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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[Cariboo5]

Following Jim's lead here's a couple of bedrock pictures from my friends claim. The old saying "Gold wears an iron hat" seems to apply here.
Notice the red rocks in picture one. Bedrock was 3 feet down from that rock. Second picture is of a piece of bedrock...

......

 

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[Lanny in AB]

As promised, here's five more fresh from the ground, all taken from an area about the size of one of those plastic kids' wading pools.





I'm having fun again!

Moreover, I'm having a lot of fun using the little X-Terra 705 to find nuggets! It's bagged a lot of coins for me, but this is the first time I've ever seriously gone nugget shooting with it. I'm impressed.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Following Jim's lead here's a couple of bedrock pictures from my friends claim. The old saying "Gold wears an iron hat" seems to apply here.
Notice the red rocks in picture one. Bedrock was 3 feet down from that rock. Second picture is of a piece of bedrock...

Cariboo, the oldtimers' used to say that iron and gold were good friends. I'm following in their footsteps, and it appears you're garnered some of the same learning.

It's always exciting when the heavy equipment finally gets close to the bedrock. You really never do know for sure what's going to turn up. For example, there's always rocks that make an appearance that you don't normally see anywhere on the surface due to their specific gravity. As well, there's always those hidden crevices that you're 100% certain are virgin. Cleaning those ancient cracks out is always a mystery, and it's sometimes a genuine bonanza!

All the best to you as you get some of that gold that's been hidden for untold eons,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny... will certainly look forward to your description re: the X-Terra 705, when you have the opportunity to do so. Never used that unit, so am curious about what you'll have to say about it. Congratulations on finding those sassy nuggets... and thanks for posting the dandy photos. The photo below is just to spice up the post a bit...

Jim.

​

Jim,

as always, thanks for your post.

That's a gorgeous specimen of silver. You most certainly must be a seriously dedicated bush beater to get back into the areas where you hunt. I'm not exactly sure where you hunt, nor would I ever want you to reveal your locations, but I've been in the central parts of Ontario and Quebec, and I respect anyone that gets back in that bush to hunt anything!

On a different note, I remember how beautiful all of those beautiful little lakes were, set like jewels amidst the timber! That bedrock wonder called the Canadian Shield is the perfect trap for water, and it's the perfect outcrop opportunity for minerals.

I'm glad you're proficient at finding some of Nature's long-lost silver.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle,

How did your hunt for the lost mine go?

Have you taken any pictures yet?

Keep us updated on your adventure with that one please.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Following Jim's lead here's a couple of bedrock pictures from my friends claim. The old saying "Gold wears an iron hat" seems to apply here.
Notice the red rocks in picture one. Bedrock was 3 feet down from that rock. Second picture is of a piece of bedrock...

Cariboo,

Whenever I see rusty dirt in a channel run, or orange dirt, or red dirt, I always take the time to test and sample.

As you've mentioned that gold wears an iron hat, I learned a long time ago that when Nature's running heavies in a stream run, heavies that oxidize, it's a telltale sign that any serious prospector should get out the shovel and pan to do some investigating.

I remember the first time I saw a serious run of orange dirt. I was somewhat north and west of where you are I believe, as I was up in the Omineca goldfield.

They'd just dug their way down to where they were very close to bedrock. The boulders were getting bigger all the way down.

The last couple of feet changed in color from a dark gray-black to an orange dirt. I'd never seen anything like it before.

The mine manager told me to get some samples and run them. My eyes about popped out right then and there: pickers in the pan, and they were coarse pieces, not hammered at all!

Now, you have to remember that up until then, I'd been cutting my teeth on flour gold, the tiny stuff the glaciers ball-milled to a fine powder! The gold was everywhere in that layer. That color was an indicator for sure. The mine manager told me that he was always on the lookout for it as he said that when the orange dirt showed up in that location, the gold did too.

