Gold folks

gold tramp

Bronze Member
Dec 30, 2012
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I noticed that not many gold folks are on the forum last few years, was wondering what caused people to leave, was it the political environment ?
Or just that prospecting has lost it's shine and no one's doing it ?
Maybe we can get some honest answers here.
I would hope that it was lack of prospectors and not mining folks being divided by politics, we are already so few in numbers, I feel some days I'm the only one left ...
Anyways just something I'm wondering about.....
Gt......
 

Upvote 8

RTR

Gold Member
Nov 21, 2017
8,180
32,469
Smith Mt. Lake Va.
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Teknetics Liberator
Falcon MD-20
***********
Blue Bowl
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I'm still at it every chance I get :):goldpan:
001.JPG
 

DizzyDigger

Gold Member
Dec 9, 2012
5,833
11,573
Concrete, WA
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Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
Primary Interest:
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Hell no you ain't the only one left...some of us just don't dig as fast as we used to..
digging_zpsefcf9a69.gif


Can't do much in the winter up here..too cold and nasty out, and when spring and summer come I've got so much work to do around the property, I have a hard time telling myself it's OK to go prospecting when I know there's work I need to get done.

Work or not, this Summer I'm going to take a few days here and there and just take my pans and go prospect a few of the local creeks. The gold is spotty, but that's OK...I'll be out in the woods where I love to be.

Pic from a few years back:

Me and a pan.jpg


Since my prospecting partners up and died on me, it's just not as much fun, but still, I miss being out in the wilds.
 

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gold tramp

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Dec 30, 2012
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Hell no you ain't the only one left...some of us just don't dig as fast as we used to.. View attachment 2020414

Since my prospecting partners up and died on me, it's just not as much fun, but still, I miss being out in the wilds.
I to don't dig as fast or as much as I use to, these days I don't know of even one miner here where I live, couple detectorist maybe but definitely no hard Rock guys or drywashers guess they either died or got to old .
Myself I'm lucky enough to have planned ahead, built a mill and stocked up on ore, I probably be digging n millin till I die it's my only hobby besides gardening ...
This might be the reason why I don't know anybody else into mining it's not real exciting and way to much work that's for sure ..
Gt....
 

Assembler

Silver Member
May 10, 2017
3,102
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If history repeats it self there will be more mining activity when each new depression / recession comes around.

Hard work with little returns is more common now however with determination can go a long way's in the direction that can spell success for anyone who sticks with it.
 

Mountaineer2020

Jr. Member
Jul 5, 2020
90
218
Oregon
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Minelab gs3000
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I follow your hardrocking on the Tnet. Been working on a juniper removal project and haven't had alot of time to prospect. Ripped alot of juniper with an excavator, 80 acres out of the ground, and sometimes it would leave a pretty good size hole and expose some rock. I've been trying to figure out the geology of the place it seems to be mostly igneous. I randomly break rocks just to see what's on the inside that hasn't been weathered. One of them I broke had a couple small pieces of bright green serpentine
Ranchpyrite.jpg
and some pyrite with I believe a couple microscopic gold flakes in it. The rock itself I think is a fine grain quartz aplite but that's a guess. The picture is extremely magnified the actual piece of pyrite in the rock is about the size of a ball point pen tip. It's just exciting because I live on the property. Took the Fisher Gold bug out and squeaked around and the rocks are all hot. Followed an extremely squeaky 4 foot wide vein of red rock about 400 feet with the squeaker. I think it's a stained quartz. It was buried under soil but the squeaker helped me trace it. Next step is to get some rocks bust em up pan and see if there's any free gold. But..... Dang juniper project needs to get finished and it is snowing got about 4 inches on the ground now and accumulating. Hopefully be hardrocking come June and July.
 

