakes and pieces of gold. If they're down in a crevice, many times they won't come up to the nozzle of the dredge (remember, there's so much suction there that it will put a giant hickey on an elephant's neck!!), and that gold will just sit down there--that's how heavy it is. You have to reach down there with something narrow and flip it up into the water column, or you have to get a narrow nozzle that will reach down right almost right on the gold, or you have to shoot a stream or higher pressure down in the crevice and hope that it will force the gold up in the water column. (Sometimes, if there's an unnoticed crack it forces the gold to disappear!)

As well, I've often disturbed gold, only to watch it shimmy tightly along the bedrock until it finds any crack, crevice, rock, or other irregularity, only to have it instantly disappear (sometimes never to reappear)! That's how heavy gold is--roughly twenty times as heavy as the water, and (if I recall correctly) almost ten times heavier than most other materials in the stream. It's going to get down as low as it can--when you disturb it in the water--it's going to sink, period. If you've got a piece between two vertical sheets of bedrock (when detecting or sniping) and you loosen one of the sheets, the gold will instantly drop. Always respect how heavy gold is and always take advantage of that knowledge to allow you to get more gold, often the gold others, that are less knowledgeable, leave behind.

Well, all the best as you chase the gold,

Lanny

 

[nuggy]

Hi Lanny, great advice again. Any piece of gold is nearly double the weight of the same size bit of lead! The importance of scraping and scrubbing up the crevices can't be overstated. Nuggy

 

[SushiDog]

Lanny....thanks as always for the well written article....education....and advice....that article was written for me, and I appreciate it very much....sometimes it is hard to relate to the weight of gold, and its affinity to burrow so deep....and I say that because I have never experienced finding a gold nugget....and Nuggy makes a great point too....I do have some "shot" sinkers for fishing, and have placed them in my hand as I moved it up and down trying to imagine the gold weighing twice as much as the lead....that's why my coconut (brain) is like a sponge when it comes to the advice and stories you guys tell here....and I am deeply grateful....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Lanny,

Excellent, well written "hard" advice. Even the raw novice should understand it. I use to have my special little place in the river. I called it my "Piggy Bank". It was an area of perpendicular sheets of slate, with the top layer under about a foot of water. There were (visably) 3 steps of it. When ever I needed any "quick cash" for groceries, gasoline, etc., I could float my dredge over to it and after placing the suction nozzle at the foot of the top step, starting at the end of the step, I would force a screw-driver into any cracks that showed signs of the sheets separating. Of course the gold in the crack would immediately start sliding towards the botton where the current caused by the suction nozzle would cause it to drop diagonally towards the suction, and ultimately, into it. Naturally, some would be large and heavy enough that they would make it all the way down the 15 inches to the next step, where I could usually pick them up manually. I could usually pick up about $20 to $30 from an in-town jeweler for about 30 minutes "work". Come to think of it, I never did finish more than about 3 ft. of the top shelf.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Maybe one day someone might finish this one...

'Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the adit
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a rabbit

Then along came a miner
All filled with Christmas cheer
But if you were to ask me
I'd say that it was beer

And in his hand was a pick
Too chip away the ore
Even on a nice fair day
This task would be a chore...

Ed T LOL

You've got an excellent start Ed. Get 'er done! That way, we can all have a chuckle and enjoy your tale.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hi Lanny, great advice again. Any piece of gold is nearly double the weight of the same size bit of lead! The importance of scraping and scrubbing up the crevices can't be overstated. Nuggy

I love that analogy Nuggy! How is it that I've missed using that one all of these years. It just goes to show that two brains really are better than one--two sets of eyes see better than one, that sort of thing.

Thanks again--I'll use that one forever--with your permission of course.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny....thanks as always for the well written article....education....and advice....that article was written for me, and I appreciate it very much....sometimes it is hard to relate to the weight of gold, and its affinity to burrow so deep....and I say that because I have never experienced finding a gold nugget....and Nuggy makes a great point too....I do have some "shot" sinkers for fishing, and have placed them in my hand as I moved it up and down trying to imagine the gold weighing twice as much as the lead....that's why my coconut (brain) is like a sponge when it comes to the advice and stories you guys tell here....and I am deeply grateful....SushiDog

Thanks Sushi for your kind words and feedback. Personally, I think that you're well beyond the coconut brain stage--you have a very alert and comprehending mind. When the rains stop in your area, and when you're able to get out there and use what you've packed in your brain, you'll find some gold--just show us some pictures when you do please.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny,

