FOUND NEED HELP.

[rginn]

I live in mining country and just saw your post. I figure kcm already nailed it though. It's a little more elaborate than most of the ones I see here. It's kinda like they did not want to leave any doubt about exactly where their claim was located, so some claim jumper couldn't plead ignorance. Be sure and put it back.

 

[kcm]

First, check to see if there is still a valid claim(s) in the area. Then check to see if this parcel is in claim. If not, then no real reason to return the marker, unless for the future interest of others. Not sure what the implications are for an inactive claim still being marked but I'm sure it happens ALL the time.

 

[Foxy Baker]

Hello guys,

So I had thought the same thing, I thought it was FOXX, too. What I wonder is, Is there a way, a place I can go, locally?, to find out if the claim is active, or not?.
Secondly, I had spoken to a man who advocates on the rocker box as a great method and preferred method to yield gold, from flooded streams?. Third, this man had told me(he is in his early 80's) that if you get a mine claim it comes with 20.1 Arces. Is this true?. He had told me in Alaska in the 60's, 70's etc, that that was what a mining claim came with. Now, I have gone back to the place where I found the marker and yes, figured it out, with all of your help!, thank you!.

I have NOT tried to get anything until I can find out more. The area has 3-5 different rapidly moving to slow moving streams about 5-9 feet wide, 1 to 3 feet deep and some pretty big water falls. I followed one up about a mile and a half( A creek) and it just got colder up the mountain but there was more waterfalls and the water was clearer and colder.
Is a rocker box Ideal for this type of mining?, Thank you guys.

 

[kcm]

I know nothing about your area, but rocker boxes are tried and true, proven equipment. Best thing I can say is, research, research, research.

As for the claim, go to http:// www. blm. gov/ wo/ st/ en.html (remove the spaces for the URL)
There will be a map of the US. Click on the state your interested in, then contact them to find out how to contact the correct mining office. Once you find that office, they can help direct your claims history questions. Again, you will need to research, research, research.

Unless you're a weekend hobbyist (and sometimes even then), you MUST do tons of research. Don't expect others to do the work for you, as information, regulations, soil/rock types, minerals and so much more vary from area to area. You need to find what works for you.

 

[Alex Burke]

KCM gave good advice as always. A claim can be 20-160 acres. Usually the smallest claim size is 20acres. He is right about the blm site but before filing you should go to your local county recorder office to look at the master title plats to make sure it's claimable. The blm will take your money but they don't have all the up to date records handy and this can lead to people filing on invalid or closed areas. If the claim is expired or forfeited and still open for mineral entry you can prospect the ground and sample without filing a claim, I highly recommend you find good gold on the claim before going through the trouble of filing a claim.

A rocker box is old school and I think it's cool the old timer mentioned it and it would work but I think a shovel, bucket, classifying set, pick and pan would serve you fine for testing the area. If you have to sample a fairly large area you want mobile equipment you can keep moving with and a rocker box would be a bit much to setup for testing every few feet.

 

[kcm]

"A rocker box is old school and I think it's cool the old timer mentioned it and it would work but I think a shovel, bucket, classifying set, pick and pan would serve you fine for testing the area."

This is assuming one is adequate with using a gold pan and actually "saving" the gold. ...I'm not!!

 

[Alex Burke]

"A rocker box is old school and I think it's cool the old timer mentioned it and it would work but I think a shovel, bucket, classifying set, pick and pan would serve you fine for testing the area."

This is assuming one is adequate with using a gold pan and actually "saving" the gold. ...I'm not!!

I think a modern rocker box would be awesome and it seems almost forgotten tech. I wish my highbanker attachment moved back and forth even if I had to provide the power. The modern version is a "crashbox" but isn't as effective if you think about it and the old timers sometimes had a better technology all things considered. Also let me add this post will get zero likes as it has nothing to do with our hobby

 

[kcm]

Not sure what a crashbox is - will have to look that up. There are old-school rocker boxes, and there are newer, more high-tech designs. Some can be used as a stand-alone unit away from water sources....so long as you pack in some water. Then when you're done, just put the top on, latch it down and carry it away. It's made of aluminum - though there may be a plastic version by now as well, as this was several years ago.

Also, I recently saw (online) a version that had a manual pump built into it so that one could work the pump handle, which simultaneously worked the pump and rocked the box.

Another idea would be to carry a plastic tub, some water, a small cleanup sluice, and a battery and pump. Then you could slowly run material to be able to take home concentrates, where you could then work them at your own pace and under more ideal conditions. Don't know if a system like this is allowed in much of the West Coast, but it "should" be, so long as you are careful about where you dispose of your water at the end of the day - don't just dump it back into the creek/river. Also have to watch about digging bank material - that's a no-no in lots of areas.

 

[Alex Burke]

Good points, I have a GoldCube with the highbanker attachment, it is hard to lug around but I swear by it and love the thing Your post is spot on I use large buckets with it to settle the dirt so the pump with some mesh over it doesn't clog and recirc power sluices are great. I just recommended cheaper stuff because l think people should try panning or sluicing before getting something too expensive or impractical. Honestly my GoldCube is impractical for living here in Ca so based on my options I'm going to move to Alaska haha.

