AZ members check in

[kazcoro]

Hello all you AZ members of Treasure Net.

Here is a thread designed for one thing... Checking in and getting out with fellow AZ members. I see that there are a few AZ members who have gotten together and had some fun prospecting. I am kinda jealous. I, and hopefully other members from AZ also, would like to get to know our peers in person. See who like to shovel, and who like to watch shoveling happen... J/K.

I see some members are passing through the area I live in and I would love to get involved.

I will start it off. I live in Glendale, and don't have a truck. ( I have a company truck, but that is a big no-no) I have a drywasher, and a MD. I have my daughter every other weekend, and have the FEVER. I have a membership with Roadrunners. We have claims at Rich Hill, near Vulture Mine, and near Old Woman Gulch outside of Morristown. Anybody wants to set up a day of digging, let me know. I will be waiting at the end of the drive with too much equipment....

 

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[wtetro]

Dang talk of project deadlines and milestones, takes me back to when I was a working man.
I do miss those days. Been 5 years on disability and going bonkers.

I hear you on the disability. I'm only rated at 40% through Uncle Sam from my spinal fusion back in '07 and it was tough just to get through 30 days, I can't imagine 5 years!. I'm just glad I'm healed up enough to be able to get out and dig and still take my boys out digging. By the way, perhaps this is a dumb question, but is there water, flowing or standing out in the Stanton area? I thought that was more dry washing country? Or were you talking about doing a recirc system on your highbanker?

 

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[Arid-Zone-A-seeker]

Hey Kaz,,Just saw this thread,,,just moved back to AZ. gonna reup my Gpaa,,,and maybe get in to some other groups down around Wikinburg way. Been to Stanton area about 8 times will be going back in the fall.

Great thread,,

 

[elgatodelnoche]

Welcome Arid-Zona-Seeker and Quenton Wagstaff. I live in East Mesa and would love to get out and do some drywashing. Quenton I can show you a couple spots close by Apache Junction to try the detectors. You will get lots of lead and brass. But you may get an artifact of bygone mining days or a small nugget too. Here is a list of metal detector regulations in Arizona.

MDHTALK - Arizona Metal Detecting Law & Regulations

Apparently you can use metal detectors just as long as you are not digging up historical artifacts. This is the rule at Lynx Creek as well.

 

[wtetro]

Welcome Arid-Zona-Seeker and Quenton Wagstaff. I live in East Mesa and would love to get out and do some drywashing. Quenton I can show you a couple spots close by Apache Junction to try the detectors. You will get lots of lead and brass. But you may get an artifact of bygone mining days or a small nugget too. Here is a list of metal detector regulations in Arizona.

MDHTALK - Arizona Metal Detecting Law & Regulations

Apparently you can use metal detectors just as long as you are not digging up historical artifacts. This is the rule at Lynx Creek as well.

I have not used a detector up at Lynx yet, but I know from what I find panning from either the amount of magnetite or the occasional copper jacketed bullet, you will need to have good discrimination and patience. Also, there is also a lot of old mining trash, and some newer like bottle caps, pull tabs, etc, typical finds when detecting. I tend to pack it out when I find it to make detecting easier and more importantly, just to keep the areas up there presentable. I might have to try my luck with my POS detector next time I am up there panning test holes. If anything, I might find a nice heavys deposit worth cleaning out.

 

[wtetro]

As far as Stanton goes, I am not a member of any clubs out here yet, but how much open unclaimed land is there out there?

 

[SLNugget]

As far as Stanton goes, I am not a member of any clubs out here yet, but how much open unclaimed land is there out there?

Very little AFAIK. And when there is it's not there very long either. :-)

 

[wtetro]

Very little AFAIK. And when there is it's not there very long either. :-)

I figured as much. I was just hoping to run a sluice somewhere with all of this rain we have been having, and are going to have over the week-end. I am planning on heading up to Lynx around Bannie Mine Rd unless I can find somewhere I can run a highbanker or sluice that is closer, if I can finish the spray bars tonight on it. Anyone else heading out this week-end?

 

[Clay Diggins]

Stanton itself is private property. Rich Hill is mostly claimed up right now. There are about six or seven square miles still open this year but most of that isn't land you are going to be able to drive up to and jump out of your vehicle with a shovel and get gold. There are a few spots like that left but not like last fall.

