Gold Ore

[southfork]

A little sample that was found with a metal detector. Crushed by hand then panned to wash away some of the dirt and clay? The photo is macro so real small particles, but the quartz shows and what looks like iron and free gold. I think we need a small smelter to retrieve the values trying to speed up the recovery what's your thoughts ?

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Crushing some small metal detector finds with mortar and pestle this morning. Loaded with gold hiding in the oxidized rock and red sands. When I look with a loupe there's micro gold all through the heavy red sands.

Either that’s a really small pan or you guys are killing it. That’s pretty awesome.

 

[southfork]

Either that’s a really small pan or you guys are killing it. That’s pretty awesome.

Five grams of gold but it looks like a lot more in that pan lol.

 

[southfork]

Not long ago I posted about being careful out prospecting because of local mountain lions. Two brothers out hunting for sheds were attacked yesterday one was killed the other is in the hospital with severe injuries. This was in an area where I hunted and prospected hiked and went horseback riding for years just a few miles away.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Not long ago I posted about being careful out prospecting because of local mountain lions. Two brothers out hunting for sheds were attacked yesterday one was killed the other is in the hospital with severe injuries. This was in an area where I hunted and prospected hiked and went horseback riding for years just a few miles away.

Yikes.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Not long ago I posted about being careful out prospecting because of local mountain lions. Two brothers out hunting for sheds were attacked yesterday one was killed the other is in the hospital with severe injuries. This was in an area where I hunted and prospected hiked and went horseback riding for years just a few miles away.

Yup, Your warning actually applies to all of us, regardless of locale. You should always be aware of your surroundings, and the flora and fauna that are dangerous. It's one reason I refuse to use a headset when metal detecting. How can you hear an audible danger with your ears covered.

Of course, if possible, it's always good to have a partner or two. It's also nice to have knowledge of a defensible position that might allow you to fend off an attack by a predator.

I know there are groups of Coyotes in our area, but they don't seem to be a problem. We have one locally called "Tripod", missing the complete left front leg. He's a Kool Coyote, and you can stop the car and talk to Him, and he just looks and listens.

But Rattlesnakes are our big problem during the warm months. I've had to kill three, one at my front door, and two at the claim.

 

[southfork]

Nice and warm when the clouds get out of the way. I'm working on my 12-volt mini high banker's sluice I added a Jarvine Riffle to help hold my ribbed rubber v mat down. And to help drop the micro gold! perfect fit I haven't tried it yet but I like the way it looks. I wish I had this years ago runs so quiet and catches the fine gold, but this Jarvine might help a bit. Something at the top under the grizzly to drop the gold a little faster. It's just that big car battery that's a pain but it runs for hours.

 

[southfork]

Fresh gold with the detector this seems to be the average size! 1 gram plus. My son has been finding these small bits all over our place no concentrations except bullets and nails. I don't have the patience after a few bullets nails and bits of iron and lead bird shot I'm done. Give me a sluice and a good flow I'm happy a lot easier to clean the lead out.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Fresh gold with the detector this seems to be the average size! 1 gram plus. My son has been finding these small bits all over our place no concentrations except bullets and nails. I don't have the patience after a few bullets nails and bits of iron and lead bird shot I'm done. Give me a sluice and a good flow I'm happy a lot easier to clean the lead out.

That's another WOW!! Tell your Son to keep it up.
My problem with metal detecting, now that I have a definable hearing loss, problems telling one tone from another, makes all you mentioned sound exactly the same to me. The only tone my detector makes that tells me it's a lump of some kind of natural junk metal is a resounding very low loud tone. Everything else is basically a beep.

I even tried putting lead shot and a 1 gram gold bar on the floor, and they both sound the same to me.. Sigh!!

 

[southfork]

That's metal detecting dig all signals if hunting for gold. Headphones and practice I've watched my son call the target iron but still dig it and call gold and out it comes. My hearing is not what it used to be so I don't like headphones can't hear that warning buzz.