Assembler

Silver Member
May 10, 2017
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I follow your hardrocking on the Tnet. Been working on a juniper removal project and haven't had alot of time to prospect. Ripped alot of juniper with an excavator, 80 acres out of the ground, and sometimes it would leave a pretty good size hole and expose some rock. I've been trying to figure out the geology of the place it seems to be mostly igneous. I randomly break rocks just to see what's on the inside that hasn't been weathered. One of them I broke had a couple small pieces of bright green serpentine View attachment 2020505 and some pyrite with I believe a couple microscopic gold flakes in it. The rock itself I think is a fine grain quartz aplite but that's a guess. The picture is extremely magnified the actual piece of pyrite in the rock is about the size of a ball point pen tip. It's just exciting because I live on the property. Took the Fisher Gold bug out and squeaked around and the rocks are all hot. Followed an extremely squeaky 4 foot wide vein of red rock about 400 feet with the squeaker. I think it's a stained quartz. It was buried under soil but the squeaker helped me trace it. Next step is to get some rocks bust em up pan and see if there's any free gold. But..... Dang juniper project needs to get finished and it is snowing got about 4 inches on the ground now and accumulating. Hopefully be hardrocking come June and July.
Just a idea here that may or may not work. Try the detector with the test rocks away from the background minerals. Like up on a sheet of wood for example to start with. If the gold is too small to detect you will have to try crushing and panning if the values are gravity free milling.
 

Assembler

Silver Member
May 10, 2017
3,102
1,181
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Whites, Fisher, Garrett, and Falcon.
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Prospecting
Also you're probably onto something about the political environment. I get slightly nervous about posting any big finds on Tnet. Not everyone on here likes mining.
If it is "Critical minerals" you will have Congress backing up the mining big time.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,454
54,882
Florida
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
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Also you're probably onto something about the political environment. I get slightly nervous about posting any big finds on Tnet. Not everyone on here likes mining.
This is our gold prospecting forum you can post mining posts here, if someone attacks mining report it.
 

Assembler

Silver Member
May 10, 2017
3,102
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Whites, Fisher, Garrett, and Falcon.
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Have not seen any attacks on mining itself with the few posts this one takes a look at.
With the list of "Critical minerals" has now grown to 50 up from 35 last year alone is a big step in a good direction.
 

Tesorodeoro

Bronze Member
Jan 21, 2018
1,240
1,932
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Hell no you ain't the only one left...some of us just don't dig as fast as we used to.. View attachment 2020414

Can't do much in the winter up here..too cold and nasty out, and when spring and summer come I've got so much work to do around the property. I have a hard time telling myself it's OK to go prospecting when I know there's work I need to get done.

Work or not, this Summer I'm going to take a few days here and there and just take my pans and go prospect a few of the local creeks. The gold is spotty, but that's OK...I'll be out in the woods where I love to be.

Pic from a few years back:

View attachment 2020415

Since my prospecting partners up and died on me, it's just not as much fun, but still, I miss being out in the wilds.
There are many solid friendships waiting to be formed. Get yourself out there and do your thing.
 

Assembler

Silver Member
May 10, 2017
3,102
1,181
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Whites, Fisher, Garrett, and Falcon.
Primary Interest:
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You break enough rocks 2020 you'll hit something that's my thought process, rock hammer n miners lens put me on many holes to dig that's how it usually starts one piece lead ..
Gt
When you have a hard time seeing it or beeping it breaking rocks is the only way.
For many the lens (aided eye) is the best place to start.
 

OP
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gold tramp

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Dec 30, 2012
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When you have a hard time seeing it or beeping it breaking rocks is the only way.
For many the lens (aided eye) is the best place to start.
If you are a hardrock prospector breakin rocks is what you do, how else do you see what's in the rock, metal detector is pretty much worthless for finding ore in my neck of the woods its all fine gold.
As for the miners lens n prospecting if you ain't got one in you pocket your not serious about find the yeller...
It's ok leave it at home I like lookin at rock others pass up, it's how I build my stock pile..

Last thing it's called bleepin it's the sound the original gold bug makes....
Sounds better than saying let's go detecting, anybody wanna go bleepin?
Gt .....
 

Tesorodeoro

Bronze Member
Jan 21, 2018
1,240
1,932
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If you are a hardrock prospector breakin rocks is what you do, how else do you see what's in the rock, metal detector is pretty much worthless for finding ore in my neck of the woods its all fine gold.
As for the miners lens n prospecting if you ain't got one in you pocket your not serious about find the yeller...
It's ok leave it at home I like lookin at rock others pass up, it's how I build my stock pile..

Last thing it's called bleepin it's the sound the original gold bug makes....
Sounds better than saying let's go detecting, anybody wanna go bleepin?
Gt .....
The correct usage in a sentence would be: “I’d be happy to go mining with you, I bleeping love to find gold”
 

nuggetshooter323

Hero Member
Jul 22, 2005
963
870
Colorado Springs
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Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I'm still at it, but it does seem like a lot of people have stopped posting.
 

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