There certainly isn't anywhere you are going to have any luck with a sluice but that would be true even if it was all open to claim. Arizona just isn't the place to be looking to fill your poke with a sluice. Better get yourself a drywasher and make a recirculator out of that sluice box if you are serious about getting gold in the desert. The placers here aren't much influenced by water flow and most of the washes just aren't going to produce much even if you did get a trickle down them.

We keep our ear pretty close to the ground around Rich Hill/Stanton and it looks like a lot of good ground will be opening up next month. The smart prospector will start watching for a few of the clubs to be dropping claims this September as well as one or two of the bigger claim holders up there.

Heavy Pans

 

[wtetro]

Thanks for the info. My highbanker can be used as a recirc system too, that's how I used it in Utah by the Green River when I was digging away from the river. I'm looking onto a drywasher, doing my research still, though I'm leaning towards a Royal. I will keep watch on the claims and see if I can't snag one up.

 

[AzViper]

Thanks for the info. My highbanker can be used as a recirc system too, that's how I used it in Utah by the Green River when I was digging away from the river. I'm looking onto a drywasher, doing my research still, though I'm leaning towards a Royal. I will keep watch on the claims and see if I can't snag one up.

Great choice if you purchase a Royal. Quality through and through.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

I hear you on the disability. I'm only rated at 40% through Uncle Sam from my spinal fusion back in '07 and it was tough just to get through 30 days, I can't imagine 5 years!. I'm just glad I'm healed up enough to be able to get out and dig and still take my boys out digging. By the way, perhaps this is a dumb question, but is there water, flowing or standing out in the Stanton area? I thought that was more dry washing country? Or were you talking about doing a recirc system on your highbanker?

I recirc the water. Don't have drywash system yet. That will be my next move though. I do prefer water though.

 

[wtetro]

I recirc the water. Don't have drywash system yet. That will be my next move though. I do prefer water though.

Are you running a 12V system, or do you run around with a generator and camp out? I need to buy a new electric pump for my recirc system, or I need to really make sure I don't blow up my plumbing with my gas pump. It puts out 6200 gph. I was thinking about just building a small system using deep V mat, maybe something deep up top, but I am not sure. I am guessing with that set up, I can get away with 500 gph or even less if I classify well. If the other doesn't blow out my plumbing, I will use my Angus Mckirk Explorer sluice highbanker I built and run the cons through the smaller deep V set up. I prefer water myself, but have been successful dry panning, it just takes longer and you tend to not catch the majority of the fines. I got pretty good at dry panning in UT where we have nothing but flour. I would walk around the ancient high water mark of the green river and dry pan my test holes so I didn't have to carry water around. As goog as I got at it, I still lost about 15% to 25% of the gold in the pan. I still want a drywasher though, less weight to lug and I can run the cons through a small recirc system instead.

 

[wtetro]

Here's the easy stuff I got Saturday up above Lynx. I placed a t-spoon full of the already panned cons that I ran a magnet through and still have a lat of fines and coarse fines to get out. I still have another hour of running a magnet through before I can finish the clean up. Good day out though with my older sons. They both found pinhead pickers and we got to experience our first flash flood. I was panning in my hole and I heard rushing water about 100 yards up the creek. I asked my boys and Steve, the guy I met up there, if they heard what I was hearing, and he started grabbing his gear and moving it up to higher ground where I told my boys to go. I moved my stuff and we watched the rushing water come in and rise about 18 inches. Steve's hole, which had about 2.5 feet of water in it now had 4 feet of water. We spent 20 minutes making 2 diversion dams and deepen the exit flow trench to get his hole to where he could work in it again without a mask and snorkel. The best comment from my middle son was that there was no rain right now, where did all that water come from, then the gears started turning in his head, and he recalled what I had told them earlier about flash floods and how they can start miles away from a storm you can't see or hear. I was glad to know that maybe my kids do listen to me and that they did learn something. It was an awesome day out digging.

 

[StreamlineGold]

I gotta get back up there soon sounds fun...