 

[southfork]

Started with about 5" 1/2 grams of concentrates from crushing a metal detector find. A two weeklong soak in Whink then poured off the dirty solution into another pan. recovered 2" 1/2 grams of gold added some dish soap to the saved dirty solution and recovered more micro gold with the help of mercury. The scratches in the bottom of the black plastic pan was loaded with micro gold. I think the gold in the last photo was in suspension and dish soap dropped it.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Started with about 5" 1/2 grams of concentrates from crushing a metal detector find. A two weeklong soak in Whink then poured off the dirty solution into another pan. recovered 2" 1/2 grams of gold added some dish soap to the saved dirty solution and recovered more micro gold with the help of mercury. The scratches in the bottom of the black plastic pan was loaded with micro gold. I think the gold in the last photo was in suspension and dish soap dropped it.

Wonderful! That micro gold is what I get all the time. 90 percent is 300 mesh and smaller. Maybe someday I'll get lucky, and a rock will have a larger piece.

 

[southfork]

Wonderful! That micro gold is what I get all the time. 90 percent is 300 mesh and smaller. Maybe someday I'll get lucky, and a rock will have a larger piece.

On our place micro gold is everywhere but takes a picker to get me excited lol. But gold is gold no matter what size.

 

[southfork]

Melted some ore slag for a test downwind of course little balls of gold showing through. Time to whack with a single jack and toss in the chain mill and pan. The cupel is sitting in a melting dish for safety to catch any melted gold that makes it through the cracks.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Melted some ore slag for a test downwind of course little balls of gold showing through. Time to whack with a single jack and toss in the chain mill and pan. The cupel is sitting in a melting dish for safety to catch any melted gold that makes it through the cracks.

Glad to see you at it. I was wondering about your progress the other day.

Is this slag you found or from your own smelting?

 

[newnan man]

So, question. Is the gold you're finding worth all the effort or is it mostly a hobby with the chance of a nice score now and then? It looks like fun & a lot of work all rolled up into one.

 

[southfork]

Glad to see you at it. I was wondering about your progress the other day.

Is this slag you found or from your own smelting?

This is a small sample from milled ore my son found with a metal detector. About an hour in the furnace the cupel absorbed a lot of stuff. I like to play with the furnace and ore samples some of these old waste rock piles still have Gold.

 

[Assembler]

So, question. Is the gold you're finding worth all the effort or is it mostly a hobby with the chance of a nice score now and then? It looks like fun & a lot of work all rolled up into one.

For most it is both fun and a lot of work as the larger percent of numbers show.
Best way to answer the question is ask how much work / time is spent for the returns given.

 

[southfork]

So, question. Is the gold you're finding worth all the effort or is it mostly a hobby with the chance of a nice score now and then? It looks like fun & a lot of work all rolled up into one.

Some days its worth a lot more than the effort. But for me it's a hobby a chance to find artifacts and gold. I gather float and stack in little piles when I have time I crush and hope for gold. This is all over my property I won't run out anytime soon.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

This is a small sample from milled ore my son found with a metal detector. About an hour in the furnace the cupel absorbed a lot of stuff. I like to play with the furnace and ore samples some of these old waste rock piles still have Gold.

That’s cool. So you ran your smelt in the cupel? Just filled with milled ore and let the cupel absorb what it could? I dig it.

I’m asking because I plan to smelt a bunch of my samples and may give that a shot.

 

[southfork]

That’s cool. So you ran your smelt in the cupel? Just filled with milled ore and let the cupel absorb what it could? I dig it.

I’m asking because I plan to smelt a bunch of my samples and may give that a shot.

Not really a smelt just a melt of slag on carbon rods and leftovers in the bottom of a cupel. With just a pinch of borax we melt concentrates from gravity wet sluicing sometimes. Be careful when heating any ore don't inhale the fumes no telling what's coming off.