Gold Rush - Alaska - The Motherload

Ben Cartwright SASS · Oct 26, 2012

I was trying to edit the post and messed it all up.

My original post was that I see that someone hits the motherload. I am saying I hope it is Parker or the Hoffmans and not Dakota Fred.

The show based on the how they edit it has Dakota Fred rubbing me the wrong way. Fred told the producer that the show makes him look like someone who is only out for himself but he is really a nice guy. My idea of a nice guy would have lent parker the electrical panel. However he did claim it was his "partner" who wanted $10k for the panel (or was it Fred?)

The Hoffmans seem to make all kinds of mistakes and bad decisions, and Parker is impulsive, but he is only 17!

Still I hope it is either of them, but at the same time if it is Fred, well good for him, I wish it where me! Maybe the next time on the river I will hit a pocket for a hundred ounces!

lost · Dec 16, 2012

I feel for Parker. All that time and money spent working an old tailing pile from years past. More or less on topic, years ago a fellow bought 55 heavily wooded acres over in our local gold belt. He selected a site for his house way back at the end of the property close to a creek. After spending thousands of dollars cutting out a road across the 55 acres, he started to dig the foundation, or basement in a big tree growth area. It only took a few scoops of the loader for the operator, an experienced prospector, to discover he was cutting into a humongous old tailing pile. Long story shortened, the owner was still able to have his house built at his chosen location. It just took mega bucks, engineers, architects, one hell of a lot of concrete 12 inch blocks, piers, ect to get down to virgin ground. Now if that happened today the EPA and other rules would never have allowed that to be completed unless every speck of dirt had been examined for mercury or other such mining hazards. I know this is true because I still have permission to prospect that creek. Nice gold. Small but good purity.

Hoser John · Dec 17, 2012

hahahahah what a hoot. All that is left is the crumbs from miners of olden daze plates BUT don' get all po'd-LISTEN up. Them fellers hit every ditch,gulley,wash,ravine,creek and river there is in the west and AK. BUT the price of gold was horrendous in them daze and the fellers needed a ounce a ton to just eat bacon and beans--hooch and hookers extras--so their crumbs are our caviar. $1,700 an oz now computates to a little over $200 a oz then, so FANTASTIC as they got around $9 a oz.. Look for small diggns and hand steel chisled portals as those "low paying" left overs are righteous now. But VIRGINS ARE IN YOUR DREAMS ONLY. Prove it to yourself and to thine ownself be true. Just whip out a decent detector and shot/pellets/relics/square nails are EVERYWHERE :headbang:

John

KevinInColorado · Dec 17, 2012

HoserJohn, I am happy to say you are just wrong. There is virgin placer ground out there, I am on some here in CO (so you will never see me post a pic of it online!)...and in Alaska many streams that dump into bogs, marshes and lakes may have gone undiscovered in the old days if the water downstream from the lake/bog/marsh did not pick up gold in it's bed to draw attention from the miners moving upstream. The still water traps any gold from upstream...and there is a lot of those spots due to the glaciation.

kuger · Dec 17, 2012

..............yea,there are miles of Virgin Placer and hardrock...............why do you think there has been operations in both capacities in the last 100 years and more coming.Hell,an underground operation just opened back up in the Mother Lode,and in the paper Friday of another....pretty sure they are/will be mining virgin ground.Do you think the pockets of 30+ oz's found dredging etc were new since the Gold Rush?No........I can tell ya all of my multi oz pockets and big nuggets came from virgin ground

mellowyellow · Dec 17, 2012

kuger said:
..............yea,there are miles of Virgin Placer and hardrock...............why do you think there has been operations in both capacities in the last 100 years and more coming.Hell,an underground operation just opened back up in the Mother Lode,and in the paper Friday of another....pretty sure they are/will be mining virgin ground.Do you think the pockets of 30+ oz's found dredging etc were new since the Gold Rush?No........I can tell ya all of my multi oz pockets and big nuggets came from virgin ground

I have seen a ton of Virgin ground here in LA. Only problem is you don't find gold. Just old buried murder weapons, and maybe a few bodies here and there. There was a body that had a gold tooth though!! Rotf.

hillbillyinca · Dec 17, 2012

mellowyellow said:
I have seen a ton of Virgin ground here in LA. Only problem is you don't find gold. Just old buried murder weapons, and maybe a few bodies here and there. There was a body that had a gold tooth though!! Rotf.