It was so fun panning that material. And, every day, when we'd shut the equipment down, I'd get to pan whatever I wanted. And, I always wanted to pan! Furthermore, it stayed light until very, very late up there, so I'd pan until I couldn't see any more.

The sad part about my visit there was that I didn't have a Minelab pulse machine for the bad ground, as I can only imagine what I'd have found on all of that virgin bedrock!

Thanks again for the pictures of that old channel cut, and all the best to you,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle,

How did your hunt for the lost mine go?

Have you taken any pictures yet?

Keep us updated on your adventure with that one please.

All the best,

Lanny

Well, doggone!! I just realized that I'm not getting notifications of yours and your readers posts. I don't even know
if it's worth complaining about. At least I'm getting notices for my thread. But, I have a LOT of threads that I post
to on occasion. No way can I remember all of them to check for questions. (Oh well, that's on Admin.)

Anyway, no, no, and yes! (lol) Rik and I were down on the river, fairly early in the morning. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3
guys that were going to help open the portal, didn't show up. And, the 3rd one got there so late, there wasn't enough
time to do it. So, it's been put off until another week.

Incidentally, as for your inquiry about the book that I'm writing, I replied to your question. Actually, I'm not looking for
purchases to be made until I'm ready to contact a publisher. All I'm looking for is enough people committing to a $25
purchase of the book, so that I will know how much I'll be able to take to the publisher. Just keep in mind; Some of the
stories have small parts missing. Not enough to hurt the continuity of the story, but just enough to make it impossible
for someone to locate the lost "treasure" without these 'small parts'. I didn't start writing the stories with the expectations
of changing them into a book, so, there was no malice aforethought. I was just saving the "treasures" for myself. (lol)

But now, I've decided to include a 'pamphlet' in the "Pre-Ordered" books that will give the true name of the creek that the
tax assessor lost the Mariposa $50 gold slugs near. (I believe that I'm the last living soul that actually knows about the creek).
I'll also let readers know why nobody has been able to locate the old ford where the coins were hidden. Plus, there will be
addendums in reference to some of the other stories. You know, just little details. (lol)

Anyway, I've put you down as "Pre-Order" #18,

I'll be checking in here more often.

Eagle

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Jim,

as always, thanks for your post.

That's a gorgeous specimen of silver. You most certainly must be a seriously dedicated bush beater to get back into the areas where you hunt. I'm not exactly sure where you hunt, nor would I ever want you to reveal your locations, but I've been in the central parts of Ontario and Quebec, and I respect anyone that gets back in that bush to hunt anything!

On a different note, I remember how beautiful all of those beautiful little lakes set like jewels amidst the timber! That bedrock wonder called the Canadian Shield is the perfect trap for water, and it's the perfect outcrop opportunity for minerals.

I'm glad you're proficient at finding some of Nature's long-lost silver.

All the best,

Lanny

Thanks Lanny…your comments are much too generous… in fact most of the old mining camps are easily accessible by truck. In recent years, some large silver float has come from hiking the outback… but no further and usually much less than a few kilometers on any given day… I plan to get back to the truck by dusk for coffee.

The early miners established roads, now abandoned tracks and exploratory trenching… plus there are the game trails and hydro lines… and these abundantly crisscross the outback. So there’s fairly good access to most areas, and I use these corridors to conveniently get to a site. So normally I’m not far away from a known landmark, and navigating the bush in later autumn is not the least bit difficult. The photo below is looking off a trail into the bush with the leaves down… this is the time for float hunting because you can now see what you’re doing.

​

I enjoy every aspect of prospecting… detecting silver, camping as per the photo below, clean-up and photographs back at home… and of course posting such photos to the forum. Hopefully they add some interest and illustrate to newcomers that there are interesting or valuable minerals to be found. In theory all the junk dug along the way should be posted too… now that would be a more realistic representation… but I’m afraid wouldn't attract much reader interest.

