Equipment suggestions?

[NCguy]

NC guy
A two inch would probably do it fine. But if you can get a ATV or something in there(to haul in a dredge) a 4 inch would really do the trick,it all depends on how much you wanna spend,how crazy you wanna get w/ this,AND how much Gold you find Before spending Big $$$s....Does that creek ever dry out completely ?

No it never dries out. It's a pretty swift creek in some areas. After a storm it turns orange and deadly. I def. would not want to fall in.lol.
I'm lucky to have vehicle access to almost all the creek. When I had a backhoe I made rivers edge rds big enough for my side.x.side(Geo tracker)
As far as money I'm trying to stay in the 1k range.

The creek looks like a great place to hunt for Indian artifacts too.

I'm always looking for arrowheads but nothing yet🥺

 

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[NCguy]

Here's where we were prospecting today...with a saucepan😁

 

[NCguy]

Here's a pic or two to show how high it gets after a heavy rain

 

[crashbandicoot]

Its a Angus MacKirk 'Grubstake' >> https://brokenback.ca/product/angus-mackirk-grubstake-flair-sluice/
MacKirk made tons of different models .Mine is 10 years old and looks/works like new ,and it catches very small/fine gold quite well .Great for packing in to streams only 2+ pounds but still takes a beating View attachment 1999220

Thank you RTR! That sounds just like what I,m looking for.Made a note of it in my notebook.It,s sharing knowledge like this that makes this such a wonderful place.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Here's where we were prospecting today...with a saucepan😁

Man,that,s pretty!If you get tired of prospecting you can just sit down and enjoy! Like your doggie too.A man ought to have a dog to prospect with!

 

[NCguy]

Man,that,s pretty!If you get tired of prospecting you can just sit down and enjoy! Like your doggie too.A man ought to have a dog to prospect with!

Thankyou. We love it here!
"DooDa" goes everywhere we go. If we fail to take her..she pouts.

 

[RTR]

A Dredge would be hard to find for 1K .... New 2.5" dredges are going for almost 3K.... A highbanker is a LOT of shoveling and its all uphill .
How about making a 3-4" dredge ? You could probably make one for around 1k.
Heres another idea For $500.00 & change >>
Or Craigslist for a used 4 " ?

 

[RTR]

I would say (for right now) your best avenue of attack is . Moving Some boulder(that are in just about every pix.)
Dig under them... Classify that material to 1/4".... Put that classified material in 5 gal. buckets...Label the location the material came from...Then Pan & sluice the material.
This will give you a better idea of how much gold your talking about,and exactly where on the stream it is.
Its a lot of work but the end result just might make you ....

 

[NCguy]

A Dredge would be hard to find for 1K .... New 2.5" dredges are going for almost 3K.... A highbanker is a LOT of shoveling and its all uphill .
How about making a 3-4" dredge ? You could probably make one for around 1k.
Heres another idea For $500.00 & change >>
Or Craigslist for a used 4 " ?

I've been looking at some 3" used dredges on marketplace. Seems
a lot of people get in and then out of the hobby. I'm seeing 3" ones asking 12-1500.
I am good with sheet metal and fab so I may opt for building something.

I would say (for right now) your best avenue of attack is . Moving Some boulder(that are in just about every pix.)
Dig under them... Classify that material to 1/4".... Put that classified material in 5 gal. buckets...Label the location the material came from...Then Pan & sluice the material.
This will give you a better idea of how much gold your talking about,and exactly where on the stream it is.
Its a lot of work but the end result just might make you .... View attachment 1999345

Thanks for the great ideas and helpful plan of attack!
I think my wife and I have found a new hobby.
I'm envious of your gold emoji!

 

[RTR]

It would be a fun project to build a dredge Its a great hobby nothing like seeing that shiny stuff at the bottom of muck Glad to be of some help.

 

[RTR]

You say your good at sheet metal & fab work

.Here's a couple projects to bring your Gold recovery indoors when its cold & rainy outside.Or you just want to take your time on recovery.A garage or basement area will work.
A recycling sluice .
And A Miller Table, 2ft x 4ft.(in its building stage). It does a great job at fine/small gold recovery .NO gold gets pass the Miller ,all the way down to minus 100 mesh

 

[RTR]

This is the pump I use for the Miller.With an inline water flow adjustment valve.It delivers plenty of water .

 

[RTR]

Any quarts in that creek I don't see any. If so ,try turning them into sand and pan em. Only takes a couple minutes with a cement floor, a 5 pound sledge hammer & a rag for eye protection.

 

[NCguy]

Any quarts in that creek I don't see any. If so ,try turning them into sand and pan em. Only takes a couple minutes with a cement floor, a 5 pound sledge hammer & a rag for eye protection.

Thanks again for info and pics. Your feeding my new obsession.
When panning yesterday I noticed white and smokey quartz. Many small and some in the 1-2lb size. Creek is called.smokey creek due to lots of smokey quartz. I'll ad a pic later showing the common rocks I'm seeing. Every time I pan I get about 1/4- 1/2 a cup of black sand.
PS,
A local has the Keene A52S sluice for sale. Used a few times and Looks brand new.
He wants $450 for it and a gold hog flow pan. How's that deal sound to y'all? Was thinking it would be a.good.jumpstart on making a dredge...?

 

[RTR]

is it this one,if so thats a little high on the price https://www.goldhog.com/flowpan.htm
And this one ?

 

[NCguy]

Thanks again for info and pics. Your feeding my new obsession.
When panning yesterday I noticed white and smokey quartz. Many small and some in the 1-2lb size. Creek is called.smokey creek due to lots of smokey quartz. I'll ad a pic later showing the common rocks I'm seeing. Every time I pan I get about 1/4- 1/2 a cup of black sand.
PS,
A local has the Keene A52S sluice for sale. Used a few times and Looks brand new.
He wants $450 for it and a gold hog flow pan. How's that deal sound to y'all? Was thinking it would be a.good.jumpstart on making a dredge...?

Yep, that's the pan. He said the sluice A52S with legs and pan were $540+tax and shipping.
Can't find many reviews of the A52S other than videos from Keene.

 

[RTR]

Yep, that's the pan. He said the sluice A52S with legs and pan were $540+tax and shipping.
Can't find many reviews of the A52S other than videos from Keene.

You'll Have to check out the condition & decide if you want to pay his full asking price. Ebay probably has tons of used ones if thats what you want.

 

[NCguy]

You'll Have to check out the condition & decide if you want to pay his full asking price. Ebay probably has tons of used ones if thats what you want.

Condition is as new. I did check eBay and no used ones. Did see a new one for $640(crazy) Google search shows 439.95 at many gold prospecting companies. Flow pan seems.to be $100. I guess it's not a great deal but would save $1-150.
My main concern is any thoughts on the A52S. I like that it classifies but Is it a good gold catcher?

 

[RTR]

I've Never used a A52S but Keene has been in the business making prospecting Equpt. for a long time

 

[RTR]

Heres a Keene A52 w/o legs for under $300.00 w/ free shipping
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/3134987678...1291&msclkid=e01861d398d4116350c3001e55462a3c