Edit thinking about it a rocker box might be a good idea forget what I was saying you could probably build a rocker box really cheap and put some modern matting in like GoldHog. Here's a link for how to build onehttp://nevada-outback-gems.com/design_plans/DIY_rocker/Rocker_box.htm

 

[Foxy Baker]

Thanks guys for all the helpful insight. I wasn't sure where or how to start so thank you for the patience. I wasn't trying to come off as I would like you all to do any work for me!. Hope it didn't read that way. I definitely have my fair share to research as you mentioned. I have the fever I guess?.

I am very interested now to figure it all out, with my hands, mistakes, and maybe even some disappointing conversations and or phone calls, too. I just have never been into this sort of a thing before, only hunting, fishing, etc. To be honest, I don't think this will be a hobby. I think I will dive head on into this and really start panning, rocker box, etc. I am genuinely very intrigued, now. I know it takes research, but is there a starting list for a guy, a sort of what he needs as basics, to go off into the mountains to rocker box for gold?.

Thank you again in advance, so very helpful, very!.

 

[kcm]

"I have the fever I guess?"
Nope, not yet. You're only at the "Gee, this is really interesting!!" stage.

 

[Alex Burke]

Thanks guys for all the helpful insight. I wasn't sure where or how to start so thank you for the patience. I wasn't trying to come off as I would like you all to do any work for me!. Hope it didn't read that way. I definitely have my fair share to research as you mentioned. I have the fever I guess?.

I am very interested now to figure it all out, with my hands, mistakes, and maybe even some disappointing conversations and or phone calls, too. I just have never been into this sort of a thing before, only hunting, fishing, etc. To be honest, I don't think this will be a hobby. I think I will dive head on into this and really start panning, rocker box, etc. I am genuinely very intrigued, now. I know it takes research, but is there a starting list for a guy, a sort of what he needs as basics, to go off into the mountains to rocker box for gold?.

Thank you again in advance, so very helpful, very!.

I would recommend either joining a prospecting club in the area or searching the gold prospecting forum or making a post. I know there are some people with gold fever in your area that would probably be happy to show you the basics. Prospecting for gold or gems is safer and often more fun with other people.

I would put together at least a 3 day survival kit as you are going to areas without cell service and all kinds of things can and do happen. One time I had my car towed in the middle of nowhere, I thought it must have been stolen lol and was lucky I had some extra food to survive the 20 mile two day hike back because my bushcraft skills are weak

Learn how to read a compass and a topo map and have both with you. GPS is great but at first a topo, base map of some kind and a compass is all you really need. Also research delineation as this is important for compass accuracy and your survival depending on how close you are to magnetic north.

You can get the topo maps online and print them or even buy full size from usgs office. You can also load custom topo maps into higher end gps's but a gps is still not as reliable as a map and compass when they break so having the backup map/compass is most important.

I think you are in an area where gold mining on any economic scale is pretty much banned except maybe the Liberty Mine and a few others. I wouldn't worry about clearing it just to test pan but if you were in Nome Alaska for example this is something you should do ahead of time. When you get there look for markers besides the one on the tree you found, if it is a recent claim I think it will be properly staked out, if it is just leave lol. When you have the exact cords or section info after finding a worthwhile amount of gold I can probably look it up for you if you want. I promise not to claim jump you

 

[Foxy Baker]

Thank you!, Everyone, again!.

I was thinking the same, just wasn't sure. As far as a three day survival pack. I would presume I would take what I already do with me, when I am hunting. Would it be smart to set up a camp?. As in a camp to come to year round, erect a small trapper cabin?. Where I found this marker, no one has been there. Not in 40 years. I can track any animal, man, or sasquatch(JK) anywhere!. From what I have seen, nothing has made any sort of impression son the area.

As for a county recorder, how do I APPROACH the topic of the mine claim?. Just make a simple inquiry on a mine, known as the foxy baker from 1970?. Now if the claim is unclaimed or has back taxes on the claim or is just in limbo, that is when I can make an advancement on getting it, right?.

One thing I have found out by bringing a friend with me, who is a geologist..

She had taken some samples and said the rock all over is Igneous rock, 100,000 years old and that sort of rock is loaded with minerals and GOLD, according to her. So I am going to make a move here and really dig into this, all of it, all!.

 

[kcm]

"As for a county recorder, how do I APPROACH the topic of the mine claim?. Just make a simple inquiry on a mine, known as the foxy baker from 1970?"
Yep. You'll need to know the Section, Range, Township, and the rest of the legal description. Might be able to use a GPS reading instead - don't know. Maybe just point to a spot on the map....the "correct" spot, that is!

"Would it be smart to set up a camp?. As in a camp to come to year round, erect a small trapper cabin?"
Better make sure what's allowed first. You're not allowed to build any such structures on public land - even if you hold a valid mining claim. ALL buildings must be removable. There "are" exceptions, but they are few and far between.