Excellent, well written "hard" advice. Even the raw novice should understand it. I use to have my special little place in the river. I called it my "Piggy Bank". It was an area of perpendicular sheets of slate, with the top layer under about a foot of water. There were (visably) 3 steps of it. When ever I needed any "quick cash" for groceries, gasoline, etc., I could float my dredge over to it and after placing the suction nozzle at the foot of the top step, starting at the end of the step, I would force a screw-driver into any cracks that showed signs of the sheets separating. Of course the gold in the crack would immediately start sliding towards the botton where the current caused by the suction nozzle would cause it to drop diagonally towards the suction, and ultimately, into it. Naturally, some would be large and heavy enough that they would make it all the way down the 15 inches to the next step, where I could usually pick them up manually. I could usually pick up about $20 to $30 from an in-town jeweler for about 30 minutes "work". Come to think of it, I never did finish more than about 3 ft. of the top shelf.

Eagle

Eagle--as usual--beautifully written response. There's a lot to be learned in your little dredging anecdote. And, by the way, you're killing me with your stories of gold left behind. Makes me wish I could have been there, but on the other hand, I can totally relate to you leaving the gold behind. Hindsight is a wonderful, terrible thing--it makes me realize how dumb I've been for all the gold I left behind on my wanderings as well--I'll write some of them up as I get the time to do so.

All the best, and glad to see you posting again,

Lanny

 

[Goodyguy]

Lanny in AB,

I must agree with everyone here concerning your writing.
Very entertaining as well as informative.

You Sir have a gift.
Please put together a book and publish it, as your writing should be enjoyed by more than just this privileged few.

Sincerely,
GG~

 

[EagleDown]

Thanks Lanny. I'd like to be here more often, but truthfully, I have a lot of things occupying my time.

Yeah, gold left behind. I know there must be some readers who can't or won't understand why I would leave an area when I knew there was still gold there. But, I'm sure that most are fairly new to prospecting and have no experience of prospecting prior to 1971, when the price of gold jumped from $35.00 (actually, when sold, $32.00) per ounce. So, from 1955 thru 1971, I kind of had a blase' attitude about gold. I loved looking for and finding it, but I tended to give it away as fast as I found it. I never bothered wire-brushing or chipping bed-rock so that I could collect every little speck, it just wasn't worth the effort. During those days, only nuggets held any interest for me. And not to make you sicker, but I use to dump what-ever was in my pan back into the river after I collected all of the ones I could pick out with my fingers.

It's truly amazing how our attitudes can change when someone says $1,400 an ounce.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny in AB,

I must agree with everyone here concerning your writing.
Very entertaining as well as informative.

You Sir have a gift.
Please put together a book and publish it, as your writing should be enjoyed by more than just this privileged few.

Sincerely,
GG~

GG--I deeply appreciate your sincere compliment. Thank you very much! I'm considering your proposal, and I have been gathering my writings together in the last while. I do hope to put them in a book at some point.

Thanks again,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks Lanny. I'd like to be here more often, but truthfully, I have a lot of things occupying my time.

Yeah, gold left behind. I know there must be some readers who can't or won't understand why I would leave an area when I knew there was still gold there. But, I'm sure that most are fairly new to prospecting and have no experience of prospecting prior to 1971, when the price of gold jumped from $35.00 (actually, when sold, $32.00) per ounce. So, from 1955 thru 1971, I kind of had a blase' attitude about gold. I loved looking for and finding it, but I tended to give it away as fast as I found it. I never bothered wire-brushing or chipping bed-rock so that I could collect every little speck, it just wasn't worth the effort. During those days, only nuggets held any interest for me. And not to make you sicker, but I use to dump what-ever was in my pan back into the river after I collected all of the ones I could pick out with my fingers.

It's truly amazing how our attitudes can change when someone says $1,400 an ounce.

Yes Eagle, what you say is so true. I've squirmed many, many times thinking of all the gold I gave away at low, low prices, but then I remember the smiles of those that appreciated it, and I remember that people count more than money, and that somewhat helps to stifle the 1400-dollar-an-ounce cringe! But, you're right about today's prices--wire-brushing and chipping are worth it now.

Once again, a great reply with added nuggets of wisdom. You truly are one of the great ones. All the best, and I wish you had more time--as, I'll always listen,

Lanny