​

Below is an ore sample found a few years back that was posted to another thread here on this forum the other day. I’ve recently been treating it with selective acid baths to remove surface calcite and expose more silver. It’s been a slow work-in-progress, but I’m satisfied with the results to date. I think the substantive calcite removal alone has improved its rugged appearance.

Jim.

​

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks Lanny…your comments are much too generous… in fact most of the old mining camps are easily accessible by truck. In recent years, some large silver float has come from hiking the outback… but no further and usually much less than a few kilometers on any given day… I plan to get back to the truck by dusk for coffee.

The early miners established roads, now abandoned tracks and exploratory trenching… plus there are the game trails and hydro lines… and these abundantly crisscross the outback. So there’s fairly good access to most areas, and I use these corridors to conveniently get to a site. So normally I’m not far away from a known landmark, and navigating the bush in later autumn is not the least bit difficult. The photo below is looking off a trail into the bush with the leaves down… this is the time for float hunting because you can now see what you’re doing.

​

I enjoy every aspect of prospecting… detecting silver, camping as per the photo below, clean-up and photographs back at home… and of course posting such photos to the forum. Hopefully they add some interest and illustrate to newcomers that there are interesting or valuable minerals to be found. In theory all the junk dug along the way should be posted too… now that would be a more realistic representation… but I’m afraid wouldn't attract much reader interest.

​

Below is an ore sample found a few years back that was posted to another thread here on this forum the other day. I’ve recently been treating it with selective acid baths to remove surface calcite and expose more silver. It’s been a slow work-in-progress, but I’m satisfied with the results to date. I think the substantive calcite removal alone has improved its rugged appearance.

Jim.

Jim,

Many thanks for the update, the clarification, and especially for the pictures!

It's great to see some shots from Ontario again. It's been far too long, and now that I'm chasing the gold out west, I may never get back again as my time for chasing the nuggets is limited.

Here's some pictures for you from this season's outings:





Mountains in this one as far as you can see!



This trail warrants more investigation. . . .



My prospecting buddy that's 82-years wise and still going strong! (This last picture is from the 2013 season.)



All the best to you Jim,

Lanny

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Incidentally, as for your inquiry about the book that I'm writing, I replied to your question. Actually, I'm not looking for
purchases to be made until I'm ready to contact a publisher. All I'm looking for is enough people committing to a $25
purchase of the book, so that I will know how much I'll be able to take to the publisher. Just keep in mind; Some of the
stories have small parts missing. Not enough to hurt the continuity of the story, but just enough to make it impossible
for someone to locate the lost "treasure" without these 'small parts'. I didn't start writing the stories with the expectations
of changing them into a book, so, there was no malice aforethought. I was just saving the "treasures" for myself. (lol)

But now, I've decided to include a 'pamphlet' in the "Pre-Ordered" books that will give the true name of the creek that the
tax assessor lost the Mariposa $50 gold slugs near. (I believe that I'm the last living soul that actually knows about the creek).
I'll also let readers know why nobody has been able to locate the old ford where the coins were hidden. Plus, there will be
addendums in reference to some of the other stories. You know, just little details. (lol)

Anyway, I've put you down as "Pre-Order" #18,

I'll be checking in here more often.

Eagle

Eagle... somehow I've missed this... really don't participate with anything but this gold metal detecting forum. Please put me down as a "pre-order" for a book... let me know when and how you should be paid. If the exchange rate favors the US dollar, we'll simply add the difference at that time. I'll pay the shipping to Canada etc. Very much looking forward to adding this to my small library... a signed copy if you please, and many thanks.

Lanny... I never tire of your gold stories and beautiful nugget / scenery photos of the west. Thanks very much, and incidentally... Happy Father's Day to everyone.

Jim.

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle... somehow I've missed this... really don't participate with anything but this gold metal detecting forum. Please put me down as a "pre-order" for a book... let me know when and how you should be paid. If the exchange rate favors the US dollar, we'll simply add the difference at that time. I'll pay the shipping to Canada etc. Very much looking forward to adding this to my small library... a signed copy if you please, and many thanks.