Before trying to get a claim, sample the area and make sure it's worth it. And I'm not talking one pan or even one day - unless you potentially have money to burn, you need to VERIFY that it's worth your time, effort and investment.

 

[Alex Burke]

Here is a survival item list I have copied and pasted from another forum and have saved in my email, it is incomplete yet excessive and is more of a longterm "the world might end I'm out of here kit" but you might see some items in here you might want to add. I would add the fire starting items, water tablets, emergency blanket and some emergency communication to call for help if needed, they make gps's now with help buttons etc and that should be small enough kit with a few other items. This is why I mentioned earlier about going with other people is always better you are far less likely to ever need any of these items if you go with a couple of people.

Huge pack to carry half this stuff
fleece sleeping bag, emergency blanket, inflatable pillow, hammock, shovel, hatchet, Wyoming saw, fire starting bag (with matches, flint, lighters, vaseline, cotton balls, steel wool fire starting sticks), shake up flash light, radio that is crank, battery, or solar powered, first aid kit, bathroom kit, rain suit, K-bar knife, sharpening stone, para cord, duct tape, snare wire, sewing kit, sterno fuel, folding sterno stove, rope, 100 oz hydration pack bladder, iodine crystals, compass, binoculars, mess kit, tin cup,bowl and plate, clothes line reel, towel, bug spray, crossbow, arrows, a good knife, a folding shovel, magnesium fire starter, a bottle or 2 of survival tablets, filtered canteen, a change of clothes from summer to cold weather, 2 space blankets. Mosquito net headgear, fishing line and a 44mag with extra ammo.

 

[kcm]

Hell, you're not going camping - you're moving into the wilderness....PERMANENTLY!!

 

[Foxy Baker]

Perfect, thank you!. Alex Burke, I have probably 87 percent of that list, thank you!. Need to get the final 13 percent now!. The Ka-Bar is definitely a gem for any man in the forest. Any recommendations on tools used for getting samples?. I am not rich by any means and would be doing this as minimal as possible.

 

[Alex Burke]

Hi Foxy I think a pan, pick, screen set and shovel is all you need at first.

It's I guess important to point out there are many types of gold deposits but generally they are broken into two types.

Placer gold deposits which have been liberated from the rocks and lode deposits where the gold is still trapped in the rock. Many times the placer gold is the gold washed from a lode nearby, but sometimes the lode gold hasn't been liberated too much and although the rocks are rich in gold this may not transfer to a good placer deposit.

When testing for placer gold generally you want to find a contact zone or area where the bedrock is exposed or where you can dig down to bedrock. Here in Ca the bedrock where the gold has settled down to between 100-300ft in depth in many places. Well below tons of gravels that didn't pay well to mine, so miners back in the day had to move tons of rock to get to the base rock (bedrock).

This doesn't mean the bedrock is this deep in your area but it is important to realize that gold sinks way down through all material except sometimes clay layers until it reaches the bedrock.

Often you can make out an old channel or bench that leads down to a river and if you intersect this bench as it intersects and joins the river this is often the same bedrock and you can sometimes get to bedrock by digging only a few feet and follow it deeper from there. You have to be careful not to dig in the river bank and this isn't to be confused with that

You can also draw a map of the area and bring a bunch of plastic freezer bags, rather than pan everything out at your location get a couple of buckets of dirt from each spot and work the dirt down to black sand and throw it in the bag to finish panning at home. If you label each bag with a number and have the number on your handmade map you will know where you got each sample and can spend more time digging and sampling and less time panning on site. It is important to really clean out the pan as you can easily contaminate the next sample by leaving anything in the pan. Also watch a couple of videos on panning and you could easily learn to sample pan quickly.

If it's lode gold trapped in the rock it becomes harder to sample and honestly it doesn't make a lot of sense to find these types of deposits other than the fact they often produce placer gold, so you do want to hunt them but you don't have much use for them if that makes sense lol.

You could take grab samples and have them assayed or crush the rock etc but hard rock mining is really not worth trying to pursue unless you find something truly amazing. I suppose you could do just that so never say never, I would just try to focus on the liberated "free gold" placer type gold.

 

[Foxy Baker]

Fascinating read and thank you, so much to learn!. I am really enjoying all that I am reading here from everyone. The old timer I had spoken to had told me about flood gold?. Or fleck?. He mentioned it is best to get it after flood. The problem is, when is flood?.
He mentioned alluvial and also mentioned the Ventura effect?. That the gold settles within 12 ft or boulders?. Something like that. He was talking about all the rocker box stuff. I think I will speak to him again.

Do I need a drill of some sort at all to get that stuff 100-300?. I think I should watch some youtube videos, as you mentioned. Any good ones you might recommend?. I just know that youtube has a plethora of self proclaimed "Experts", and I would not want to watch some that are truly incorrect. I think I will go to my local library, too. Maybe they have some books?.

 

[Alex Burke]

Go to the gold forum on here there are numerous great threads on fine, flour, chunky gold, you name it. There are real miners on here and people that know far more than me that will be happy to discuss the finer points and you can learn a lot about different aspects of gold prospecting