How Deep?

[penster]

When I head out Columbus day weekend, I have two gravel bars (1 small, and 1 rather long- maybe 50-60 ft) that I want to test pan. I have ordered some classifiers to sort the material as Va gold tends to be flour gold. How deep of a hole do you dig when test panning? If the slabs of bedrock on either side of the gravel bar are continuous across the creek bed I estimate I have 1-2 ft of overburden.

I also plan to take one day and hand dredge the exposed underwater bedrock. There are black sand deposits under an inch or so of blond sand/silt where I found my first four....count em, yep that's right, four gold flakes. ;-]

Am I on the right track? Or would you just work the bedrock. It's in fairly fast moving water with a two-3ft drop immediately downstream. I have difficulty standing down stream of the drop, So don't know how I can work that just yet.

Wanna make the most of my 3 days. Thanks.

 

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[penster]

trying to upload some pics...one of normal water levels of the larger gravel bar (and you can see where the exposed bedrock is located on each side). After a good soaking rain that little grass patch in the first pic is under water by 6-8 inches. In the spring floods the large island (down stream of the tent) is underwater, and the creek is up over the banks where we camp (4 ft from baseline water level).

 

[B H Prospector]

Hi Penster,
If all you have is a couple od feet of overburden then clean it off to bedrock. Start at the upper end of the bar as that is the end that started to form first and is likely to have the largest and most gold. The work your way through it working down stream. By all means work the exposed bedrock also.

Good Luck!

BH Prospector

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Penster,
Interesting project you have there. In addition to your other tools bring along a pair of diving goggles as once you've exposed the bedrock you will want to look it over carefully for any pockets, cracks and gold just sitting on top of the bedrock as that is where the gold stops at. As you are talking about fine gold then you should have some sort of sucking device like a plastic turkey baster though something larger would be better as once the bedrock is exposed you will want to clean it off of everything that is there and suction is the easiest way to do that.

The best of success with your adventure.........63bkpkr Here's a few pictures from California, I used to live in Blacksburg.

 

[Hoser John]

Smart gold miners work the bedrock where mother nature has spent the last few million years concentrating the paystreaks there and doing 90% of the work for you. Gold miners make the bedrock-John

 

[penster]

Hi BH....thanks for the advice on starting upstream on that gravel bar. I would have done the opposite.
63bkpkr...we're not far from Blacksburg. About 30 miles as the crow flies. We are on one of the creeks that empties into the New River. A pair of goggles is on my shopping list, and DH has some 90* angled screw drivers to get into the cracks with.
Hoser...I was wondering if I should jump into that bedrock first and leave the gravel bars for spring/summer next year. I take it you would tackle that first?

 

[penster]

Hi all, thanks for all the advice on my posts. On the road now, headed for VA. Hope to have some pics with color to upload next week. Would be nice to get a picker or two as well. Everybody have a great weekend gold huntin'!

 

[Bigwill]

Hey Prospector,
When you say start at the upper end of the bar do you mean to start close to where the gravel bar is sticking out of the water or start back 10 - 15 feet where the gravel bar just begins to form?
Some weeks ago I was dredging the upper end of a gravel bar but started a few feet from where the gravel bar was exposed out of the water. The overburden was about 4 feet deep and I would dredge and let the gravel cave in and work my way down the bar. I didnt get a lot of area covered but I did find some small gold. I plan on going back to the same gravel bar on Sunday. My wife is even going with me this time. Its usually me and my 3 sons but this time my 14 yr old daughter, my wife and 2 of my sons are going with me. Im excited that she finally agreed to make a trip with me.

Hi Penster,
If all you have is a couple od feet of overburden then clean it off to bedrock. Start at the upper end of the bar as that is the end that started to form first and is likely to have the largest and most gold. The work your way through it working down stream. By all means work the exposed bedrock also.

Good Luck!

BH Prospector

 

[Bigwill]

Anyone ?

 

[rlborde]

Starting where the bar starts to form is a good idea. Remember, at low water, that part will be out of the water. God luck.

 

[B H Prospector]

Hi Bigwell,
Sorry for the delay in answering your question. Been away for a while. Where you started dredging would be about right. Dredging makes it easier to start at the begining of the bar and as rlborde said in low water times more of the bar will be exposed. It is great to get your family involved. Yesterday my daughter and my grandson (8 yrs) and his buddy went to one of my claims with me. My wife usually goes with but she is nursing a snaped tendon in a finger. Will be out of action for 6 weeks. Enjoy.

Good Luck!

BH Prospector

 

[Lanny in AB]

You're definitely on the right track, and as you've been advised--not only clean the gravel off to the bedrock, but work any cracks in the bedrock as well. If you've only got a foot or two to bedrock, that's called shallow diggin's and that's what the oldtimers live for.

Good luck, have fun, and get some sassy gold!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[penster]

Only got three good hours in the water this weekend. Initially was supposed to be sunny, but temp dropped several degrees while i was in the water and it started raining. I was shivering so hard I thought I would break a few teeth! Any way, I test panned out one area of shallow bedrock and crossed that off my list. I got started on a sand filled bedrock crevice upstream where the gravel bar starts. Was finally starting to see some evidence of black sand and a little pyrite when I got out. Thats where I'm gonna start when I head back next spring.

Meanwhile, my DH found a very worn rock that was sedimentary, with quartz veins injected into. He split it into several pieces.....was convinced he found gold, yes he was. Looked like pyrite and some mica to me, but using a loop, there was what looked like could be the real stuff mixed in. We are going to investigate this a little further. as miserable as the weekend turned in the cold rain, it was fun.

The gold can run, it can hide, but I'm gonna find it!