No luck!!

mjarvis

Full Member
Jan 4, 2013
218
28
Gold river
Detector(s) used
Bounty hunter. Whites MXT, whites pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
My friend and I went out today prospecting in the placer area and didn't have much luck. It was the first for both of us, we went out on the one of the GPAA's claims but didn't find much. I take that back 1 flake! My buddy kept it, we moved some material around, did some sniping, sluiced are material and at the end of the 3 hours nada. Not sure what we did wrong, worked around the banks, behind some big rocks, up the sides a.little but again nothing to show for the work. We had meet a couple of guys leaving they asked us how we did, told them, they said " should have went farther up around the bend where more exposed bedrock was exposed. We worked an area with a lot of loose pea grave ( maybe to much in the area) but I would have thought we still would have found more. Kind of a bummer but what do ya do. Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks
 

Upvote 0

Rawhide

Silver Member
Nov 17, 2010
3,590
2,185
SouthWestern USA
Detector(s) used
Nox 800, Etrac, F75, AT Pro. Last two for sale.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Those Utube videos sure make it look easy huh? I would listen to the old timers and see if that works. May try a lil more research. Good Luck.
 

OP
OP
mjarvis

mjarvis

Full Member
Jan 4, 2013
218
28
Gold river
Detector(s) used
Bounty hunter. Whites MXT, whites pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Casca. Your right I think they do. I'm not giving up, nobody gets it the first time. I'm hopeful to find a veteran miner to talk with and share some of his experience with a green horn.
 

Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,418
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pea gravel? Sounds like you were working someone else's tailings. A lot of the GPAA claims are really worked out and you will see piles of pea gravel all over from where they classified their material.
 

OP
OP
mjarvis

mjarvis

Full Member
Jan 4, 2013
218
28
Gold river
Detector(s) used
Bounty hunter. Whites MXT, whites pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Reed Lukens said:
Pea gravel? Sounds like you were working someone else's tailings. A lot of the GPAA claims are really worked out and you will see piles of pea gravel all over from where they classified their material.
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OgtO6YEjaw

Reed, I think your right. I thought it might have been from the river wash when it rained. But that makes since. Thxs
 

Oakview2

Silver Member
Feb 4, 2012
2,807
3,348
Prather CA
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT
Primary Interest:
Other
Reed

Its those lucky black sock that gets the gold:icon_thumright: PS.. your hoof pick looks more like a hay hook, but a great idea none the less
 

Last edited:
OP
OP
mjarvis

mjarvis

Full Member
Jan 4, 2013
218
28
Gold river
Detector(s) used
Bounty hunter. Whites MXT, whites pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I don't know who's getting it but it wasn't me!! I need to head out with an experience miner for some knowledge and help. I'm not bad but not good tho. Just need alittle help
 

Aurabbit79er

Sr. Member
Oct 29, 2012
450
292
Southern California
Detector(s) used
A cheap little Bounty Hunter
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It really is a numbers game. the more you dig the more gold you find. the ratio isn't always low. 2 small pieces in a 5 gal bucket means the area has gold, not bad, 4 pieces a bucket is encouraging. 2 or 3 flakes in a bucket, Now we're talking! you are in the zone. 5 to 10 pieces and flakes, you are on the gold. Dig your ass off. If you are working near the water try to dig the direction of the river flow. Large obstructions interrupt and concentrate the flow of gold as it travels. That's what I look for. All rivers have floods and that is when gold travels. As the flood recedes the flood materials stop in layers and the gold stops first because it's the heaviest. That is why we always have to dig. photo (1).JPG
 

OP
OP
mjarvis

mjarvis

Full Member
Jan 4, 2013
218
28
Gold river
Detector(s) used
Bounty hunter. Whites MXT, whites pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Aurabbit79er said:
It really is a numbers game. the more you dig the more gold you find. the ratio isn't always low. 2 small pieces in a 5 gal bucket means the area has gold, not bad, 4 pieces a bucket is encouraging. 2 or 3 flakes in a bucket, Now we're talking! you are in the zone. 5 to 10 pieces and flakes, you are on the gold. Dig your ass off. If you are working near the water try to dig the direction of the river flow. Large obstructions interrupt and concentrate the flow of gold as it travels. That's what I look for. All rivers have floods and that is when gold travels. As the flood recedes the flood materials stop in layers and the gold stops first because it's the heaviest. That is why we always have to dig.<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=756563"/>

That's great info!! Another great piece of advice thxs!! I was digging pretty deep looking for black sand/ bedrock but not much at all hard to say, I dug around a big rock the could have made for a nice gold trap but again no luck! I'm going back but going in a lot father to find a better spot. Thxs for the info!!! Good luck out there
 

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,152
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Just don't give up. Like Reed said, a lot of the GPAA claims have been worked over pretty hard so you have to think outside the box to find something. years ago I went to a GPAA claim with a friend that was a member and while he was working the stream bed area I was working the moss and crevasses on the side of the hill. I was the only one that found anything that day and trust me, it wasn't much. I've had much better luck working BLM lands than GPAA claims. I'm currently working a wash on our property that we've found gold in. We know it's there but it's doing a good job of hiding from us for now. We've found a few flakes so far and a lot of garnets and black sand but trying to read a wash that is subject to flash flooding during the monsoon season here in Arizona is not like reading a year round stream in NorCal.
 

wa-au-nut

Full Member
Dec 1, 2012
103
49
Marysville,Wa.
Detector(s) used
MXT
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
@ Reed, See you useing a pan to wash the sluice out. I use a squirt bottle that you get at a Teriyucky place. Make for fast clenups, Light and cheap. Try to keep 2 in my pack always in case 1 self destructs on me. Just a oversize snuffer without the tube, LOL
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top