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Are you running a 12V system, or do you run around with a generator and camp out? I need to buy a new electric pump for my recirc system, or I need to really make sure I don't blow up my plumbing with my gas pump. It puts out 6200 gph. I was thinking about just building a small system using deep V mat, maybe something deep up top, but I am not sure. I am guessing with that set up, I can get away with 500 gph or even less if I classify well. If the other doesn't blow out my plumbing, I will use my Angus Mckirk Explorer sluice highbanker I built and run the cons through the smaller deep V set up. I prefer water myself, but have been successful dry panning, it just takes longer and you tend to not catch the majority of the fines. I got pretty good at dry panning in UT where we have nothing but flour. I would walk around the ancient high water mark of the green river and dry pan my test holes so I didn't have to carry water around. As goog as I got at it, I still lost about 15% to 25% of the gold in the pan. I still want a drywasher though, less weight to lug and I can run the cons through a small recirc system instead.

Yeah I use a 12 V system. Part of the reason why I didn't do a drywasher is because I didn't want to haul gas. Now my buddy makes wooden drywashers with the bellows which is like to use. But, having that blower and a possible vac action to clean bedrock would be a plus. So that's probably the next run I'll be doing. I've got a couple areas that are hike to spots. So the lighter the better. Unless I had a mule and horses. Now that's a trip I'd like to do.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1034325"/> Here's the easy stuff I got Saturday up above Lynx. I placed a t-spoon full of the already panned cons that I ran a magnet through and still have a lat of fines and coarse fines to get out. I still have another hour of running a magnet through before I can finish the clean up. Good day out though with my older sons. They both found pinhead pickers and we got to experience our first flash flood. I was panning in my hole and I heard rushing water about 100 yards up the creek. I asked my boys and Steve, the guy I met up there, if they heard what I was hearing, and he started grabbing his gear and moving it up to higher ground where I told my boys to go. I moved my stuff and we watched the rushing water come in and rise about 18 inches. Steve's hole, which had about 2.5 feet of water in it now had 4 feet of water. We spent 20 minutes making 2 diversion dams and deepen the exit flow trench to get his hole to where he could work in it again without a mask and snorkel. The best comment from my middle son was that there was no rain right now, where did all that water come from, then the gears started turning in his head, and he recalled what I had told them earlier about flash floods and how they can start miles away from a storm you can't see or hear. I was glad to know that maybe my kids do listen to me and that they did learn something. It was an awesome day out digging.

That's a good lesson to remember. When I lived in Maricopa. We'd get floods out there and there'd be no rain. Yet Tucson was getting all of it. Which is roughly 90+/- miles from there. Plus I always thought the water flowed mostly sw through the state. So just remember to pay attention to the weather and ears open. If it's not music. Then you probably need to be moving your feet.

 

[wtetro]

Yeah I use a 12 V system. Part of the reason why I didn't do a drywasher is because I didn't want to haul gas. Now my buddy makes wooden drywashers with the bellows which is like to use. But, having that blower and a possible vac action to clean bedrock would be a plus. So that's probably the next run I'll be doing. I've got a couple areas that are hike to spots. So the lighter the better. Unless I had a mule and horses. Now that's a trip I'd like to do.

I am going to be building a vac soon I think, and may go with the 12V system as well and agree since I hike as well, that added weight is not an option, though I tend to leave with a lot more weight that I showed up with, but that's the idea, right? I also have "2 pack mules", those are my older boys aged 10 and 12. They can't carry as much as I can, but all the buckets and other items that do not fit in my pack and aren't to heavy for them to carry for a distance go to them, otherwise, I could be looking at 3 trips to get set up for the day. My 6200gph pump is around 30lbs I think, and unless I am not having to hike too far, not sure I would even attempt it unless I had a cart or quad. Also, I would need to transport a lot more water, so the 12V system makes a lot more sense, but I would love to find a spot where I could dredge or highbank with it. I have about 100' of feed hose to get to my HB.

 

[AzViper]

I asked my boys and Steve, the guy I met up there, if they heard what I was hearing, and he started grabbing his gear and moving it up to higher ground where I told my boys to go. I moved my stuff and we watched the rushing water come in and rise about 18 inches.

Two amazing videos of flash flooding here in Arizona and Utah. Never take a dry wash for granted. What happens ten's of miles away could ruin your day and take your life.

​

 

[maui]

the flooding sure does sneek up very, very quick. be careful out there folks and be aware

 

[StreamlineGold]

Any of you guys gonna be hunting some of that flood gold that's out there after this big storm??