Kevins own thread - a journal (but feel free to post random thoughts)

[Sideways Sherry]

Goldog, Yea I'm headed up Fri, will be there all weekend with my son. I forgot who you are, especially since you don't have a profile pic on here. ;-)

 

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[KiddoTheMiner]

A dollar. It really depends Sherry. Some considerations;

A. Effort;
Time, energy output, weight, the hike etc.... All of these are intangibles.

B.Cost;
Equipment, fuel and trans, parking etc...

We;ll figure food, drink and other would be consumed either way and leave 'em out.

Return:

Gold, yea lots of GOLD that's what I want!!!That's all that really counts now, isn't it?

I spent more than a year(s) getting a dollar at a place that cost about the same. (Five miles from home.) I'm happy with it for a bunch of reasons. Time good. 15 minutes drive round trip. Under a half gallon in gas. Damn near break even. Other options are an hour drive (East Fork) or more. Can I make up for those dollars spent driving 2 hrs RT. 100 miles is $55 according to the AAA/IRS. That means I gotta find a DWT (1.5grams) to break even. What's my chance of that? Gotta head up north for that. But then Quadruple the miles and time, add lodging or camping, etc... Oh and don't forget the time... and on and on...

If you are talking a particular place or similar cost options well...nevermind

The point is; My best shot at coming out ahead may be to be happy with the dollar. Oh, by the way are you heading to EF tomorrow? I'll be headed up

I don't think 1.5 grams is unrealistic. especially for cali

 

[Sideways Sherry]

Kiddo, 1.5 grams ain't happening often where we are in SoCal., big gold ain't everywhere in Cali., it's mainly up north. :-(

 

[goldog]

It's not unrealistic where she goes. Not real likely for a day trip, but big gold has come out of there. May score it all in one piece. You've got to remember we are in SoCal. Not a whole bunch of gram a day spots.

By the way Sherry, all you can really hope for is better gold than the previous trips.

You are getting some good pointers, meeting up with some regulars. Pay mucho attention to what their pay dirt looks like, where they are finding it and how they are identifying it. Notice the pay streaks and how they are laid down. Be the gold...

 

[KevinInColorado]

Gold from my secret, favorite spot. Got out for an hour or so yesterday before sunset to run my Bazooka Prospector. Upper gold is +50, lower is -50

Total is 0.12 grams

 

[goldog]

That's a 50/50 proposition I could handle.

 

[Sideways Sherry]

Nice Kevin!

Although, I'm sad to say that my Super Mini is not keeping the gold test after test...

 

[Prospector70]

Production - Prospector or Miner Series.

I need to know how fast it takes for material you put on to clear the top deck. How many seconds?
How long before a cleanout? A bucket? Two?
The upper deck should be almost instantly cleared, going by Todd's BGT example vid. He puts a trowel of material in and it's gone in 1 or 2 seconds. Now figure a plastic treasure scoop holds two or three trowel's worth of material try loading less material like 1/2 a scoop at a time.
I'd classify to as small as possible depending on your gold size. if most of the gold is small maybe upgrade from a 3/4 inch to a 1/4 inch classifier. Slow it down with the Mini on the feed, but keep the water fast enough to clear it quick.
Hope some of this incoherent rambling helps

 

[KevinInColorado]

Production - Prospector or Miner Series. I need to know how fast it takes for material you put on to clear the top deck. How many seconds? How long before a cleanout? A bucket? Two? The upper deck should be almost instantly cleared, going by Todd's BGT example vid. He puts a trowel of material in and it's gone in 1 or 2 seconds. Now figure a plastic treasure scoop holds two or three trowel's worth of material try loading less material like 1/2 a scoop at a time. I'd classify to as small as possible depending on your gold size. if most of the gold is small maybe upgrade from a 3/4 inch to a 1/4 inch classifier. Slow it down with the Mini on the feed, but keep the water fast enough to clear it quick. Hope some of this incoherent rambling helps

Right. I'm sure you can make it work well Sherry. Like P70 says, change up your setup...experiment a bit.
...and thanks Sherry

 

[Sideways Sherry]

I've been experimenting my butt off! I've tried all of you guys suggestions multiple times. I mean everything y'all have suggested and Chris at BGT too! I classify to 1/4, always have. Next time I'm gonna get a tarp and lay it over the dam on both sides and put the SM on top of it into a groove to try to make the flow of water more powerful.

When I have it fast and steep the material clears in 1-2 sec. When I have it slower and more level it clears in 3-4 sec.

I recently met a guy with the prospector, we are gonna run the prospector, see what he got then mix it in with some more material and run it through the SM to see what happens.

Heck, I must a beast out there and it can't keep up with me... I probably just need the Miner! ;-) Hehehe!

WHATS IN THE BOX! ;-)

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sherry I just love your attitude!

Meanwhile here's a pic of my current dam and hole from my dig time today

 

[Sideways Sherry]

Hey Kevin, I saw a video last evening where the guy had the prospector and he had his placed somewhat level but it was placed on the downside of the dam but not in the dam but where the water flowed through the opening of the dam down the slope and then into the prospector as well as around the sides of it. Does that really work?

 

[ChrisinCO]

Hoping to head up to the metro Denver area this weekend. Probably Sunday or Monday. Looking for someone willing to show a newbie a few ropes. Anyone interested? Got my AM sluice and am itching to get it wet and dirty...lol

 

[KevinInColorado]

Hey Kevin, I saw a video last evening where the guy had the prospector and he had his placed somewhat level but it was placed on the downside of the dam but not in the dam but where the water flowed through the opening of the dam down the slope and then into the prospector as well as around the sides of it. Does that really work?

sorry but I've no idea, never tried that. Seems like a good idea for the Supermini tho since it doesn't like too much slope...unlike the others.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Hoping to head up to the metro Denver area this weekend. Probably Sunday or Monday. Looking for someone willing to show a newbie a few ropes. Anyone interested? Got my AM sluice and am itching to get it wet and dirty...lol

Hey Chris, I wish I could say yes and hope someone else does. I've already committed to be elsewhere with 425Jesse and my nephews. Happy to find a time next month though if that helps. If no one else steps up, PM me for some off the air tips.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Got out at Arapahoe Bar Prospecting Park for an hour at the end of the day. I was on that end of town at the end of the work day and had the choice of fighting rush hour across town or digging in one of the most historic gold sites in Colorado. Easy choice right?! Anyway, this pic is Clear Creek with my Bazooka Prospector across the water and a couple local guys I met on the far bank. Here's the sign about the history of the site, made by Mike Pung for us at Gold Unlimited and donated to the Wheatridge Open Space program: Pics of gold to follow...





...sorted by size, -100, -50 -30

 

[Prospector70]

Nice!

I totally thought I would have done more prospecting this summer, I do look forward to winter though, got all the little holes in the waders patched (I hope), I'm remembering how low the water was and hope it's the same this year.

 

[Failed to Find]

GO TO THE DESERT! One can have gram + days out here. Try the Randsburg area, we have pulled good gold and only spent 4hrs drywashing.

 

[gunflintguy]

Kevin,

I finally got around to cleaning up my concentrates from Arapahoe bar today.I started with the -100 mesh and got a lot more colors than I was expecting . I will post more later. I am still figuring out how to get close ups with the camera. So far I am very pleased with what I have found.

John

 

[KevinInColorado]

Love it! Great to see your success