Loaming

[MadMarshall]

Was out on the NF American river today. Had some decent rains hit the area and the river is high and the water cold. But for me this is the best time to sample areas, practice my Loaming and get my plans for the warm weather. I better know where I want to work this coming season. I generaly scout out more area's in the winter then I can work in a season. Its fun. Anyway the rains I think are a great chance to start looking for gold higher on the mountain, theres puddles to pan in though I usually dig a hole put some plastic down tough it up and bucket up some water and pan there. Its saves alot of time. And every so often it Pays this was found up high about 50yrds above water level on a shelf that oddly enough had river rock and broken debri After digging some of the material I came up with alot of bullets and lead ect.ect. Unfortuantly found the area kinda late so like the good ECO FRIENDLY prospector I happen to be I picked up what old junk and trash I could and buried any other sign of us vile prospectors. I cant wait to put some work in this area I suspect about a week shall do it but I can always hope. I don't mind digging left overs and look forward to trying to figure out where they were digging. I got 1.2grams total for the few pans I did and so many bullets.

 

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[Fullpan]

Not many people I know would carry a bucket of water 150 feet up the mountain to pan dirt. It sounds like your "loaming" is an uncommon niche type
prospecting - has anyone out there done this? Anyway, you should encounter more "virginlike" areas, good luck!

 

[soupfreak]

loaming [‚lōm·iŋ]
(geochemistry)
In geochemical prospecting, a method in which samples of material from the surface are tested for traces of a sought-after metal; its presence on the surface presumably indicates a near-surface ore body.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

150' up a mountain is dedication!

 

[MadMarshall]

Loaming is tracking float gold to its origin "Practical gold-mining: a comprehensive treatise on the origin and occurrence" ...
By Charles George Warnford Lock.. I believe copyrighted around 1888

 

[NeoTokyo]

I will stick to underwater sniping.

Have you or anyone that you know of found a source lode before?

 

[KevinInColorado]

A guy on one of the forums posted pics of the lode he found...he dug to the bottom of a dry wash placer and just got lucky...very cool tho!

 

[MadMarshall]

I've been loaming for a few years and this will be the first time, I've found gold higher then the extreme flood plain. It seems to me that a prospector should pay more attention to the hillside. I cant keep my self from digging in ravines, old washes ect. Loaming is a great way to go about prospecting areas that have been hydraulic mined. Why wait for the gold to wash down to you?

 

[63bkpkr]

It is interesting to look at older USGS maps of historic gold country and note that at 2000' elevation there are placer mines and more placer mines that go all the way up to 7000' elevation. Oddly enough many of the mountains stop at around 8000' so some might tall mountains have been cut down by time, weather, snow, ice and water erosion to give us Placer deposits at all of these various elevations. The old adage, gold is where you find it, is still true to this day and "I believe" that veins of gold are still out there and will from time to time be found by those with the fortitude to "Prospect" hillsides. So MadMarshall, go make your own "Luck" (?) while enjoying the scenery and be thankful that you can still do that in this country! With my best wishes for your success.........63bkpkr

 

[NeoTokyo]

A guy on one of the forums posted pics of the lode he found...he dug to the bottom of a dry wash placer and just got lucky...very cool tho!

Do you have the link? I would love to see that.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Oh heck no sorry, I don't even recall which forum sorry...

 

[209bluebus]

good work,thats great stuff.

 

[JunGun]

Nice! Take me Loaming!
I was planning my first gold panning expedition possibly tomorrow on Christmas!
I mapped a few spots on google maps near by me.