Lanny... I never tire of your gold stories and beautiful nugget / scenery photos of the west. Thanks very much, and incidentally... Happy Father's Day to everyone.

Jim.

Thank you jim!! I am highly honored indeed. I've put you down as "Pre-order #21" I'm hoping that I will have enough to make
the initial purchase large enough that perhaps there will be no need for S&H. Of course I can't be sure of anything until it happens.

 

[delnorter]

Pre order book

Well, doggone!! I just realized that I'm not getting notifications of yours and your readers posts. I don't even know
if it's worth complaining about. At least I'm getting notices for my thread. But, I have a LOT of threads that I post
to on occasion. No way can I remember all of them to check for questions. (Oh well, that's on Admin.)

Anyway, no, no, and yes! (lol) Rik and I were down on the river, fairly early in the morning. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3
guys that were going to help open the portal, didn't show up. And, the 3rd one got there so late, there wasn't enough
time to do it. So, it's been put off until another week.

Incidentally, as for your inquiry about the book that I'm writing, I replied to your question. Actually, I'm not looking for
purchases to be made until I'm ready to contact a publisher. All I'm looking for is enough people committing to a $25
purchase of the book, so that I will know how much I'll be able to take to the publisher. Just keep in mind; Some of the
stories have small parts missing. Not enough to hurt the continuity of the story, but just enough to make it impossible
for someone to locate the lost "treasure" without these 'small parts'. I didn't start writing the stories with the expectations
of changing them into a book, so, there was no malice aforethought. I was just saving the "treasures" for myself. (lol)

But now, I've decided to include a 'pamphlet' in the "Pre-Ordered" books that will give the true name of the creek that the
tax assessor lost the Mariposa $50 gold slugs near. (I believe that I'm the last living soul that actually knows about the creek).
I'll also let readers know why nobody has been able to locate the old ford where the coins were hidden. Plus, there will be
addendums in reference to some of the other stories. You know, just little details. (lol)

Anyway, I've put you down as "Pre-Order" #18,

I'll be checking in here more often.

Eagle

I'm enjoying very much the recent posts guys. Thanks.

Eagle, could you put me down for a copy of your book as well.

Mike

 

[EagleDown]

I'm enjoying very much the recent posts guys. Thanks.

Eagle, could you put me down for a copy of your book as well.

Mike

Will do! Thank you my Friend!! You're down as #23.

 

[Lanny in AB]

To all of my fine forum friends:

I won't be too long before I'm off chasing the gold again, so my posting time will be quite restricted.

So, I hope you'll all stay in touch and keep posting pictures of your finds, as well as pictures of your gold outings in your neck of the woods.

I'll be doing more detecting this season with the GPX 5000, and for sure with the little X-Terra 705, as it has certainly earned its stripes!

Moreover, who knows, maybe I'll even get to do some surface suction sluicing!

There's always hope anyway. . . .

All the best, and many thanks for taking this thread well past 150,000 views!

Lanny

 

[63bkpkr]

Lanny,
Those mountains are some fine "Eye Candy" for now a flat-lander! Best of success this season.......................63bkpkr

 

[allenkeeton]

i don't say this often, but these stories are so good, if it was a book i would not hesitate to buy it.

 

[midnightmoon]

Mr. Lanny --

Yours is the God Father of all prospecting journals here.

Would you care to move it to the new Journals Forum? Just so no one misses out.

Please and thank you!

 

[bedrock bubba]

Hey guys Loving the read as usual

Thought i'd throw in there ( as a Physio of sorts - too long a story to go into ) That for a lot of you guys "back problems" are or can be a big problem. If i can give you all one bit of advise.. Your hamstrings are your best friend.. For when these become too tight.. They proceed to slowly wrench your pelvis backward, causing strain throughout our entire back. Some of these issues include: Sciatica, bulging disks, bulging vertebra, scoliosis, stretched tendons and unsupportive musculature in the lower thoracic and lumbar area, most of these issues come with a nasty serve of mind numbing headaches and inability to have proper movement in your entire back and legs due to almost unrelenting sever pain during movement.. ( I speak from experience on several of these conditions )

My advise: Join a Yoga group or teach yourself the basic 26 Yoga positions, These give you a well rounded stretch throughout your body while strengthening your core muscles and for those of you who have done Yoga before.. You know how strong / flexible and energetic you are after each session.