I'd be happy to find some of them if they wear real old

kuger · Dec 17, 2012

...............there is a lot of virgin ground.....massive gold bearing virgin ground.....nearly every single major mine ever in existence was always in turmoil with investors and scams,fights amongst owners,hygrading,guys not getting paid(which led to hygrading)until the mines just shut down,or WW2 and the iron was hauled off,because the Gov. shut them down,and they never re-opened.They didnt shut down because they were played out!Hell,any pocket mine could have more gold just feet in than was ever taken from the mine......I can think of six right off the top of my head local that hold Billions still...and thats fact....it wont be touched with todays regs.....

Virgin ground?
http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/st...ld-signals-revival-in-Califs-Mother-Lode.html

El Dorado Seeker · Dec 18, 2012

I think lots of shot-down, forgotten-about mines and other gold finding sites still hide gold out there in Alaska and Canada, but even in the Western USA... waiting to be discovered. Technology today is far more evolved than back then when the "klondikers" were digging and washing out gold from the sediments, sand, mud... Despite this, the modern man would think "you're stupid" to even think about searching for gold in the 21st century.

FreedomUIC · Dec 19, 2012

Anybody watch Pale Rider :laughing7:

hillbillyinca · Dec 19, 2012

FreedomUIC said:
Anybody watch Pale Rider

I've seen it several dozen times

Goodyguy · Jan 5, 2013

Last nights episode at least showed some hope for a bonanza.
Hopefully next week will highlight that mega trommel in operation.

Fred's waterfall sure looks promising!

GG~

jeff of pa · Jan 5, 2013

Yes. sad to say Fred may get his Gold pot at the end of the rainbow.
I guess the melt they were warned of on the first show never happened
in their other hole :icon_scratch:

I never heard more on that.

still wondering what will happen to the Massive trommel now that the motor is in.
I just don't see their luck changing myself

AzViper · Jan 5, 2013

Todd is his worst enemy. If this show continues investor must be idiots to invest with him. Furthermore how much money will the crew really get, I mean look at how many people are involved. Now they have cut another deal with the landowner. Leasing of all the equipment, investors, landowners, fuel, homes, food, families living on site, etc. For all the trouble and headaches I bet it does not amount to much in $$$ at the end of the season for each crew member.

Edge2sharp · Jan 5, 2013

Its a show...I really think the show is helping then along with getting these deals and investors...its not as easy as they are portraying it to be...how would Todd ever get investors after proven losses season after season...the show also misinforms the audience so much since they keep saying how much these ounces are worth but we never get 100% of what gold is worth...after paying investors , landowners, workers and how much debt the last 3 years 1000oz will not be hitting it big in a big operation like that...although I like the show in terms of maybe getting more people interested in gold prospecting, I think it harms it also in how much misinformation they are portraying in the show

Timmy Tom · Jan 5, 2013

I have a hard time believing that the motor that powered the hyd. System on the trommel caused so much downtime. Why not power it using the hyd. Off of the loader or other heavy equipment? Why does the new power unit have to be installed in the frame anyway. It's only a generator powering an electric hyd. Motor? Well my trommel broke down last tuesday and i had it fixed the next morning. Of course mine only cost .30 cents to fix!!! Lol. Also is Fred gonna use a dredge on the bedrock to get all the gold in the hole or is the bedrock brittle enough to be busted up by the trackhoe? Just wandering?

TT

diggummup · Jan 6, 2013

Timmy Tom said:
I have a hard time believing that the motor that powered the hyd. System on the trommel caused so much downtime. Why not power it using the hyd. Off of the loader or other heavy equipment? Why does the new power unit have to be installed in the frame anyway. It's only a generator powering an electric hyd. Motor?
TT

I was wondering about that myself. :icon_scratch:

Goodyguy · Jan 6, 2013

jeff of pa said:
Yes. sad to say Fred may get his Gold pot at the end of the rainbow.
I guess the melt they were warned of on the first show never happened
in their other hole

I never heard more on that.

still wondering what will happen to the Massive trommel now that the motor is in.
I just don't see their luck changing myself

The teaser for next week shows Todd recovering good size nuggets from the sluice of the trommel so it looks like the Hoffmans are still in the running for the bonanza.