My partner and i attend a special type of class called Bikram Yoga, this is where they heat the room to 35-40 Celsius while doing a 26 pose class and when i started i was barely able to walk and had a history of sever back pain for the previous 10 years with Dr's telling me there is nothing they can do besides surgery.. after 1 class - all back pain reduced from 10/10 to a 1-2/10.. after 3 classes.. no more back pain.. and i can tell you.. going from 10 years of Extreme pain to nothing.. in the course of 5 days.. was like i'd died and gone to heaven..

To give you some idea of the benefits, I know a gentleman in one of our classes who is 66 and has the body of a 30 yearold gym-junky.. Yoga has often been seen by the public as " that weird thing hippies do"
But in reality.. it's the system used to maintain peak physical condition throughout your life.

If this all seams too much. Just do the following:
Hamstring stretches ( you can google these )
Core strength exercises ( specifically include your side abdominals and your lower/mid and upper back.

Feel free to ask anything further if you have questions, but i just wanted to offer this as it is an area I am knowledgeable in and i would love to see you guys still out there in the canyons for many years to come.

And no excuses my 83 Y/O grandmother does core work AND Yoga.. and she'd do laps around most 50 yearolds

PS: Crunches are Great! But make sure you always work the apposing muscle group! or all you'll end up with is a Chronic hunch, rolled forward shoulders, stretched-unsupportive tendons and musculature in your back as well as poor flexibility.

Peace!

Jace.

Jace, I like what you are saying! I'm 68 going on 100!

I have had a bad L-4-L-5 for decades, and the pelvis gets twisted on occasion. Chiropractors seldom help anymore. The right hamstring is always tighter than the left. I had an unexplainable bad pain episode, where my whole back seized up in a weird way, then the lower calves had severe pain, and I could barely walk for 1 1/2 weeks! I do not know what that was, and neither did the techs at the ER.

I have a Tetter decline thing, bit that only helps temporarilly. I do a few yoga moves that seem to help, but any twisting or slight bending at the waist sets me off big time. Some days I walk around a bit, but some days it hurts to.

I want to get back to where I can hike around, and even get to a few creeks and grab ne some Au!

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Jace, I like what you are saying! I'm 68 going on 100! I have had a bad L-4-L-5 for decades, and the pelvis gets twisted on occasion. Chiropractors seldom help anymore. The right hamstring is always tighter than the left. I had an unexplainable bad pain episode, where my whole back seized up in a weird way, then the lower calves had severe pain, and I could barely walk for 1 1/2 weeks! I do not know what that was, and neither did the techs at the ER. I have a Tetter decline thing, bit that only helps temporarilly. I do a few yoga moves that seem to help, but any twisting or slight bending at the waist sets me off big time. Some days I walk around a bit, but some days it hurts to. I want to get back to where I can hike around, and even get to a few creeks and grab ne some Au!

Dang that sounds like my left side issues. At least hip down. Then there's the left arm. Only 43 and soon to be 44 on 20th. Physical therapy didn't help and so it's the meds doing work on rest of me. All I want to do is be able to hike the hills without worrying about what leg wants to do. So as I go at a snails pace up or down a hill. It gives me a real good opportunity to stare at the ground and rocks. Still haven't found a sun naked nugget.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny,
Those mountains are some fine "Eye Candy" for now a flat-lander! Best of success this season.......................63bkpkr

Herb,

Thanks for dropping in and good luck chasing that Texas gold!

I hope you get a chance to get back to Cali to chase some gold too.

All the best,

Lanny